Effect of Cultural Norms on Media Choice in Global Virtual Teams

摘要

Global Virtual Teams (GVT) typically includes members from culturally different countries, who differ in the views of their relation to authority, time, work ethics, and perception of communication technologies. These cultural differences play an important role in shaping both an individual member’s and a team’s preference of a particular media to be used for communication in a GVT environment. Media choice affects the effectiveness of communication, trust, knowledge flow and overall team effectiveness. Media choice in GVTs is a moving target (contrary to the expectations of Media Richness Theory which sees media choice as static), with the team opting for different communication technologies during different phases of the project. This article focuses on providing a theoretical understanding of the role of cultural norms of the various members of the GVT in the choice and use of media.