Communication and Conflict in Sino-German Global Virtual Teams

2020 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Jurack, Alexander

Abstract: This study investigated the correlation between communication and conflict of Si ... Expand

Abstract: This study investigated the correlation between communication and conflict of Sino-German Global Virtual Teams (GVT). An exploratory quantitative online survey was conducted in German companies doing business in Greater China. A focus was given to the analysis of modern web 2.0 communication technologies and their potential influence on conflict. As expected, GVT experience more cross-cultural conflicts than collocated teams. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the amount of conflict between GVT 1.0 and GVT 2.0. Surprisingly, video calls are likely to contribute to the amount of task conflicts and cross-cultural conflicts. Furthermore, social media is likely to mitigate the amount of cross-cultural conflicts. Participants who extensively used social media and video call communication in their private lives, did so in their corporate lives as well. Finally, the team leaders who possessed a higher level of education reported a statistically higher amount of video call usage in their teams. Collapse

Topics: cross cultural research web 2.0 social media communication service infrastructure IT supported collaboration

Methods: survey descriptive statistic experimental group statistical hypothesis test literature study