Contextual influences on multinational teams: empirical evidence from an Austrian company

This study aims to explore the impact of context on multinational teams (MNTs). We are driven by the following research question: 'How do society and organisation, as a set of contextual factors, impact on MNTs?' In contrast to many previous studies of MNTs, we investigate MNT dynamics within their real organisational context. The results show the impact of societal-level culture, corporate culture, structure and strategy on MNTs. A corporate culture based on task achievement enhances MNT members' ability to meet the needs of the changing external environment. In a matrix structure, MNT performance depends on the effectiveness of human resource management. MNTs also contribute to the global strategy development of companies by facilitating the exploitation and exploration of knowledge. The study draws the attention of scholars and practitioners towards the importance of various 'layers' of context when trying to understand MNTs and provides an explanation for the many inconsistencies in current MNT literature.