ABSTRACT
Multinational teams, which include members from different countries, are an important tool to manage the complex operations of today’s multinational corporations. A distinguishing feature of these teams is the diversity of mother tongues their members are speaking. Language diversity profoundly shapes team communication and consequently affects multinational team processes and outcomes. This chapter reviews recent studies aiming to capture the intricate influence of language diversity on multinational teamwork and offers suggestions for the future development of this vibrant research area. We outline the current state of the field by focusing on five recurring themes: language-induced power distortions, issues regarding social identity formation, emotional conflict, obstacles to trust building, and hurdles to knowledge sharing. Building on this overview, we encourage scholars to study linguistic influences on other multinational team processes, to investigate language challenges for virtual teams, and to explore the impact of language diversity on different dimensions of team effectiveness.
