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The Effects of Cultural Diversity in Virtual Teams Versus Face-to-Face Teams

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  • D. Sandy Staples

    (Queen's University)

  • Lina Zhao

    (Queen's University)

Abstract

Diversity in the national background and culture of team members is common in virtual teams. An experimental study, with short term teams, was undertaken to examine the effect of cultural diversity on team effectiveness and to examine if this effect changes depending if the team worked face-to-face (F2F) or virtually. Heterogeneous teams were created that had greater diversity than homogeneous teams of individualism/collectivism values, different languages spoken, country of birth, and nationality. The teams worked on a desert survival task either F2F or virtually (via audioconference and electronic chat tools). The overall results indicated that heterogeneous teams were less satisfied and cohesive and had more conflict than the homogeneous teams, although there were no statistical differences in team performance levels. However, examining just the heterogeneous teams found that the performance of the virtual heterogeneous teams was superior to that of the F2F heterogeneous teams. The results support Carte and Chidambaram's (2004) theory that the reductive capabilities of collaborative technologies are beneficial for newly-formed diverse teams.

Suggested Citation

  • D. Sandy Staples & Lina Zhao, 2006. "The Effects of Cultural Diversity in Virtual Teams Versus Face-to-Face Teams," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 389-406, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:grdene:v:15:y:2006:i:4:d:10.1007_s10726-006-9042-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10726-006-9042-x
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    4. W. Quin Yow & Tony Zhao Ming Lim, 2019. "Sharing the same languages helps us work better together," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, December.
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    6. Ingmar Geiger, 2020. "From Letter to Twitter: A Systematic Review of Communication Media in Negotiation," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 207-250, April.
    7. Lionel P. Robert Jr & Alan R. Dennis & Manju K. Ahuja, 2018. "Differences are Different: Examining the Effects of Communication Media on the Impacts of Racial and Gender Diversity in Decision-Making Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 525-545, September.
    8. Shafia, Mohammad Ali & Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2009. "Innovation Process is Facilitated in Virtual Environment of R&D Teams," MPRA Paper 27264, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 May 2009.
    9. Boyer O’Leary, Michael & Wilson, Jeanne M. & Metiu, Anca, 2011. "Beyond Being There: The Symbolic Role of Communication and Identification in the Emergence of Perceived Proximity in Geographically Dispersed Work," ESSEC Working Papers WP1112, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    10. Gresse, Christopher & Slowak, André P., 2008. "New Knowledge in Global Innovation Teams," MPRA Paper 20092, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Clampit, Jack & Kedia, Ben & Fabian, Frances & Gaffney, Nolan, 2015. "Offshoring satisfaction: The role of partnership credibility and cultural complementarity," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 79-93.
    12. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2009. "Innovation and R&D Activities in Virtual Team," MPRA Paper 27033, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Jul 0209.
    13. Bruce A. Reinig & Ira Horowitz & G. E. Whittenburg, 2011. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Satisfaction with Group Work," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 215-237, March.
    14. Sherae Daniel & Ritu Agarwal & Katherine J. Stewart, 2013. "The Effects of Diversity in Global, Distributed Collectives: A Study of Open Source Project Success," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 312-333, June.
    15. Jolanta Maj & Aneta Hamza-Orlinska, 2024. "Exploring Inclusion in the Remote Startup Landscape: A Case Study Analysis," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2024(4), pages 1-19.
    16. Fasanmi, Samuel Sunday & Ogunyemi, A.O., 2018. "Relationship between Social Networking Platforms and Performance of Virtual Teams in Nigeria Telecomunnication Industry," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, March.
    17. Blanes I Vidal, Jordi, 2020. "Face-to-face communication in organizations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 106580, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2009. "Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review," Post-Print hal-00593358, HAL.
    19. Giambatista, Robert C. & Bhappu, Anita D., 2010. "Diversity's harvest: Interactions of diversity sources and communication technology on creative group performance," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 116-126, March.
    20. Richter, Nicole Franziska & Martin, Jonathan & Hansen, Sofie V. & Taras, Vasyl & Alon, Ilan, 2021. "Motivational configurations of cultural intelligence, social integration, and performance in global virtual teams," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 351-367.
    21. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2008. "Virtuality, Innovation and R&D Activities," MPRA Paper 27267, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Apr 2009.
    22. Lin Chien Chiang, 2016. "Utilizing Virtual Team: Lessons Learned from MMORPGs Players," Journal of Business Administration Research, Journal of Business Administration Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(1), pages 42-53, April.
    23. Xiaowen Guan & Hye Eun Lee, 2022. "Does Culture Really Matter? A Comparison Between Victims’ Cognitive and Communicative Responses to Cultural In-Group Versus Out-Group Perpetrators in Social Predicaments," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.

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