文化多样性对团队创造力的影响：整合信息处理与社会互动的并行/链式耦合机制模型

Globalization of business has led to rising cultural diversity in the workplace in many regions of the world. Multicultural teams, in which members come from different countries or ethnic groups with differences in mental models, modes of perception, and approaches to problems, have become prevalent. Cultural diversity is regarded as a mixed blessing for teams. Multicultural teams can achieve high team performance mainly through enhancing team creativity because cultural diversity provides informational benefits that are important for team creativity. This possible strength of cultural diversity is a chief reason that many multinationals utilize multicultural teams. However, cultural diversity also incurs social costs such as cultural identity problems and difficulties in intercultural interaction, which may offset the creative potential of culturally diverse groups. The association between cultural diversity and team creativity has attracted considerable research attention. Primary studies have reported varied correlations for this relationship. Prior meta-analytic reviews, which were based on limited samples, also reported mixed findings. These observations indicate a strong need to investigate the integrative mediating mechanism of informational benefits and social costs and the moderators that affect this mediating mechanism. There are different views about the relationships of the informational and social processes. The categorization–information elaboration model proposes that social and informational processes are dual pathways connecting cultural diversity and team creativity, and these two processes interact with each other. However, the socio-technical systems framework for cultural diversity and team creativity proposes a chain mediating model in which cultural diversity influences social processes, and then informational processes, and finally team creativity. We attempt to explore these different alternatives by examining the mediating mechanisms between cultural diversity and team creativity. Moreover, we distinguish the effects of two cultural diversity levels (i.e., surface- versus deep-level) and examine multilevel moderators (such as, team virtuality, task characteristics, and organizational factors). We will adopt multiple research methods, such as interview, questionnaire, and experiment, to ensure internal and external validity. The findings of this research project will provide a nuanced picture of why and how the association between cultural diversity and team creativity varies. Also, the findings will have pivotal practical implications in guiding the management of multicultural teams.

全球经济一体化的趋势下，更多企业依靠跨文化团队研发新产品，适应不同市场，创造价值和提升竞争力。跨文化团队为企业创新注入动力，但也带来挑战。以往关于跨文化团队所蕴含的文化多样性与团队创造力间关系的研究发现多有分歧。理论指出文化多样性会带来正面信息处理与负面社会互动。但迄今为止关于这两者如何耦合，从而影响团队创造力的实证研究十分匮乏。鉴于此，本项目旨在探讨文化多样性通过信息处理和社会互动对团队创造力产生效应的具体过程及其边界条件。基于类化-信息深化模型和社会-技术系统框架提出的理论假设，拟检验上述两者的耦合机制是符合双路径并行模型还是链式中介模型，并细化考察深、浅层次文化多样性对此耦合机制的影响，最后通过引入多层调节变量（如团队虚拟性等），对耦合机制的边界条件进行界定。拟采用访谈、问卷调查和实验等方法。预期成果将完善文化多样性与团队创造力的研究框架，并为新形势下跨文化团队管理实践提供策略参考。

在商业全球化的趋势下，跨文化团队对于组织团队的构成也变得至关重要。他们为企业创新注入动力的同时也带来了挑战。此外，在执行可持续发展总方针的背景下，创新在可持续性管理的作用下的实践和发展也受到了各领域的广泛关注。从以往的研究来看，学者们关于跨文化团队所带来的文化多样性对团队创造力间的影响关系的阐述多有分歧。简单来说就是，文化多样性既会带来正面的信息处理，也会带来负面的社会互动。但迄今为止关于这两种机制在多样性和创造力的关系中如何耦合的实证研究还十分匮乏。鉴于此，本项目旨在探讨文化多样性对于团队创造力产生效应的边界条件，以及信息处理和社会互动机制在此关系中的作用过程。然而，在2020年初，新冠肺炎疫情的爆发致使国内生命健康安全和经济社会秩序都处于还无征兆的危机之中。尽管项目组按预先课题已完成大部分关于人力资源多样性对于创造力的影响上以及信息处理和社会互动机制在其中作用方式的探讨，但少部分研究计划没能按照预先计划正常进行。考虑到新冠肺炎疫情的严峻形势，项目组也希冀在研究领域响应国家的号召，从防疫事业的重难点出发，提出有实践价值的解决方针。基于此，本项目组的研究内容可被划分为以下三部分。第一部分是关于团队多样性和创造力的相关文献回顾，通过对以往主流理论与实证研究详尽阐述和分析，揭示了影响创造力的复杂因素（例如，团队文化多样性、衰老、以及可持续人力资源管理实践）。第二部分通过实证研究，揭示了员工在创新过程中可能运用的信息处理与社会互动机制。第三部分是在疫情困难时期针对一线医护人员的护理服务动力（例如，职业使命感、感知被患者信任）研究，揭示了他们的职业使命感在帮助他们打赢这场疫情攻坚战的过程中所发挥的重要作用。