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Harmony in Diversity : The Impact of a Multicultural Team Composition on Psychological Safety in Self-Managing Teams
Velde, K.J. te (2025) Harmony in Diversity : The Impact of a Multicultural Team Composition on Psychological Safety in Self-Managing Teams.
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| Abstract: | This thesis explores how psychological safety is perceived by members of multicultural Self-Managing Teams (SMTs), in a Dutch engineering organization operating in decentralized, culturally diverse project teams. The results of the study reveal that psychological safety within multicultural SMTs is a dynamic process which evolves over time through interpersonal relationships, organizational adaptation, and the development of cultural intelligence. Key findings of the study show that both power distance and hierarchical norms have a great influence on voicing opinions, especially amongst those who have a high-context or collectivist cultural background. With time, as experience in the organization grew and peer mentorship was offered, the participation of such individuals increased. Differences in communication styles were also seen to have a large contribution in terms of silence, uncertainty and team fragmentation. In addition to this, role allocation purely based on cultural assumptions seemed to provide short-term clarity, yet risked reinforcing stereotypes and inducing a level of passivity. Lastly, informal bonding seemed to have two sides: on the one hand, it aided in the promotion of localized trust, however, it also resulted in culturally bounded in-groups, hindering cross-cultural collaboration. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Clients: | Jord Oil&Gas, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Business Administration MSc (60644) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/106672 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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