Knowledge Sharing in a Cross-Cultural Team : The Case of an IT-Based Services Company

Sammanfattning: Due to the globalization in the world economy, most multinational organizations have changed the way they conduct business. This change also influenced the structure and working of IT services-providing companies. Due to the contemporary phenomenon of the world being seen as a global village, today organizations have access to a wider talent pool. Different multinational IT services-providing companies follow global software development models, while some of these also call people onshore from distant offices to work on different projects. In this scenario, cross-cultural teams are formed to work together and to fulfill clients’ requirements. The objective of this study is to identify cultural differences that affect the knowledge sharing process in IT services-providing companies. In this study, we present the case of a Swedish IT services-providing company that has extended operations into India. Our intention is to understand employees’ views about their work experience in a cross-cultural team. In this context, the study employs a qualitative approach, which helps to elucidate the role of national culture dimensions on an individual’s behavior within the workplace, as well as the impact national culture dimensions have on knowledge sharing processes. Six cross-cultural team members, who have the experience of working in a cross-cultural environment, were interviewed utilizing a semi-structured interview model. Data collection also includes two and half days of data collected during the observation of a cross-cultural team. The collected data helps to effectively clarify in-depth views about the concerns employees have while working within cross-cultural teams. The data collected was analyzed by applying hermeneutics, through which we mapped the answers to the theory of Hofstede on culture. The latter served as the indicator to focus on cultural dimensions that have decisive influence on knowledge sharing in cross-cultural environments. We conclude by highlighting several specific cultural factors that may affect knowledge sharing in cross-cultural environments.