ITR Collaborative Proposal: Subgroup Fault Lines in Distributed International Teams: The Impact on Cross-National Learning and Team Effectiveness

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This research project explores the extent to which the proliferation of technology-enabled, international distributed teams can serve a social as well as an economic good by promoting cross-national understanding and the competence of members. Two issues of theoretical and practical significance are examined in depth, subgroup dynamics and cross-national learning processes. Understanding these processes in such teams and the impact of the use of communication technologies on them are important objectives. Moreover, the research will consider the role that each process plays in team effectiveness. Psychological processes and behavior at the team and individual levels will be examined by means of an ethnographic field study in a large, internationally distributed company. Particular attention will be given to patterns of communication, use of communication technologies, and the sharing of contextual information. The research seeks to advance science through the development of theory and evidence concerning subgroup polarization and collaboration in distributed groups, cross-national learning processes in moderately heterogeneous international groups, and the impact of these processes on team effectiveness. Envisioned advances also include recommendations for the design of supporting collaborative technologies.