It is well-known through multiple studies now conducted that multicultural teams boost creativity, which in turn is ideal for stimulating business innovations. However, what is less well-known is the process of doing it. As, instead of the benefits, a situation may even arise where the linguistic and cultural barriers lead to outright conflicts. That is where the role of cultural brokers becomes especially important. So, a study was conducted by a team from INSEAD to gauge this process. There are two kinds of such brokers- cultural insiders and cultural outsiders. The former, are those who share some cultural background common with members in the group, while the latter belong to a totally new community. It was realized during the study that the effectiveness of both these groups is equal when it comes to fostering positive collaboration. There also exist two kinds of such brokerage, which are the integrating and eliciting styles. Interestingly, it was found out that cultural insiders preferred the integrating style, while the outsiders elicited ideas from elsewhere. The cultural differences are never navigated in isolation. Some cultural brokers emerge naturally.

Source:https://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-organisations/cultural-brokers-boost-the-creative-performance-of-diverse-teams-9016

Uploaded Date: 30 May 2018