Guided by the Categorization-Elaboration Model, we developed and tested a model to reconcile the conflicting results of cultural diversity’s influence on team performance. Previous theory and studies have inconsistent arguments and evidence regarding cultural diversity’s effects on team performance. We recognize that member cultural diversity is one possible influence on the variety and meanings of messages generated within groups, and the messages’ meanings may then affect performance. Work-related information sharing, including information sharing openness and uniqueness, is proposed as an underlying mechanism that translates the effect of cultural diversity to project team performance. Additionally, team cultural intelligence may moderate the relationship between cultural diversity and the information sharing processes. Participants constituted three types of teams: all American (N = 32 teams), all Chinese (N = 34 teams), and mixed (N = 38 teams), in which team members finished a business problem identification task collectively. Results showed that in culturally diverse teams, high levels of cultural intelligence amplified the positive relationship between cultural diversity and information sharing uniqueness, which in turn led to higher team performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
AdairW. L.HidegI.SpenceJ. R. (2013). The culturally intelligent team: The impact of team cultural intelligence and cultural heterogeneity on team shared values. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(6), 941–962. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022113492894
2.
AguinisH.PierceC. A.CulpepperS. A. (2009). Scale coarseness as a methodological artifact. Organizational Research Methods, 12(4), 623–652. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428108318065
3.
AngS.Van DyneL. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement, and applications. Sharpe.
4.
AngS.Van DyneL.KohC.NgK. Y.TemplerK. J.TayC.ChandrasekarN. A. (2007). Cultural intelligence: Its measurement and effects on cultural judgment and decision making, cultural adaptation and task performance. Management and Organization Review, 3(3), 335–371. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8784.2007.00082.x
5.
ArasaratnamL. A. (2015). Research in intercultural communication: Reviewing the past decade. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 8(4), 290–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2015.1087096
6.
AritzJ.WalkerR. C. (2014). Leadership styles in multicultural groups: Americans and East Asians working together. Journal of Business Communication, 51(1), 72–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488413516211
7.
AzevedoA.ShaneM. J. (2019). A new training program in developing cultural intelligence can also improve innovative work behavior and resilience: A longitudinal pilot study of graduate students and professional employees. The International Journal of Educational Management, 17(3), 100303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2019.05.004
8.
BartelsJ.PruynA.de JongM.JoustraI. (2007). Multiple organizational identification levels and the impact of perceived external prestige and communication climate. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(2), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.420
9.
BellS. T.VilladoA. J.LukasikM. A.BelauL.BriggsA. L. (2011). Getting specific about demographic diversity variable and team performance relationships: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 37(3), 709–743. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310365001
10.
BezrukovaK.JehnK. A.ZanuttoE. L.ThatcherS. M. B. (2009). Do workgroup faultlines help or hurt? A moderated model of faultlines, team identification, and group performance. Organization Science, 20(1), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1080.0379
11.
BlieseP. D. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. In KleinK. J.KozlowskiS. W. J. (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions (pp. 349–381). Jossey-Bass.
12.
BogilovićS.ČerneM.ŠkerlavajM. (2017). Hiding behind a mask? Cultural intelligence, knowledge hiding, and individual and team creativity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(5), 710–723. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432x.2017.1337747
13.
BonitoJ. A.RuppelE. K. (2011). An application of the socioegocentric model to information-sharing discussions: In search of group-level communication influences. Communication Research, 38(3), 356–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650210377195
14.
BoyrazM. (2019). Faultlines as the “earth’s crust”: The role of team identification, communication climate, and subjective perceptions of subgroups for global team satisfaction and innovation. Management Communication Quarterly, 33(4), 581–615. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318919860799
15.
CastañoN.WattsT.TekleabA. G. (2013). A reexamination of the cohesion–performance relationship meta-analyses: A comprehensive approach. Group Dynamics Theory Research and Practice, 17(4), 207–231. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034142
16.
ChanD. (1998). Functional relations among constructs in the same content domain at different levels of analysis: A typology of composition models. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(2), 234–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.83.2.234
17.
ChaoG. T.MoonH. (2005). The cultural mosaic: A metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1128–1140. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1128
18.
ChenM. L.LinC. P. (2013). Assessing the effects of cultural intelligence on team knowledge sharing from a socio-cognitive perspective. Human Resource Management, 52(5), 675–695. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21558
19.
ChenX. P.LiuD.PortnoyR. (2012). A multilevel investigation of motivational cultural intelligence, organizational diversity climate, and cultural sales: Evidence from U.S. real estate firms. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024697
20.
ChoiI.NisbettR. E. (1998). Situational salience and cultural differences in the correspondence bias and actor-observer bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(9), 949–960. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167298249003
21.
ChuaR. Y. J. (2013). The costs of ambient cultural disharmony: Indirect intercultural conflicts in social environment undermine creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 56(6), 1545–1577. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0971
22.
ChuaR. Y. J.MorrisM. W.MorS. (2012). Collaborating across cultures: Cultural metacognition and affect-based trust in creative collaboration. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 118(2), 116–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.03.009
23.
CoxT. (1994). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, research and practice. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
24.
CroninM. A.WeingartL. R. (2007). Representational gaps, information processing, and conflict in functionally diverse teams. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 761–773. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.25275511
25.
CrottyS. K.BrettJ. M. (2012). Fusing creativity: Cultural metacognition and teamwork in multicultural teams. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 5(2), 210–234. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-4716.2012.00097.x
26.
DevineD. J. (1999). Effects of cognitive ability, task knowledge, information sharing, and conflict on group decision-making effectiveness. Small Group Research, 30(5), 608–634. https://doi.org/10.1177/104649649903000506
27.
de WitF. R.GreerL. L.JehnK. A. (2012). The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(2), 360–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024844
28.
DozY.SantosJ.WilliamsonP. (2004). Is your innovation process global. MIT Sloan Management Review, 45(4), 31–37.
29.
DozierJ. B.MiceliM. P. (1985). Potential predictors of whistle-blowing: A prosocial behavior perspective. Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 823–836. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1985.4279105
30.
DyerN. G.HangesP. J.HallR. J. (2005). Applying multilevel confirmatory factor analysis techniques to the study of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(1), 149–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.09.009
31.
EarleyP. C.GibsonC. B. (2002). Multinational work teams: A new perspective. Routledge.
32.
EllemersN.SleebosE.StamD.de GilderD. (2013). Feeling included and valued: How perceived respect affects positive team identity and willingness to invest in the team. British Journal of Management, 24(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2011.00784.x
33.
ErhardtN.GibbsJ.Martin-RiosC.SherblomJ. (2016). Exploring affordances of email for team learning over time. Small Group Research, 47(3), 243–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496416635823
34.
FiedlerS.HellmannD. M.DorroughA. R.GlöcknerA. (2018). Cross-national in-group favoritism in prosocial behavior: Evidence from Latin and North America. Judgment & Decision Making, 13(1), 42–60. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00476
35.
FischerR.DerhamC. (2016). Is in-group bias culture-dependent? A meta-analysis across 18 societies. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 70–79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-015-1663-6
36.
FiskeS. T.NeubergS. L. (1990). A continuum of impression formation, from category-based to individuating processes: Influences of information and motivation on attention and interpretation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 23, 1–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60317-2
37.
FlahertyJ. E. (2015). The effects of cultural intelligence on team member acceptance and integration in multinational teams. In AngS.Van DyneL. (Eds.), Handbook of cultural intelligence (pp. 192–205). ME Sharpe.
GibbsJ. (2009). Dialectics in a global software team: Negotiating tensions across time, space, and culture. Human Relations, 62(6), 905–935. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726709104547
40.
GibsonC. B.GibbsJ. L. (2006). Unpacking the concept of virtuality: The effects of geographic dispersion, electronic dependence, dynamic structure, and national diversity on team innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 51(3), 451–495. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.51.3.451
41.
GlickW. H. (1985). Conceptualizing and measuring organizational and psychological climate: Pitfalls in multilevel research. Academy of Management Review, 10(3), 601–616. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1985.4279045
42.
GriceT. A.GalloisC.JonesE.PaulsenN.CallanV. J. (2006). “We do it, but they don’t”: Multiple categorizations and work team communication. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 34(4), 331–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909880600908591
43.
GrossmannI.JowhariN. (2018). Cognition and the self: Attempt of an independent close replication of the effects of self-construal priming on spatial memory recall. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 74, 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.08.005
44.
HarrisonD. A.PriceK. H.GavinJ. H.FloreyA. T. (2002). Time, teams, and task performance: Changing effects of surface- and deep-level diversity on group functioning. Academy of Management Journal, 45(5), 1029–1045. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069328
45.
HinszV. B.TindaleR. S.VollrathD. A. (1997). The emerging conceptualization of groups as information processes. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1), 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.121.1.43
46.
HoC. L. L.WhittleC.EavesM. H. (2020). Mixed methods research – nonverbal observations of cultural convergence in online and offline contexts: Testing Hall’s low- vs. high-context framework. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 49(4), 301–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2020.1773902
47.
HorwitzS. K.SantillanC. (2012). Knowledge sharing in global virtual team collaboration: Applications of CE and thinkLets. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 10(4), 342–353. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2012.39
48.
HuJ.ErdoganB.JiangK.BauerT. N.LiuS. (2018). Leader humility and team creativity: The role of team information sharing, psychological safety, and power distance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(3), 313–323. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000277
49.
ImaiL.GelfandM. J. (2010). The culturally intelligent negotiator: The impact of cultural intelligence (CQ) on negotiation sequences and outcomes. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 112(2), 83–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.02.001
50.
Jafari NavimipourN.CharbandY. (2016). Knowledge sharing mechanisms and techniques in project teams: Literature review, classification, and current trends. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 730–742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.003
51.
JoshiA.RohH. (2009). The role of context in work team diversity research: A meta-analytic review. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 599–627. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.41331491
52.
JoyceJ. L. (2003). Farm E-Z: A multiple role play, problem-solving activity. In GordonJ. (Ed.), Pfeiffer’s classic activities for building better teams (pp. 125–166). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
53.
KastanakisM. N.VoyerB. G. (2014). The effect of culture on perception and cognition: A conceptual framework. Journal of Business Research, 67(4), 425–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.03.028
54.
KleinK. J.KozlowskiS. W. (2000). Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions. Jossey-Bass.
55.
KozlowskiS. W. J.BellB. S. (2012). Work groups and teams in organizations. In SchmittN.HighhouseS. (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychology: industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 412–469). Wiley.
56.
LauringJ.SelmerJ. (2011). Multicultural organizations: common language, knowledge sharing and performance. Personnel Review, 40(3), 324–343. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483481111118649
57.
LeBretonJ. M.SenterJ. L. (2008). Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods, 11(4), 815–852. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428106296642
58.
LevineT. R.ParkH. S.KimR. K. (2007). Some conceptual and theoretical challenges for cross-cultural communication research in the 21st century. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 36(3), 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475750701737140
59.
LiuM. (2009). The intrapersonal and interpersonal effects of anger on negotiation strategies: A cross-cultural investigation. Human Communication Research, 35(1), 148–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2008.01342.x
60.
MarkusH. R.LinL. R. (1999). Conflictways: Cultural diversity in the meanings and practices of conflict. In PrenticeD. A.MillerD. T. (Eds.), Cultural divides: Understanding and overcoming group conflict (pp. 302–333). Russell SAGE Foundation.
61.
MarquardtM. J.HorvathL. (2001). Global teams: How top multinationals span boundaries and cultures with high-speed teamwork. Davies-Black.
62.
McLeodP. L.YuanY. C. (2021). Diversity and team communication: A critical review and call for broadened representation. In BeckS. J.KeytonJ.PooleM. S. (Eds.), The Emerald handbook of group and team communication research (pp. 391–405). Emerald Publishing Limited.
63.
MengJ.FulkJ.YuanY. C. (2015). The roles and interplay of intragroup conflict and team emotion management on information seeking behaviors in team contexts. Communication Research, 42(5), 675–700. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650213476294
64.
Mesmer-MagnusJ. R.DeChurchL. A. (2009). Information sharing and team performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 535–546. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013773
65.
MeyerB.ShemlaM.SchermulyC. C. (2011). Social category salience moderates the effect of diversity faultlines on information elaboration. Small Group Research, 42(3), 257–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496411398396
66.
MontoyaR. M.PittinskyT. L. (2011). When increased group identification leads to outgroup liking and cooperation: The role of trust. The Journal of Social Psychology, 151(6), 784–806. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2010.538762
67.
MoonT. (2013). The effects of cultural intelligence on performance in multicultural teams. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(12), 2414–2425. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12189
Nederveen PieterseA.van KnippenbergD.van DierendonckD. (2013). Cultural diversity and team performance: The role of team member goal orientation. Academy of Management Journal, 56(3), 782–804. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0992
70.
NisbettR. E. (2003). The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently . . . and why. Free Press.
71.
NisbettR. E.PengK.ChoiI.NorenzayanA. (2001). Culture and systems of thought: Holistic versus analytic cognition. Psychological Review, 108(2), 291–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.108.2.291
72.
OetzelJ. G.Ting-ToomeyS. (2003). Face concerns in interpersonal conflict: A cross cultural empirical test of the face negotiation theory. Communication Research, 6(3), 599–624. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650203257841
73.
OttD. L.MichailovaS. (2018). Cultural intelligence: A review and new research avenues. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(1), 99–119. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12118
74.
PfeifferJ. W.JoneJ. E. (1974). 1974 annual handbook for group facilitators. Pfeiffer & Co.
75.
PhillipsK. W.MannixE. A.NealeM. A. H.GruenfeldD. (2004). Diverse groups and information sharing: The effects of congruent ties. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40(4), 497–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2003.10.003
PodsakoffP. M.OrganD. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531–544. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920638601200408
78.
RaverJ. L.Van DyneL. (2017). Developing Cultural Intelligence. In BrownK. G. (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of workplace training and employee development (pp. 407–440). Cambridge University Press.
79.
RinkF.EllemersN. (2006). What can you expect? The influence of gender diversity in dyads on work goal expectancies and subsequent work commitment. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 9(4), 577–588. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430206067560
80.
RockstuhlT.NgK. Y. (2015). The effects of cultural intelligence on interpersonal trust in multicultural teams. In AngS.Van DyneL. (Eds.), Handbook of cultural intelligence (pp. 206–220). Routledge.
81.
SavelsberghC. M. J.PoellR. F.van der HeijdenB. I. J. (2015). Does team stability mediate the relationship between leadership and team learning? An empirical study among Dutch project teams. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 406–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2014.08.008
82.
ShemlaM.MeyerB.GreerL.JehnK. A. (2016). A review of perceived diversity in teams: Does how members perceive their team’s composition affect team processes and outcomes?Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37, S89–S106. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1957
83.
ShoreL. M.RandelA. E.ChungB. G.DeanM. A.Holcombe EhrhartK.SinghG. (2011). Inclusion and diversity in work groups: A review and model for future research. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1262–1289. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310385943
84.
SmithP. B.FischerR.VignolesV. L.BondM. H. (2013). Understanding social psychology across cultures: Engaging with others in a changing world (2nd ed.). SAGE.
85.
SnijdersT. A.BoskerR. J. (2011). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Sage.
86.
SrikanthK.HarveyS.PetersonR. (2016). A dynamic perspective on diverse teams: Moving from the dual-process model to a dynamic coordination-based model of diverse team performance. The Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), 453–493. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2016.1120973
87.
StahlG. K.MaznevskiM. L.VoigtA.JonsenK. (2010). Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: A meta-analysis of research on multicultural work groups. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(4), 690–709. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2009.85
88.
StasserG.BirchmeierZ. (2003). Group creativity and collective choice. In PaulusP. B.NijstadB. A. (Eds.), Group creativity: Innovation through collaboration (pp. 85–109). Oxford University Press.
TrombettaJ. J.RogersD. P. (1988). Communication climate, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment: The effects of information adequacy, communication openness, and decision participation. Management Communication Quarterly, 1(4), 494–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318988001004003
92.
van DijkH.van EngenM. L.van KnippenbergD. (2012). Defying conventional wisdom: A meta-analytical examination of the differences between demographic and job-related diversity relationships with performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 119(1), 38–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.06.003
93.
van KnippenbergD.DawsonJ. F.WestM. A.HomanA. C. (2011). Diversity faultlines, shared objectives, and top management team performance. Human Relations, 64(3), 307–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726710378384
94.
van KnippenbergD.De DreuC. K. W.HomanA. C. (2004). Work group diversity and group performance: An integrative model and research agenda. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(6), 1008–1022. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.6.1008
van KnippenbergD.van GinkelW. P. (2010). The categorization-elaboration model of work group diversity: Wielding the double-edged sword. In CrispR. J. (Ed.), Social issues and interventions: The psychology of social and cultural diversity (pp. 257–280). Wiley-Blackwell.
97.
VargasJ. H.KemmelmeierM. (2013). Ethnicity and contemporary American culture: A meta-analytic investigation of horizontal–vertical individualism–collectivism. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(2), 195–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022112443733
98.
VignolesV. L.OweE.BeckerM.SmithP. B.EasterbrookN. J.GonzalezR.BondM. H. (2016). Beyond the ‘East-west’ dichotomy: Global variation in cultural models of selfhood. Journal of Experimental Psychology General, 145(8), 966–1000. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge000017
99.
WangH.XiaB.ChenZ. (2015). Cultural difference on team performance between Chinese and Americans in multiplayer online battle arena games [Conference session]. International Conference on Cross-Cultural Design. Crete, Greece.
100.
WardC.FischerR. (2008). Personality, cultural intelligence and cross-cultural adaptation. In AngS.Van DyneL. (Eds.), Handbook of cultural intelligence (pp. 159–173). ME Sharpe.
101.
WittenbaumG. M.HollingsheadA. B.BoteroI. C. (2004). From cooperative to motivated information sharing in groups: Moving beyond the hidden profile paradigm. Communication Monographs, 71(3), 286–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/0363452042000299894
102.
YuanY. C.BazarovaN. N.FulkJ.ZhangZ. X. (2013). Recognition of expertise and perceived influence in intercultural collaboration: A study of mixed American and Chinese groups. Journal of Communication, 63(3), 476–497. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12026
103.
Zellmer-BruhnM. E.MaloneyM. M.BhappuA. D.SalvadorR. (2008). When and how do differences matter? An exploration of perceived similarity in teams. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 107(1), 41–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.01.004
104.
ZhanM.HampleD. (2016). Predicting employee dissent expression in organizations: A cost and benefit approach. Management Communication Quarterly, 30(4), 441–471. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318916635752
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
