Finding the right mix: How the composition of self-managing multicultural teams' cultural value orientation influences performance over time

• Main Authors: CHENG, Chi-Ying, CHUA, Roy Y. J., MORRIS, Michael W., LEE, Leonard
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2012
• Subjects: self-managing team; multicultural team; cultural value; uncertainty avoidance; relationship orientation; team performance; Business; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/3926; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/4925/viewcontent/Finding_the_right_mix.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This research investigates a new type of team that is becoming prevalent in global work settings, namely self-managing multicultural teams. We argue that challenges that arise from cultural diversity in teams are exacerbated when teams are leaderless, undermining performance. A longitudinal study of multicultural master of business administration study teams found that in the early stage of team formation, teams with a low average level of, but moderate degree of variance in, uncertainty avoidance performed best. Four months post formation, however, teams with a high average level of relationship orientation performed better than teams with a low average level of relationship orientation. Furthermore, a moderate degree of variance in relationship orientation among team members produced better team performance than a low or high degree of variance. These findings suggest that different cultural value orientations exert different patterns of effects on the performance of self-managing multicultural teams, depending on the stage of team formation. We discuss implications for the composition of self-managing multicultural teams and its influence on team processes and performance.