The Effect of Risk Management Practices on Project Success: The Moderating Role of Environmental Uncertainty in the Ethiopian Software Sector
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Date
2026-11
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Addis Abeba Universty
Abstract
The overarching objective of this study was to examine the relationship between risk management practices and multidimensional project success within the Ethiopian software
sector and to investigate the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in this relationship. This research uses an explanatory, sequential mixed-methods design. It mainly employs a
quantitative explanatory survey approach in order to statistically investigate the relationship, from which data was collected from 120 software professionals. Additionally, qualitative
evidence was used as a triangulation component, consisting of six in-depth expert interviews. The quantitative data demonstrated a strong, statistically significant positive effect of risk
management on Ethiopian software project success. Environmental uncertainty has a direct, statistically significant negative influence on project outcomes. Furthermore, the findings
indicated a significant negative moderation effect. As external volatility increases, the positive impact of structured risk management is weakened. This study concludes that risk management is
a vital determinant of software project success in Ethiopia; however, its application and effectiveness are heavily constrained by the operating environment. Software teams in this
context operate under a state of high systemic volatility, and traditional, highly formalized project management frameworks may become difficult to sustain under conditions of high
environmental uncertainty
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Keywords
Software Project Management, Risk Management Practices, Environmental Uncertainty, Mixed-Methods, Ethiopia