Of course, measuring culture exactly is not possible. The gap analysis always contains subjective elements rather than quantifiable, neutrally measurable evaluations. Therefore, the tool serves as a proxy to become sensitized towards cultural differences. How big is the culture gap between myself as the project manager, for instance, and my customer? This is also called “cultural distance”. The gap analysis provides the management team of the international project with valuable input for the stakeholder management process. It highlights any areas of potential issues between participating stakeholders, based on the assumption that big differences or large “cultural distance”, if not managed.
