Research pick: Diversity feeds team success - "Openness towards language differences and cultural differences in multicultural teams: how do they interact?"

Research published in the European Journal of International Management has looked at how positive attitudes towards cultural diversity can significantly enhance team performance. The study, conducted with over 1000 leaders from highly globalized academic research teams in the Nordic region, shows that teams open to diverse cultural values, especially when combined with openness to language diversity, perform better and are more creative than others.

The findings from Jakob Lauring of Aarhus University, Denmark, Christina L. Butler of Kingston Business School, London, UK, Minna Paunova of Copenhagen Business School in Copenhagen, Denmark, Timur Uman of Jönköping University, Sweden, and Lena Zander of Uppsala University, Sweden, have some implications for better management of multicultural teams across various sectors, particularly in an increasingly globalized work environment.

It is important from the management perspective to understand how cultural values and language interact and how they affect workplace behaviour and success. “Cultural values” usually refers to the underlying principles that guide decisions in different societies, such as beliefs about hierarchy, individualism, and communication styles. Language diversity, by contrast, refers to the inclusion of multiple languages within a team, reflecting the varied backgrounds of its members. Both factors are critical to success in increasingly international teams.

Openness to cultural values it appears influences team performance positively. Moreover, teams that are receptive to both cultural and language diversity are commonly better positioned to capitalize on the benefits of each. Essentially, a willingness to embrace different languages within a team enhances the positive effects of being open to various cultural values, leading to improved collaboration, creativity, and overall team outcomes. The impact is synergistic, whereas earlier studies had not necessarily demonstrated that these two factors work together and were perhaps considered as operating independently. It is therefore time to refine research models concerning the way teams work Different types of diversity attitude and how they interact and influence each other must be embedded in such models.

Lauring, J., Butler, C.L., Paunova, M., Uman, T. and Zander, L. (2024) ‘Openness towards language differences and cultural differences in multicultural teams: how do they interact?’, European J. International Management, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp.1–24.