NOTICE: This is the authors’ version of a work that was accepted for publication in the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published and can be accessed via the following link: http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000019 PLEASE REFER TO THE RESEARCH IN THIS MANUSCRIPT, IF CITED, AS FOLLOWS: Di Marco, M., Taylor, J., and Alin, P. (2010). “Emergence and Role of Cultural Boundary Spanners in Global Engineering Project Networks,” ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering, 26(3): 123-132. The Emergence and Role of Cultural Boundary Spanners in Reciprocally Interdependent Global Project Networks Melissa K. Di Marco & Dr. John E. Taylor Introduction Cultural Identity is an important intrinsic characteristic of most national partisans. As people with different cultural backgrounds spread themselves globally, one of the only ways they may identify themselves is through their cultural identity (Mahalingam & Levitt 2005). Even though there exists a growing number of culturally diverse communities, composed of people that have lived and worked in many different countries and speak multiple languages, aside from their mother-tongue, known as expatriates (Mahalingam & Levitt 2005)or cosmopolitans (Haas 2006), cultural diversity is still a substantial conflict in today’s society. Certain imbedded perceptions, directly related to ones culture, are not easily ignored when approached within a global context. Research shows that a nation’s perception of social structures (Levina and Vaast 2008), perception of the individual within the culture versus the group within the culture and their perception of hierarchical status and power (Hofstede 1983)