Foreign Language Use, Virtuality, and the Creative Performance of Dyadic Teams

Katrin Muehlfeld (), Anja Loderer (), Thorsten Semrau () and Robert Wilken ()
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Katrin Muehlfeld: Department of Business Administration, Trier University
Anja Loderer: Department of Business Administration, Trier University
Thorsten Semrau: Department of Business Administration, Trier University
Robert Wilken: ESCP Business School

Management International Review, 2025, vol. 65, issue 1, No 7, 145-173

Abstract: Abstract Firms rely on their employees’ creativity to drive innovation and secure competitive advantages. In the modern workplace, team members often collaborate in a non-native language and interact virtually rather than face-to-face. Yet, the effects of foreign language use and virtuality on the creative performance of teams have not been fully explored. The present study addresses this issue using an experiment with 95 dyadic teams, which we randomly assigned to either a foreign or a native language condition. In line with our theoretical reasoning, we find that foreign language use is detrimental for team creative performance, an effect that can be alleviated by team members’ foreign language proficiency. We further observe that, at least in the foreign language condition, interacting virtually rather than face-to-face can stimulate team creative performance. Virtuality may thus help alleviate some globalization-induced challenges to nurturing creative performance.

Keywords: Team creativity; Foreign language use; Foreign language proficiency; Foreign language anxiety; Virtual interaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11575-024-00557-1

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