This project investigates how geographic diversity moderates the relationship between cultural diversity and team mental models (TMMs). Guided by Harrison and Klein’s (2007) framework on diversity mechanisms, we conceptualize cultural diversity as an information-based resource that enhances collective understanding, while geographic dispersion may amplify information exchange demands. Using regression modeling, results show that high geographic diversity strengthens the positive association between cultural diversity and TMMs, whereas low geographic diversity weakens this effect. These findings align with information-elaboration theory and highlight that when teams span varied geographic contexts, cultural differences are more actively interpreted and integrated into shared mental structures.
This study explores whether trust and voice jointly moderate the influence of peer evaluation scores on task conflict and whether task conflict subsequently predicts team performance. Grounded in De Dreu & Weingart’s (2003) task conflict meta-analysis, we expected peer evaluation to shift conflict depending on interpersonal trust and voice climate. Using PROCESS Model 9 with 1,157 observations, peer evaluation showed no significant effect on conflict, and conflict did not predict performance. Small conditional effects appeared under high trust or high voice. These results suggest that peer evaluations may not trigger strong conflict dynamics in classroom-based teams due to lower stakes or socially desirable behaviors.
This study examines how academic pedigree diversity influences team conflict and performance through the mechanism of process conflict, drawing on Stahl et al.’s (2010) information/decision-making perspective. Using SPSS PROCESS Model 9 with data from global virtual teams, results show that academic pedigree diversity does not significantly increase process conflict, nor does conflict mediate performance. IQ and EQ did not meaningfully moderate these relationships. Findings suggest that academic pedigree diversity may not inherently generate harmful process frictions in student GVTs and may operate through alternative pathways beyond conflict mechanisms.
The electric utility industry is changing fast. Tax incentives, new regulations, and rising electricity demand from AI data centers are pushing leaders to rethink sustainability. This project examines how Midwestern electric utility executives respond and whether sustainability is driven by compliance, financial incentives, or long-term strategy. Electric utilities are interested in sustainable energy, but they are restrained by complicated regulatory and economic limitations. Focusing on leadership decisions, the study connects sustainability strategy to policy shifts and emerging energy demands. Structured interviews with senior utility leaders will be analyzed by theme to reveal how sustainability fits into the business plan. Currently in the literature review phase, the project expects to find that sustainability is seen as a smart business strategy rather than just a regulatory requirement, helping utilities manage long-term risks and plan for future growth.
This project examines how voluntary NAB Health Services Executive (HSE) accreditation strengthens long-term care (LTC) administration programs and prepares future administrators. Accreditation is recognized as a tool to enhance education quality, workforce readiness, and program visibility while aligning with employer expectations and standards. To prepare for accreditation, faculty conduct comprehensive curriculum mapping across all NAB domains, implement robust Assurance of Learning plans, and integrate high-impact, real-world learning experiences through professional partnerships. The program also gathers alumni feedback, evaluates advisory board representation, and reviews student recruitment and engagement strategies to inform continuous improvement. Over five accreditation cycles, these processes have led to substantial program enhancements, including a strengthened on-campus curriculum, redesigned administrative residencies, and a data-driven assessment system that promotes ongoing curricular refinement. Students benefit from enriched experiential learning opportunities, and the program gains internal visibility and assurance of alignment with contemporary standards. Voluntary NAB HSE accreditation thus enhances student preparedness, supports licensure mobility, and strengthens stakeholder confidence. Ultimately, the accreditation process fosters continuous quality improvement, positions programs as leaders in LTC administration education, and contributes to developing a competent, well-prepared long-term care leadership workforce.
In global virtual teams, creative performance is influenced by both stable individual traits and dynamic moment-to-moment behaviors. Guided by Social Cognitive Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory, this study examines how proactive personality predicts stable engagement and creativity, and how within-person fluctuations in effort and creative idea quality influence one another across time. Utilizing a four-wave longitudinal design and RI – CLPM framework, we successfully distinguished stable between – person tendencies from momentary within-person changes. This analysis yielded a discernible reciprocal effort–creativity cycle: when individuals engaged more intensely than usual at time t, they produced higher-quality creative ideas at time t+1 (β = 0.180, p < .001). Conversely, periods of heightened creativity contributed to increased engagement in subsequent phases (β = 0.078, p < .001). Despite its bidirectional nature, the effect from effort to creativity was found to be notably stronger, suggesting that effort functions as a primary resource that initiates a Creative Resource Gain Spiral across time. At the between-person level, individuals with more stable proactive tendencies consistently exhibited higher levels of average engagement (β = 0.119, p < .001). The accumulation of engagement resources resulted in significant cross-level consequences, with stable effort exhibiting a string prediction of distal team creative performance (β = 0.816, p = .029). This underscores the role of enduring individual resource investment in shaping collective creative outcomes within global virtual teams. This study is among the first to use an RI-CLPM framework to demonstrate a bidirectional effort - creativity cycle within global virtual teams and provides new evidence for dynamic resource processes in distributed collaboration. At the team level, contextual characteristics such as average team age (β = 0.050, p
This study explores how the interaction between cultural distance, technological readiness, and reciprocal investment patterns influences bilateral Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows between the United States and its partner countries. To conduct this study, we utilize an extensive dataset of 83 countries compiled from various World Bank sources, Hofstede’s cultural indices, and other measures of technological readiness to create a bilateral investment framework to analyze both U.S. outbound and inbound foreign direct investment.We employ fixed effects regression analyses to evaluate the multidimensional impacts of culture, technology, and economic ties on investment behavior. The results show that technological readiness is strongly associated with higher levels of bilateral FDI flows.Additionally, the findings reveal an important moderating effect: cultural distance weakens the positive influence of technological readiness on FDI flows, indicating that cultural compatibility is essential for countries to fully leverage technological advantages in international investment.The results of this research indicate that countries wishing to invest more heavily in each other's markets do so by first establishing a strong technological base, then building strong cultural relationships.
This study investigates why language barriers impact communication quality differently across individuals in global virtual teams. While previous research has established that language barriers impair team communication, the individual-level mechanisms explaining this variability remain underexplored. We examined whether two motivational dispositions—Learning Goal Orientation (L-GO) and Performance Goal Orientation (P-GO)—moderate this relationship. We analyzed data from 1,520 students in 324 teams participating in an 8-week global business competition using a multilevel moderation model. Language barriers were distinguished as internal (self-perceived expressive difficulties) and external (team-level communication challenges). Results revealed a "tale of two motivations." L-GO did not significantly moderate the barrier-communication relationship, suggesting stable communication behavior regardless of contextual barriers. Conversely, P-GO demonstrated a "double-edged sword" effect: it amplified the negative impact of internal barriers, as high-P-GO individuals appeared susceptible to fear of appearing incompetent, causing communication quality to deteriorate sharply. However, P-GO positively moderated external barriers, with high-P-GO individuals framing team challenges as legitimate opportunities for improvement. These findings demonstrate that language barriers' impact depends on individuals' motivational frameworks, suggesting targeted interventions based on goal orientation profiles.
This study investigates the longitudinal associations between perceived language barriers and leadership-communication dynamics in global virtual teams. Despite extensive research on language barriers' detrimental effects, how individuals navigate these challenges over time and whether barriers might paradoxically motivate leadership emergence remains unclear. We analyzed multi-wave data from 1,520 students in 324 teams participating in an 8-week global business competition using a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) to distinguish stable individual traits from dynamic weekly fluctuations. Results revealed distinct patterns at two levels. At the between-person level, internal language barriers (self-perceived expressive difficulties) negatively predicted stable leadership and communication traits. Conversely, external barriers (perceiving others' communication difficulties) positively predicted leadership traits, suggesting individuals "step up" to fill leadership vacuums created by team communication challenges. At the within-person level, an evolutionary pattern emerged: communication initially drove leadership emergence mid-project, with this influence sustained throughout. The reverse path—leadership predicting communication—was initially absent but emerged strongly in later stages, shifting the relationship from unidirectional to reciprocal. These findings reveal that while external barriers may motivate stable leadership emergence, active communication serves as the initial catalyst for leadership dynamics, later evolving into a mutually reinforcing cycle.
