This paper investigates the perceptions of members of 43 culturally diverse global virtual teams, with respect to team processes and outcomes. Despite widespread acknowledgement of the challenges presented by cultural differences in the context of global teams, little is known about the effect of these differences on team dynamics in the absence of face-to-face interaction. Using a student-based sample, we study the relationship between global virtual team members' individualistic and collectivistic orientations and their evaluations of trust, interdependence, communication and information sharing, and conflict during the team task. Our results suggest that a collectivist orientation is associated with more favorable impressions regarding global virtual team processes and that cultural differences are not concealed by virtual means of communication.Multicultural teams face a myriad of challenges not faced by single-culture teams. Cultural differences within teams have the potential to pose barriers with respect to communication, relationship building, cooperation, and trust, influencing team members' views of the group and both their own and others' participation in it. Greater cultural diversity within the team is expected to result in more pronounced differences in attitudes and behaviors.Technological advances of the last decade have generated expanded use of virtual teams by a variety of organizations; however, there has been little research to date on multicultural virtual teams. Jarvenpaa and Leidner (1999) considered global virtual teams, defined as geographically and culturally diverse groups that are temporary, have minimal face-to-face contact, communicate through electronic media, and whose members work across temporal and spatial boundaries to coordinate their activities toward the attainment of common goals. In addition to the cultural barriers that are encountered in traditional global teams, global virtual teams face the challenges of working across time and space, without the ability to observe the behaviors of other team members during communication.Our premise is that team members' cultural attributes matter in the context of global virtual teams. The extant literature suggests that differences with respect to individualism and collectivism (I/C) are particularly important to attitudes toward teamwork; thus, our focus in this research is on this aspect of culture. While there is much evidence to suggest that collectivists are especially accepting of teamwork and willing to forego personal interests for the sake of group goals, it is not clear how a person's position on the I/C continuum is related to his or her attitudes toward global virtual teams. Are I/C distinctions as pronounced, and does the I/C dimension have as strong a relationship with teamwork, when teams are short-lived and operate without face-to-face interaction? The ad hoc nature of most global virtual teams means that team members have very limited time and opportunity to form interpersonal relationships and resolve in-group/out-...
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the dynamic process of knowledge creation of the international new venture (INV) through the interaction with network partners. The process of how INVs make use of external sources for the acquisition of international market knowledge is not well-understood. Design/methodology/approach – To uncover the dynamics of the knowledge creation process, the authors applied event-driven process research by following the internationalization process of four INVs in real time. More specifically, they adopted qualitative diary research combined with periodic follow-up interviews as the main data collection method. A visual mapping strategy was used for the analysis of the process data. Findings – The analysis shows that different pathways of knowledge acquisition through congenital learning, searching, vicarious learning and grafting interact with each other. Grafting and experiential learning alongside the partner lead to the acquisition of internationalization knowledge in particular. Knowledge sources for international market knowledge are proactively created by the entrepreneurs. The wider effectual stakeholder network constitutes an important source for international market knowledge. Research limitations/implications – The authors followed the early internationalization process of the case firm in real time over a 10-month period. This provides a limited window of observation. Future research might extend the observation period to examine further the evolutionary nature of the different learning types throughout the growth of the INV. The case firms operate in Internet-enabled businesses and are all located in the same country and city (i.e. Colombia and the city of Medellin). Future studies might focus on firms operating in different industries and geographical areas. Practical implications – Congenital technological knowledge is a prerequisite for internationalization. The entrepreneur, however, does not need to rely on congenital international market knowledge. Such knowledge can be developed through network partners. Foreign business and institutional knowledge can be obtained vicariously, also from professional advisors. Internationalization knowledge, however, needs to be developed in close interaction with an international cooperation partner, where a strong relationship commitment prevails. Originality/value – The authors use effectuation theory combined with process research methods to gain insights into the dynamics of knowledge creation within the INV. Thereby, they are able to shed light on the dynamics of the process that is difficult to capture through cross-sectional research designs. Research on the internationalization process of young ventures in the context of Latin America is scarce. Therefore, the paper contributes new knowledge about the development of these firms in that particular region.
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This purpose of this paper is to integrate corporate responsibility (CR) doctrine into corporate strategy by problematizing existing notions of traditional corporate social responsibility. We provide a theoretical and empirical basis for the proposition that the bridge between CR and corporate irresponsibility is the embeddedness of strategic decisions in ethically oriented corporate practices toward sustainable value co-creation. Design/methodology/approach -Analysis was performed by meta-theoretical and economic philosophical approaches. The contemporary trends which have led to the institutionalization of sustainability questions, are explained. Special attention is paid to the historical, cultural and the international institutional context within which organizational culture becomes saturated with deviance. Findings -The main thrust is that competitive advantage, legitimacy for survival and success of the international firm in the 21st century hinges on innovative value co-creation that meets sustainability pressures and institutional expectations. Research limitations/implications -The research approach opens itself to debate. No generalizability claims are made but the propositions and conceptual framework seek to direct the CR discourse to engage seriously with cooperative investments for sustainable value creation. Originality/value -This paper contributes to the debate on CR, global sustainability and the role of international firms in society. It offers clarity in the confusion and fills a theoretical gap through a novel conceptualization of strategic corporate responsibility. Here, consumer, environmental and institutional orientation rather than producer orientation form the basis of analysis on value co-creation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.