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This chapter develops a conceptual framework to explain variance in the functioning of multinational work teams. We draw upon existing theories of multinational teams (MNTs) looking at the core internal dynamics that provide critical building blocks for understanding team functioning. These dynamics are then examined in terms of the cultural intelligence of team members and how it interacts with the core features of an MNT. We discuss the ramifications of these results for structuring and running global teams in the field.

Assessing the literature on top management teams (TMTs) published through 2004, we found a predominantly U.S.-centric set of studies on TMTs and the upper echelons perspective (Hambrick & Mason, 1984). Through 1996, this literature was virtually silent on the impact of increasing globalization of economic transactions on TMTs – surprising given emphases in strategy on multinational firms, their organizational forms, and modes of entry into foreign markets. We identify critical areas for research on international dimensions of TMTs, their relationships to national and organizational contexts, and their influence on firm outcomes in a world increasingly populated by firms addressing global markets.

The changing nature of work has led to the increased use of teams and increased importance of contextual performance. However, there has been no published research that considers the confluence of these two trends. This chapter addresses this gap. We illustrate how scholars have focused attention on team processes related to the completion of teams' tasks (i.e. taskwork) and also on team processes related to the maintenance of teams' social systems (i.e. teamwork). We suggest that contextual performance (i.e. individual-level behavior that supports the social, organizational, and psychological environment in which task behaviors are performed) underlies teamwork, and task performance (i.e. individual-level behavior focused directly or in support of task accomplishment) underlies taskwork. Because contextual performance research specifies links between specific individual differences and task performance (i.e. individual differences in ability) and contextual performance (i.e. individual differences in personality), this framework provides a foundation for understanding how individual differences ultimately influence team effectiveness. We note several unresolved issues and possible future research directions.