Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: A retrospective of research on multicultural work groups and an agenda for future research

Abstract

Our 2010 Journal of International Business Studies article, ''Unraveling the Effects of Cultural Diversity in Teams: A Meta-analysis of Research on Multicultural Work Groups,'' attempted to take stock of existing research on cultural diversity in teams, to reconcile conflicting perspectives and past results, and provide a better understanding of the mechanisms and boundary conditions under which diversity affects team outcomes. To guide our analysis, we developed a theoretical framework outlining how cultural diversity leads to both process gains and losses in teams, and specifying the contextual conditions under which diversity contributes to effective team outcomes. We tested our hypotheses in a meta-analysis of research on cultural diversity in teams, encompassing 108 primary studies with a combined sample size of 10,632 work groups. The results suggested that cultural diversity does not have a direct impact on team performance but rather that the effect is indirect, mediated by process variables such as creativity, cohesion, and conflict; and is moderated by contextual influences such as team tenure, the complexity of the task, and whether the team is co-located or geographically dispersed. Unexpected findings raised important questions about the dynamics of diverse teams and underscored the need for further examination. In this Retrospective, we reflect on progress made in research on culturally diverse teams over the last decade, highlight remaining gaps and open questions, and propose an agenda for future research.

Cultural Diversity in Top Management Teams – Review and Agenda for Future Research

“…To date, most literature on the topic has assumed, rather than inductively explored, the presence of specific processes in culturally diverse TMTs, and further assumed that these processes occur in silos. Yet, recent studies indicate that there is an interdependence of team processes in culturally diverse teams, and previous assumptions on what happens in the black box of these team processes might be oversimplified (Stahl & Maznevski, 2021). We thus encourage future studies to account for these potential interrelationships, viewing team processes as bundles rather than isolated phenomena-and, in doing so, attain a more complete understanding of the link between TMT cultural diversity and its outcomes.…”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Teams: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

“…While more diverse teams experienced less social integration, they also reported better communication and greater overall satisfaction with the process than homogeneous teams. Though the complexity of the task tended to increase conflict, even teams engaged in complex tasks and long-term relationships reported greater overall satisfaction than teams that were not diverse (Stahl et al, 2010;Stahl & Maznevski, 2021). Although their research predominantly considered the impact of diverse research teams, measured outcomes like satisfaction with the research process or better communication are proxies for inclusion-in-action.…”

“…Despite the documented advantages to diversity in research teams, as Stahl et al (2010) and Stahl and Maznevski (2021) noted, there are also challenges to working in diverse research teams. In this section of the paper, we unpack some of these challenges using examples from our own experience and the experience of others.…”

Team diversity, conflict, and trust: Evidence from the health sector

“…Second, conflict in a team has a deteriorating effect on the team's outcome because it erodes trust (Rico et al, 2007;Hsu, 2017). Overall, high levels of intra-team trust are associated with lower levels of conflict among team members (Stahl et al, 2010;Lee and Wong, 2017). Therefore, it is hypothesized that: Hypothesis 2: Intra-Team trust (cognitive trust, affective trust) is negatively associated with intra-team conflict (task conflict and relationship conflict).…”