The increasing global nature of construction projects has highlighted the importance of multicult... more The increasing global nature of construction projects has highlighted the importance of multiculturalism and the new challenges it brings to project execution. However, there has, as yet, been no empirical work that quantifies explicitly the extent to which communication determines the success of multicultural projects. This paper explores the ability of project managers in Kenya and the UK in communicating effectively on multicultural projects. The study examines the cultural factors that influence communication and explores how communication can be made effective in multicultural project environments. Using data from 20 interviews in Kenya (10) and UK (10), the results show that communications within multicultural project environments can be effective when project managers demonstrate an awareness of cultural variation. Participants further highlighted that, one of the critical components of building multicultural project teams is the creation and development of effective cross cultural collectivism, trust, communication and empathy in leadership. The study underscores an urgent need for future research to investigate effective guidelines or strategies for effective collectivism and communication in multicultural project teams.
... Stephen Nicholas, Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, The University of N... more ... Stephen Nicholas, Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia. ... of different perspectives to codified knowledge, which may lead to the application of novel interpretations (Bhatt, 2000; Brown and Duguid, 2001). ...
Increasing migration, international business, foreign direct investments, expatriates´ work and a... more Increasing migration, international business, foreign direct investments, expatriates´ work and any international cooperation require understanding of differences between cultures. For example business negotiations, expatriate professionals, management of foreign personnel, and running cross-cultural teams presuppose a good knowledge of cultural differences. However, research on expatriates indicates that failed expatriate assignments are still costly and numerous. Along with globalization, values from a cross-cultural perspective have awakened great interest in recent years. Value types and work goals of people differ in different cultures. Knowing the relationship between values and cultures can assist the business person or traveler in better understanding the intercultural differences within regions. Values in terms of value types and work goals were compared in two different cultures. The sample consisted of 390 Finnish people and 98 Pakistani people. It was found that there are culturebased stresses in the values and work goals that must be taken into consideration in international business. The study revealed that there is a certain amount of conformity among members of a society concerning their values.
A modem geographically dispersed workforce often takes the form of virtua) teams, where competent... more A modem geographically dispersed workforce often takes the form of virtua) teams, where competent individuals located anywhere in a transnational firm represent organizational knowledge assets that need to interact to accomplish organizational tasks. This new organization form is likely to be most fruitful when virtua) team members have skills with the supporting technologies, an aptitude for asynchronous, distributed teamwork, and
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 2006
Purpose - To demonstrate the added value potential of cross-cultural teams specifically related t... more Purpose - To demonstrate the added value potential of cross-cultural teams specifically related to Franco-British joint ventures. The paper begins by outlining the current context in M&As across Europe, then homes in on the specific trade links between France and the UK. To what extent are cultural differences a hindrance or a driving force in attaining mutual performance goals? Design/methodology/approach
International assignments are becoming more and more typical parts of a managerial career. As an ... more International assignments are becoming more and more typical parts of a managerial career. As an outcome, cross-cultural leadership competencies are required within international companies. Still, real cross-cultural leadership interaction between expatriate managers ...
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 2008
Purpose -This study is an attempt to approach design management from a cultural perspective. Spec... more Purpose -This study is an attempt to approach design management from a cultural perspective. Specifically, the paper assumes that design orientation reflects an underlying organisational culture that distinguishes design-oriented companies from the rest and reinforces their capability to generate competitive advantage from design management. The aim is to disentangle the main characteristics of this culture. Design/methodology/approach -A case study research approach was adopted to gain some initial insights on the cultural characteristics of the population considered in the present study. Findings -The results of the field study identify a set of general values and product-related values shared by the design-oriented companies considered in this research. In addition, the existence of functional sub-cultures and cross-cultural differences is analysed, together with a discussion on how organisational culture and functional sub-cultures can co-exist in this specific context. Research limitations/implications -Although a rich set of qualitative data was garthered, the number of cases is still too small to consider replications and opportunities for theory building. Originality/value -The paper proposes a structured description of design orientation from a multiple level of analysis (organisational culture and individual sub-cultures). It provides useful insights on interaction and harmonisation between these levels, leading to a better understanding of the drivers of design-oriented behaviour. Additionally, the cross-cultural setting of the study addresses the interconnectedness of cross-cultural design practices and design-oriented managerial values.
Page 1. ? Academy of Management Journal 2000, Vol. 43, No. 6, 1097-1106. THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIVI... more Page 1. ? Academy of Management Journal 2000, Vol. 43, No. 6, 1097-1106. THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIVISM AND IN-GROUP/OUT-GROUP MEMBERSHIP ON THE EVALUATION GENEROSITY OF TEAM MEMBERS CAROLINA G6MEZ Towson University ...
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 2001
... in uncertain cross cultural pro-cesses depends on performing improvisation-al actions, rooted... more ... in uncertain cross cultural pro-cesses depends on performing improvisation-al actions, rooted in a minimal structure and in a compatible (instead of similar) view of itself and its environment. Each of these factors is affected by the nominal and func-tional diversity held by the ...
Cristina В. Gibson is an associate research professor with the Center for Effective Organiza-tion... more Cristina В. Gibson is an associate research professor with the Center for Effective Organiza-tions and the Management and Organizations Department, Marshall School of Business, Uni-versity of Southern California. Gibson received her Ph.D. in organizational behavior ...
Previous research on the role of cultural diversity in teams is equivocal, suggesting that cultur... more Previous research on the role of cultural diversity in teams is equivocal, suggesting that cultural diversity's effect on teams is mediated by specific team processes, and moderated by contextual variables. To reconcile conflicting perspectives and past results, we propose that cultural diversity affects teams through process losses and gains associated with increased divergence and decreased convergence. We examine whether the level (surface-level vs deeplevel) and type (cross-national vs intra-national) of cultural diversity affect these processes differently. We hypothesize that task complexity and structural aspects of the team, such as team size, team tenure, and team dispersion, moderate the effects of cultural diversity on teams. We test the hypotheses with a meta-analysis of 108 empirical studies on processes and performance in 10,632 teams. Results suggest that cultural diversity leads to process losses through task conflict and decreased social integration, but to process gains through increased creativity and satisfaction. The effects are almost identical for both levels and types of cultural diversity. Moderator analyses reveal that the effects of cultural diversity vary, depending on contextual influences, as well as on research design and sample characteristics. We propose an agenda for future research, and identify implications for managers.
This study examines the relationships among team conflict, conflict management, cohesion, and tea... more This study examines the relationships among team conflict, conflict management, cohesion, and team effectiveness. Data are collected longitudinally from 53 teams, and the results indicate that conflict management has a direct, positive effect on team cohesion and moderates the relationship between relationship conflict and team cohesion as well as that between task conflict and team cohesion. These results suggest that a high level of conflict management not only has a direct impact on team cohesion but also alters the negative and positive effects of relationship conflict and task conflict, respectively, on team cohesion. We also found team cohesion to be positively related to perceived performance, satisfaction with the team, and team viability. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 2009
Purpose The purpose of this paper is four-fold: to highlight the emerging stream of team intera... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is four-fold: to highlight the emerging stream of team interaction in research; to present a methodology to measure and map out team interaction; to compare team interaction between US and Spanish MBA teams so as to identify any differences ...
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 2004
Page 1. The global business environment demands high professional expertise and understand-ing of... more Page 1. The global business environment demands high professional expertise and understand-ing of cultural diversity. Organizational researchers who recognize the diverse nature of the workforce have increasingly focused ...
How are concepts such as lateral hierarchy actually practised? There is growing awareness of the ... more How are concepts such as lateral hierarchy actually practised? There is growing awareness of the need within multinational organizations for cross-cultural and cross-functional teamwork yet very little is known of how this takes place nor how we develop the global manager. This article examines the decision-making processes within a horizontal collaboration and the role of the global manager in making these work. It also argues for a greater degree of research into the likely consequences of the movement towards cross-cultural collaboration.
Leadership is at a crossroads in the comparative culture area. A recent movement called GLOBE fat... more Leadership is at a crossroads in the comparative culture area. A recent movement called GLOBE fathered by Robert House, my older colleague, invites researchers to move in a radically new positivistic but misguided direction (Gupta & House 2004; House, et al. 2004; Javidan, et ...
The increasing global nature of construction projects has highlighted the importance of multicult... more The increasing global nature of construction projects has highlighted the importance of multiculturalism and the new challenges it brings to project execution. However, there has, as yet, been no empirical work that quantifies explicitly the extent to which communication determines the success of multicultural projects. This paper explores the ability of project managers in Kenya and the UK in communicating effectively on multicultural projects. The study examines the cultural factors that influence communication and explores how communication can be made effective in multicultural project environments. Using data from 20 interviews in Kenya (10) and UK (10), the results show that communications within multicultural project environments can be effective when project managers demonstrate an awareness of cultural variation. Participants further highlighted that, one of the critical components of building multicultural project teams is the creation and development of effective cross cultural collectivism, trust, communication and empathy in leadership. The study underscores an urgent need for future research to investigate effective guidelines or strategies for effective collectivism and communication in multicultural project teams.
... Stephen Nicholas, Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, The University of N... more ... Stephen Nicholas, Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia. ... of different perspectives to codified knowledge, which may lead to the application of novel interpretations (Bhatt, 2000; Brown and Duguid, 2001). ...
Increasing migration, international business, foreign direct investments, expatriates´ work and a... more Increasing migration, international business, foreign direct investments, expatriates´ work and any international cooperation require understanding of differences between cultures. For example business negotiations, expatriate professionals, management of foreign personnel, and running cross-cultural teams presuppose a good knowledge of cultural differences. However, research on expatriates indicates that failed expatriate assignments are still costly and numerous. Along with globalization, values from a cross-cultural perspective have awakened great interest in recent years. Value types and work goals of people differ in different cultures. Knowing the relationship between values and cultures can assist the business person or traveler in better understanding the intercultural differences within regions. Values in terms of value types and work goals were compared in two different cultures. The sample consisted of 390 Finnish people and 98 Pakistani people. It was found that there are culturebased stresses in the values and work goals that must be taken into consideration in international business. The study revealed that there is a certain amount of conformity among members of a society concerning their values.
A modem geographically dispersed workforce often takes the form of virtua) teams, where competent... more A modem geographically dispersed workforce often takes the form of virtua) teams, where competent individuals located anywhere in a transnational firm represent organizational knowledge assets that need to interact to accomplish organizational tasks. This new organization form is likely to be most fruitful when virtua) team members have skills with the supporting technologies, an aptitude for asynchronous, distributed teamwork, and
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 2006
Purpose - To demonstrate the added value potential of cross-cultural teams specifically related t... more Purpose - To demonstrate the added value potential of cross-cultural teams specifically related to Franco-British joint ventures. The paper begins by outlining the current context in M&As across Europe, then homes in on the specific trade links between France and the UK. To what extent are cultural differences a hindrance or a driving force in attaining mutual performance goals? Design/methodology/approach
International assignments are becoming more and more typical parts of a managerial career. As an ... more International assignments are becoming more and more typical parts of a managerial career. As an outcome, cross-cultural leadership competencies are required within international companies. Still, real cross-cultural leadership interaction between expatriate managers ...
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 2008
Purpose -This study is an attempt to approach design management from a cultural perspective. Spec... more Purpose -This study is an attempt to approach design management from a cultural perspective. Specifically, the paper assumes that design orientation reflects an underlying organisational culture that distinguishes design-oriented companies from the rest and reinforces their capability to generate competitive advantage from design management. The aim is to disentangle the main characteristics of this culture. Design/methodology/approach -A case study research approach was adopted to gain some initial insights on the cultural characteristics of the population considered in the present study. Findings -The results of the field study identify a set of general values and product-related values shared by the design-oriented companies considered in this research. In addition, the existence of functional sub-cultures and cross-cultural differences is analysed, together with a discussion on how organisational culture and functional sub-cultures can co-exist in this specific context. Research limitations/implications -Although a rich set of qualitative data was garthered, the number of cases is still too small to consider replications and opportunities for theory building. Originality/value -The paper proposes a structured description of design orientation from a multiple level of analysis (organisational culture and individual sub-cultures). It provides useful insights on interaction and harmonisation between these levels, leading to a better understanding of the drivers of design-oriented behaviour. Additionally, the cross-cultural setting of the study addresses the interconnectedness of cross-cultural design practices and design-oriented managerial values.
Page 1. ? Academy of Management Journal 2000, Vol. 43, No. 6, 1097-1106. THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIVI... more Page 1. ? Academy of Management Journal 2000, Vol. 43, No. 6, 1097-1106. THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIVISM AND IN-GROUP/OUT-GROUP MEMBERSHIP ON THE EVALUATION GENEROSITY OF TEAM MEMBERS CAROLINA G6MEZ Towson University ...
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 2001
... in uncertain cross cultural pro-cesses depends on performing improvisation-al actions, rooted... more ... in uncertain cross cultural pro-cesses depends on performing improvisation-al actions, rooted in a minimal structure and in a compatible (instead of similar) view of itself and its environment. Each of these factors is affected by the nominal and func-tional diversity held by the ...
Cristina В. Gibson is an associate research professor with the Center for Effective Organiza-tion... more Cristina В. Gibson is an associate research professor with the Center for Effective Organiza-tions and the Management and Organizations Department, Marshall School of Business, Uni-versity of Southern California. Gibson received her Ph.D. in organizational behavior ...
Previous research on the role of cultural diversity in teams is equivocal, suggesting that cultur... more Previous research on the role of cultural diversity in teams is equivocal, suggesting that cultural diversity's effect on teams is mediated by specific team processes, and moderated by contextual variables. To reconcile conflicting perspectives and past results, we propose that cultural diversity affects teams through process losses and gains associated with increased divergence and decreased convergence. We examine whether the level (surface-level vs deeplevel) and type (cross-national vs intra-national) of cultural diversity affect these processes differently. We hypothesize that task complexity and structural aspects of the team, such as team size, team tenure, and team dispersion, moderate the effects of cultural diversity on teams. We test the hypotheses with a meta-analysis of 108 empirical studies on processes and performance in 10,632 teams. Results suggest that cultural diversity leads to process losses through task conflict and decreased social integration, but to process gains through increased creativity and satisfaction. The effects are almost identical for both levels and types of cultural diversity. Moderator analyses reveal that the effects of cultural diversity vary, depending on contextual influences, as well as on research design and sample characteristics. We propose an agenda for future research, and identify implications for managers.
This study examines the relationships among team conflict, conflict management, cohesion, and tea... more This study examines the relationships among team conflict, conflict management, cohesion, and team effectiveness. Data are collected longitudinally from 53 teams, and the results indicate that conflict management has a direct, positive effect on team cohesion and moderates the relationship between relationship conflict and team cohesion as well as that between task conflict and team cohesion. These results suggest that a high level of conflict management not only has a direct impact on team cohesion but also alters the negative and positive effects of relationship conflict and task conflict, respectively, on team cohesion. We also found team cohesion to be positively related to perceived performance, satisfaction with the team, and team viability. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 2009
Purpose The purpose of this paper is four-fold: to highlight the emerging stream of team intera... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is four-fold: to highlight the emerging stream of team interaction in research; to present a methodology to measure and map out team interaction; to compare team interaction between US and Spanish MBA teams so as to identify any differences ...
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 2004
Page 1. The global business environment demands high professional expertise and understand-ing of... more Page 1. The global business environment demands high professional expertise and understand-ing of cultural diversity. Organizational researchers who recognize the diverse nature of the workforce have increasingly focused ...
How are concepts such as lateral hierarchy actually practised? There is growing awareness of the ... more How are concepts such as lateral hierarchy actually practised? There is growing awareness of the need within multinational organizations for cross-cultural and cross-functional teamwork yet very little is known of how this takes place nor how we develop the global manager. This article examines the decision-making processes within a horizontal collaboration and the role of the global manager in making these work. It also argues for a greater degree of research into the likely consequences of the movement towards cross-cultural collaboration.
Leadership is at a crossroads in the comparative culture area. A recent movement called GLOBE fat... more Leadership is at a crossroads in the comparative culture area. A recent movement called GLOBE fathered by Robert House, my older colleague, invites researchers to move in a radically new positivistic but misguided direction (Gupta & House 2004; House, et al. 2004; Javidan, et ...
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