Cultural diversity and information and communication technology impacts on global virtual teams: An exploratory study

  • Authors:

  • Pnina Shachaf

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Library and Information Science, 1320 E, 10th Street, LI 005A, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405-3907, United States

  • Venue:
  • Information and Management
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

Modern organizations face many significant challenges because of turbulent environments and a competitive global economy. Among these challenges are the use of information and communication technology (ICT), a multicultural workforce, and organizational designs that involve global virtual teams. Ad hoc teams create both opportunities and challenges for organizations and many organizations are trying to understand how the virtual environment affects team effectiveness. Our exploratory study focused on the effects of cultural diversity and ICT on team effectiveness. Interviews with 41 team members from nine countries employed by a Fortune 500 corporation were analyzed. Results suggested that cultural diversity had a positive influence on decision-making and a negative influence on communication. ICT mitigated the negative impact on intercultural communication and supported the positive impact on decision-making. Effective technologies for intercultural communication included e-mail, teleconferencing combined with e-Meetings, and team rooms. Cultural diversity influenced selection of the communication media.