Innovative Interactions in Culturally Diverse Organisations

The objective of this thesis is to study the role of communication in the service innovation processes in a culturally diverse organisation. The research is used to create a development proposal for the beneficiary, a non-bank financial technology company. The ongoing digital disruption as well as social and regulatory changes continue to transform the financial industry. The market share of non-bank financial technology companies has in-creased significantly globally, as they have been able to fill the market gaps left behind by traditional banks. These online companies have benefited from opportunities of scaling their business and staff internationally, creating diverse teams. However, in many ways these multicultural organisations fail to exploit the benefits and tackle the challenges posed by the diverse workforce. The theory section covers communication in multicultural settings, diverse team performance, leadership and growth. The research covers the perspectives of functional and project teams, as well as the senior management. This angle was chosen to build a comprehensive view about the phenomenon within the case company. The study was carried out by using a qualitative method by conducting 14 theme-centred interviews. Four initial interviews were conducted with senior managers, followed by ten interviews with employees in key roles within the service innovation processes. The employees were interviewed from two perspectives; as members of functional teams and project teams. Case study methodology combined with characteristics from an action study as a research strategy helped to answer the main questions of how internal communication in service development process works in a culturally diverse organisation. The main areas discovered in this research concerned supporting structures and mechanisms, as well as communication. Content analysis of the semi-structured interviews show that the sense of belonging is strong within functional teams. Building trust and establishing common goals is more challenging in project teams, as the groups are loosely formed and not maintained throughout the project. Cultural diversity poses challenges in communication, driven by both national and professional characteristics. Key cultural differences were the use of language, as well as perception of hierarchy. Communication was found especially challenging when interacting in a foreign language virtually. Establishing distinct cross-functional project groups with clear and transparent goals would increase the effectiveness as well as employee satisfaction. Increasing cultural understanding within the organisation would help to reduce conflicts driven by differences in cultural backgrounds