Stereotypes in bicultural global teams

Multicultural teams are task-oriented groups from different national cultures that are often involved in dynamic, project based arrangements. They are fast becoming the norm in businesses and NGOs worldwide. The study examined team member's stereotypes as embedded in the complex environment that characterizes global teams. It contributes to the scarce research on stereotypes as embedded in contexts. The study explored the stereotypes of 120 Israelis and 80 Indians working in the high-tech industry. The conceptual frameworks of convergence, divergence and crossvergence and social identity theory provided the backdrop for the study's hypotheses. The quantitative findings documented the existence of crossvergence in global and national stereotypes and of in-group favoritism. The qualitative findings revealed that Israelis and Indians created mirror pictures of two basic stereotype categories: work related and personal characteristic.