Lahti2015

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Lahti2015
BibType ARTICLE
Key Lahti2015
Author(s) Malgorzata Lahti
Title Sharing cultural knowledge at work: a study of chat interactions of an internationally dispersed team
Editor(s)
Tag(s) Membership Categorization Analysis, EMCA, Inter-cultural communication, Workplace, Shared Knowledge
Publisher
Year 2015
Language English
City
Month
Journal Language and Intercultural Communication
Volume 15
Number 4
Pages 513–532
URL Link
DOI 10.1080/14708477.2015.1031673
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

In this study the ethnomethodological method of membership categorisation analysis is applied to examine how members of an internationally dispersed team share cultural knowledge in their Skype™ chat conversations through mobilising categorisation as ‘cultural knower’ and ‘not knower’ for oneself and the others. Four recurring ways of sharing cultural knowledge were identified as the participants managed the distribution and completion of tasks, and attended to building mutual understanding in the unfolding interaction. The findings illustrate that cultural knowledge sharing is dynamic, situational and collaborative. Rather than hindering or enhancing interaction, culture is an interactional accomplishment with fluid referents, boundaries and membership. These observations problematise the predominant accounts of internationally dispersed teaming as either fraught with intercultural misunderstanding and conflict, or brimming with innovation and synergy.

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