The influence of team cultural value orientations on norms of conduct in hybrid teams: Implications for team cohesion and performance

Abstract

We advance team composition research by adopting a team-norms perspective to examine the effects of team members’ cultural value orientations—collectivism and uncertainty avoidance orientation—on team functioning and performance in hybrid teams (i.e., teams combining face-to-face and mediated communication). Using data collected at three points in time from a sample of self-managing project teams, results support our proposed theoretical model. Team members’ mean level of collectivism and uncertainty avoidance both positively relate to norms of conduct in a team. In addition, team norms indirectly influence team performance through cohesion when team virtuality and team task knowledge are both high, with team virtuality moderating the team norms–cohesion relationship, and team task knowledge moderating the team cohesion–performance relationship. Our findings suggest that characteristics of contemporary teams—team cultural value orientation and team virtuality—have important implications for how norms for acceptable conduct develop and their consequences for team performance.