The Impact of Cultural Values on Employee Resistance to Teams: Toward A Model of Globalized Self-Managing Work Team Effectiveness

Abstract

As a result of both global competition and company downsizing, multinational firms increasingly are using self-managing work teams (SMWTs) in their foreign affiliates. In this article we identify several cultural values that likely will affect whether employees within those facilities will resist the self-management-related and team-related aspects of SMWTs. Further, we argue that the success of SMWTs is related to the extent to which organizations effectively manage culture-based resistance to SMWTs. We then conclude with theoretical implications and recommendations for managers implementing teams globally.