article on how different cultures respond to different forms of persuasion.

employees at 4 locations of citibank participated in research concerning how they decided to handle a request from a colleague. the thought process varied based on their location (usa, hong kong, germany and spain) and illustrates how people working in cross cultural environments need to work differently depending on their audience. the research blurb does not specify if these were f2f or virtual teams but i’m guessing f2f (had it been virtual i think they would mention it).

the research found americans were more concerned with what was in it for them & if they owed the person asking a favor. germans wanted to know if the request conformed to the rules & regulations. the spanish looked at friendship & your connections and the chinese at rank & group affiliation. if you were a project manager of a team that consisted of members in the states, hk, germany & spain, you’d have to work all of these angles. it’s a fantastic illustration for people who are in those situations.

ref:
Morris, M., Podolny, J., & Ariel, S. (2001). Culture, norms, and obligations: Cross-national differences in patterns of interpersonal norms and felt obligations toward coworkers.” In The Practice of Social Influence in Multiple Cultures, edited by W. Wosinska, D. Barrett, R. Cialdini, and J. Reykowski, 97-123. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.