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Understanding Success and Failure of Multicultural Teams: A Qualitative Study on Managerial Perspectives
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to present and compare the opinions of managers from different European countries on the factors contributing to success and failure of multicultural teams, based on in-depth interviews conducted in 2024.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research problem is formulated as follows: Which factors, in managers’ views, influence the successes and failures of the multicultural teams they lead? The study combines a review of relevant literature with the analysis of 24 in-depth individual interviews.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The theoretical section outlines the potential of multicultural teams, with emphasis on their strengths. The empirical section presents the findings of the qualitative study (in-depth interviews with managers from Poland, France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Portugal).
RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis of managers’ opinions revealed strong convergence in their assessment of success and failure factors of multicultural teams. Key success conditions included managerial competences, preparation, cultural intelligence, effective communication, clear objectives, and an inclusive organizational culture supported by company policy. Managers also highlighted employee attitudes such as openness, acceptance of differences, and collaboration. Failures primarily stemmed from lack of systemic support, communication problems, cultural conflicts, and unfair treatment. Cross-country differences appeared mainly in the emphasis on integration, motivation, training, and clarification of objectives.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The success of multicultural teams requires synergy among managerial competences, employee attitudes, and organizational support. Critical factors include managers’ cultural intelligence, effective communication, clear goals, an inclusive culture, and team openness to diversity. To enhance team effectiveness, recommended measures are systematic managerial training, integration policies, inclusive culture promotion, precise task definition, and transparent motivational and monitoring mechanisms. These reduce intercultural conflicts and strongly support high team and organizational performance in culturally diverse environments.
Keywords
multicultural teams ; success and failure factors ; cultural differences ; managers ; in-depth interviews
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