How Cultural Differences Can Impact Global Teams

This HBR article offers some interesting perspectives on cultural differences. According to the article, over the last 24 years, 95% of the 1100 studies published in the Journal of International Business Studies focused on the negative effects of team member differences. However, this article focuses on the benefits that cultural differences can bring to teams. 

 

The research team observed the behaviors and interactions of over 5000 people in 800+ international teams who collaborated on business consulting projects for several months using only digital communication tools. They primarily tracked the personal and contextual diversity of those teams. Personal characteristics such as age, gender, language, skills, and values were all considered. Contextual diversity represented team members' residences, economic development, educational backgrounds, political systems in their respective countries, and so on. Measurable outputs include the economic viability and originality of their business plans and product designs. Another output is the team climate, which includes cohesion, satisfaction with team members, enjoyment of the process, and interest in working on additional projects with the same team. 

 

The findings revealed that personal diversity has a negative impact on teams, whereas contextual diversity has a positive impact on performance. Team members are less likely to communicate and collaborate with people of different ages, languages, or socioeconomic backgrounds. Members from different countries with different institutions, economic, and political systems, on the other hand, bring more diverse knowledge and experiences. This is why contextual diversity can be advantageous to teams. This research finding is especially useful for team leaders. When a project focuses primarily on routine tasks, the manager should consider forming a team with a low level of personal diversity. To maximize efficiency, members should be of similar age, language, and skill levels. Finally, two strategies for maximizing the benefits of team diversity are proposed. The first step is to reduce the negative impact of personal diversity through trainings or policies that encourage friendly interaction. Second, increasing contextual diversity through free exchange of ideas, brainstorming and friendly discussions, constructive criticism and disagreement.

Source:       Taras, V., Baack, D., Caprar, D., Jiménez, A., & Froese, F. (2021, September 17). Research: How Cultural Differences Can Impact Global Teams. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2021/06/research-how-cultural-differences-can-impact-global-teams