Textual computer-mediated communication tools used across cultures : A study about the issues and consequences that arise from this type of communication

Sammanfattning: Globalisation is increasing, reason for people working more and more cross-culturally and with the use of computer-mediated tools. The field of research on both of these individual topics is existent and has thoroughly been discussed. Nevertheless, the integration of these topics in the field of research is still scarce and relatively unknown. The purpose of this study is therefore to understand the communication issues that arise between people from different cultures when interacting through textual computer-mediated communication tools, and how these issues are dealt with. These communication issues and their consequences will therefore be identified and investigated, in order to get a better understanding of what this entails. A qualitative study has been done to fulfil this purpose. Data has been collected through nine semi-structured interviews with people from different locations around the world. With this way of data collection, the focus lied on extracting the perspectives of the individuals on these topics. Thereafter the data has been analysed according to seven steps for a grounded analysis, in order to create a theory. The results of this study have shown that there are mainly three communication issues arising from the use of textual computer-mediated communication tools across cultures. These issues are named as linguistic barriers, cultural differences in communication, and the absence of nonverbal communication. It has shown that these issues have a significant impact on this type of communication, causing several consequences. The direct, negative consequences coming from these issues are the deterioration of professional relationships and a decrease in productivity. Next to these consequences, the study has shown that people also tend to develop certain counterstrategies against these issues. That is so to say, ways of minimising the negative impact that the issues have on the communication.