Does National Diversity Impact Conflict in Global Virtual Teams? The Role of Language Factors
Main Article Content
Keywords
GVTs, National diversity, Conflict, English skills, Openness to linguistic diversity
Abstract
This study looks at the impact of national diversity on task and relationship conflict in the context of global virtual teams (GVTs). We investigate the interaction effects of both English skills and openness to linguistic diversity on these relationships. We administered a questionnaire to 283 GVTs working on a collaborative experiential learning project to develop an international business plan. Our results show that, for teams exhibiting high levels of openness to linguistic diversity and high levels of English skills, increased levels of national diversity on the team are associated with lower levels of task and relationship conflict. The relationship is reversed, however, in teams where openness to linguistic diversity and team English skills are low. These findings shed light on the relationship between national diversity and conflict by suggesting that both English skills and team attitudes toward language diversity are important in reducing conflict. Moreover, openness to linguistic diversity may be more important in reducing conflict than the level of team members’ language proficiency.
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References
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Ayub, N., & Jehn, K. A. (2011). The moderating influence of nationalism on the relationship between national diversity and conflict. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 3, 249–275. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1087359
Barner-Rasmussen, W., & Aarnio, C. (2011). Shifting the faultlines of language: a quantitative functional-level exploration of language use in MNC subsidiaries. Journal of World Business, 46, 288–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.006
Daim, T. U., Ha, A., Reutiman, S., Hughes, B., Pathak, U., Bynum, W., & Bhatla, A. (2012). Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams. International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1016,/j.ijproman.2011.06.004
Dechurch, L. & Marks, M. A. (2001). Maximizing the benefits of task conflict: the role of conflict management. International Journal of Conflict Management, 12, 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022847
Erez, M., Lisak, A., Harush, R., Glikson, E., Nouri, R., & Shokef, E. (2013). Going Global: Developing Management Students’ Cultural Intelligence and Global Identity in Culturally Diverse Virtual Teams, Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 330–355. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amle.2012.0200
Fleischmann, C., Folter, L., & Aritz, J. (2020). The impact of perceived foreign language proficiency on hybrid team culture. International Journal of Business Communication, 57, 497–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488417710440
Giles, H., & Byrne, J. L. (1982). An intergroup approach to second language acquisition. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 3, 17–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.1982.9994069
Glikson, E., & Erez, M. (2020). The emergence of a communication climate in global virtual teams. Journal of World Business, 55(6): 101001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2019.101001
Gonzalez-Perez, M. A., Velez-Calle, A., Cathro, V., Caprar, D. V., & Taras, V. (2014). Virtual teams and international business teaching and learning: the case of the global enterprise experience (GEE). Journal of Teaching in International Business, 25, 200–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/08975930.2014.925738
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford publications.
Homan, A. C., van Knippenberg, D., Van Kleef, G. A., & De Dreu, C. K. W. (2007). Bridging faultlines by valuing diversity: diversity beliefs, information elaboration, and performance in diverse work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1189–1199. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.5.1189
Jehn, K. (1995). A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(2), 256-282. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393638
Jimenez, A., Boehe, D. M., Taras, V., & Caprar, D. V. (2017). Working across boundaries: current and future perspectives on global virtual teams. Journal of International Management, 23, 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2017.05.001
Kankanhalli, A., Tan, B., & Wei, K. (2006). Conflict and performance in global virtual teams. Journal of Management Information Systems, 23, 237–273. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222230309
Karhunen, P., Kankaanranta, A., Louhiala-Salminen, L., & Piekkari, R. (2018). Let’s Talk about Language: A Review of Language-Sensitive Research in International Management. Journal of Management Studies, 55(6), 980–1013. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12354
Klitmøller, A., & Lauring, J. (2013). When global virtual teams share knowledge: Media richness, cultural difference and language commonality. Journal of World Business, 48(3), 398–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.07.023
Lauring, J., & Selmer, J. (2012). International language management and diversity climate in multicultural organizations. International Business Review, 21, 156–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2011.01.003
McMonagle, S. (2010). Deliberating the Irish language in Northern Ireland: from conflict to multiculturalism. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(3), 253–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2010.481766
Milliken, F. J. & Martins, L. L. (1996). Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21(2), 402–433. http://www.jstor.org/stable/258667
Minbaeva, D., Fitzsimmons, S., & Brewster, C. (2021). Beyond the double-edged sword of cultural diversity in teams: Progress, critique, and next steps. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00390-2
Neeley, T. B. (2013). Language matters: Status loss and achieved status distinctions in global organizations. Organization Science, 24(2), 476–497. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0739
Presbitero, A. (2020). Foreign language skill, anxiety, cultural intelligence and individual task performance in global virtual teams: A cognitive perspective. Journal of International Management, 26: 100729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2019.100729
Richter, N. F., Schubring, S., Hauff, S., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2020). When predictors of outcomes are necessary: Guidelines for the combined use of PLS-SEM and NCA. Industrial management & data systems, 120(12), 2243–2267. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-11-2019-0638
Rowell, D. (2016). GVTs — Necessary evil or strategic tool? Chief Learning Officer, 19 October. https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2016/10/19/gvts-necessary-evil-strategic-tool/
Scott, C., & Wildman, J. (2015). Culture, communication, and conflict: a review of the global virtual team literature. In: Wildman, J., & Griffith, R. L. (eds), Leading global teams: translating multidisciplinary science to practice. Springer, NY, 13–28. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/978-1-4939-2050-1_2
Shachaf, P. (2008). Cultural diversity and information and communication technology impacts on global virtual teams: an exploratory study. Information & Management, 45, 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2007.12.003
Shrivastava, S., & Gregory, J. (2009). Exploring the antecedents of perceived diversity. Journal of Management & Organisation, 15, 526–542. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.15.4.526
Simons, T. L., & Peterson, R. (2000). Task conflict and relationship conflict in top management teams: the pivotal role of intragroup trust. Journal of Applied Psychology 85(1): 102. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.102
Stahl, G. K., Maznevski, M. L., Voigt, A., & Jonsen, K. (2010). Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: a meta-analysis of research on multicultural work groups. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 690–709. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2009.85
Stahl, G. K. & Maznevski, M. L (2021). Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: A retrospective of research on multicultural work groups and an agenda for future research, Journal of International Business Studies, 52, 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00389-9
Tenzer, H., Terjesen, S., & Harzing, A. (2017). Language in international business: a review and agenda for future research. Management International Review, 57, 815–854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-017-0319-x
Tsui, A. Egan, T. & O’Reilly, C. (1992). Being different: Relational demography and organizational attachment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(4), 549–579. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393472.
Van Knippenberg, D., & Van Ginkel, W. P. (2010). The Categorization-Elaboration Model of Work Group Diversity: Wielding the Double-Edged Sword. The Psychology of Social and Cultural Diversity, 255–280. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444325447.ch11
Van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W. P., & Homan, A. C. (2013). Organizational behavior and human decision processes diversity mindsets and the performance of diverse teams. Organisational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 121, 183–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.03.003
Wakefield, R. L., Leidner, D. E., & Garrison, G. (2008). A model of conflict, leadership, and performance in virtual teams. Information Systems Research, 19, 434–455. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1070.0149
Ayub, N., & Jehn, K. A. (2011). The moderating influence of nationalism on the relationship between national diversity and conflict. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 3, 249–275. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1087359
Barner-Rasmussen, W., & Aarnio, C. (2011). Shifting the faultlines of language: a quantitative functional-level exploration of language use in MNC subsidiaries. Journal of World Business, 46, 288–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.006
Daim, T. U., Ha, A., Reutiman, S., Hughes, B., Pathak, U., Bynum, W., & Bhatla, A. (2012). Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams. International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1016,/j.ijproman.2011.06.004
Dechurch, L. & Marks, M. A. (2001). Maximizing the benefits of task conflict: the role of conflict management. International Journal of Conflict Management, 12, 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022847
Erez, M., Lisak, A., Harush, R., Glikson, E., Nouri, R., & Shokef, E. (2013). Going Global: Developing Management Students’ Cultural Intelligence and Global Identity in Culturally Diverse Virtual Teams, Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 330–355. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amle.2012.0200
Fleischmann, C., Folter, L., & Aritz, J. (2020). The impact of perceived foreign language proficiency on hybrid team culture. International Journal of Business Communication, 57, 497–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488417710440
Giles, H., & Byrne, J. L. (1982). An intergroup approach to second language acquisition. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 3, 17–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.1982.9994069
Glikson, E., & Erez, M. (2020). The emergence of a communication climate in global virtual teams. Journal of World Business, 55(6): 101001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2019.101001
Gonzalez-Perez, M. A., Velez-Calle, A., Cathro, V., Caprar, D. V., & Taras, V. (2014). Virtual teams and international business teaching and learning: the case of the global enterprise experience (GEE). Journal of Teaching in International Business, 25, 200–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/08975930.2014.925738
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford publications.
Homan, A. C., van Knippenberg, D., Van Kleef, G. A., & De Dreu, C. K. W. (2007). Bridging faultlines by valuing diversity: diversity beliefs, information elaboration, and performance in diverse work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1189–1199. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.5.1189
Jehn, K. (1995). A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(2), 256-282. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393638
Jimenez, A., Boehe, D. M., Taras, V., & Caprar, D. V. (2017). Working across boundaries: current and future perspectives on global virtual teams. Journal of International Management, 23, 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2017.05.001
Kankanhalli, A., Tan, B., & Wei, K. (2006). Conflict and performance in global virtual teams. Journal of Management Information Systems, 23, 237–273. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222230309
Karhunen, P., Kankaanranta, A., Louhiala-Salminen, L., & Piekkari, R. (2018). Let’s Talk about Language: A Review of Language-Sensitive Research in International Management. Journal of Management Studies, 55(6), 980–1013. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12354
Klitmøller, A., & Lauring, J. (2013). When global virtual teams share knowledge: Media richness, cultural difference and language commonality. Journal of World Business, 48(3), 398–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.07.023
Lauring, J., & Selmer, J. (2012). International language management and diversity climate in multicultural organizations. International Business Review, 21, 156–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2011.01.003
McMonagle, S. (2010). Deliberating the Irish language in Northern Ireland: from conflict to multiculturalism. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(3), 253–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2010.481766
Milliken, F. J. & Martins, L. L. (1996). Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21(2), 402–433. http://www.jstor.org/stable/258667
Minbaeva, D., Fitzsimmons, S., & Brewster, C. (2021). Beyond the double-edged sword of cultural diversity in teams: Progress, critique, and next steps. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00390-2
Neeley, T. B. (2013). Language matters: Status loss and achieved status distinctions in global organizations. Organization Science, 24(2), 476–497. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0739
Presbitero, A. (2020). Foreign language skill, anxiety, cultural intelligence and individual task performance in global virtual teams: A cognitive perspective. Journal of International Management, 26: 100729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2019.100729
Richter, N. F., Schubring, S., Hauff, S., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2020). When predictors of outcomes are necessary: Guidelines for the combined use of PLS-SEM and NCA. Industrial management & data systems, 120(12), 2243–2267. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-11-2019-0638
Rowell, D. (2016). GVTs — Necessary evil or strategic tool? Chief Learning Officer, 19 October. https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2016/10/19/gvts-necessary-evil-strategic-tool/
Scott, C., & Wildman, J. (2015). Culture, communication, and conflict: a review of the global virtual team literature. In: Wildman, J., & Griffith, R. L. (eds), Leading global teams: translating multidisciplinary science to practice. Springer, NY, 13–28. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/978-1-4939-2050-1_2
Shachaf, P. (2008). Cultural diversity and information and communication technology impacts on global virtual teams: an exploratory study. Information & Management, 45, 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2007.12.003
Shrivastava, S., & Gregory, J. (2009). Exploring the antecedents of perceived diversity. Journal of Management & Organisation, 15, 526–542. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.15.4.526
Simons, T. L., & Peterson, R. (2000). Task conflict and relationship conflict in top management teams: the pivotal role of intragroup trust. Journal of Applied Psychology 85(1): 102. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.102
Stahl, G. K., Maznevski, M. L., Voigt, A., & Jonsen, K. (2010). Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: a meta-analysis of research on multicultural work groups. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 690–709. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2009.85
Stahl, G. K. & Maznevski, M. L (2021). Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: A retrospective of research on multicultural work groups and an agenda for future research, Journal of International Business Studies, 52, 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00389-9
Tenzer, H., Terjesen, S., & Harzing, A. (2017). Language in international business: a review and agenda for future research. Management International Review, 57, 815–854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-017-0319-x
Tsui, A. Egan, T. & O’Reilly, C. (1992). Being different: Relational demography and organizational attachment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(4), 549–579. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393472.
Van Knippenberg, D., & Van Ginkel, W. P. (2010). The Categorization-Elaboration Model of Work Group Diversity: Wielding the Double-Edged Sword. The Psychology of Social and Cultural Diversity, 255–280. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444325447.ch11
Van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W. P., & Homan, A. C. (2013). Organizational behavior and human decision processes diversity mindsets and the performance of diverse teams. Organisational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 121, 183–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.03.003
Wakefield, R. L., Leidner, D. E., & Garrison, G. (2008). A model of conflict, leadership, and performance in virtual teams. Information Systems Research, 19, 434–455. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1070.0149
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Published
Jun 10, 2022
Article Details
How to Cite
Soares, A. M., Stephens, R., & Dong, L. (2022). Does National Diversity Impact Conflict in Global Virtual Teams? The Role of Language Factors. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 10(2), 26–43. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v10n2.496
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Special Issue: Digital Technologies and Innovation
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