Cross-Cultural Communication in Online and Virtual Environments

Introduction: Culture and Electronic Communication

Effective communication goes beyond the words that are used and encompasses a broader range of communicative skills, such as body language and gestures. Like words, these gestures can carry different connotative meanings depending on the cultural and contextual clues that surround them. These cultural and contextual clues are the basis for misunderstandings, particularly when two people from different cultures attempt to communicate. When two persons from the same culture communicate, contextual cues and body language can help to enhance the meaning of the message and provide a greater depth of understanding between the two parties. The following explores current literature on cross-cultural communication with regard to the importance of culturally significant contextual clues.

Electronic Communication and Context

"The inability of firms and their managers to adjust to the demands of the international business environment has been advanced as a primary cause of international business failures" (Johnson, Lenartowicz, & Apud, 2006, p. 525). The importance of cross-cultural communication and its effect on organizational learning in the business environment cannot be emphasized enough.

Organizational learning can be divided into two types of knowledge: declarative (know-what) and procedural (know-how) (Borgatti & Cross, 2003). A formal model of information seeking was developed that suggested the probability of information seeking depended on four conditions: knowing what another person knows, placing value on what that person knows, being able to gain timely access to the person's thoughts, and perceiving that seeking information would not be a costly endeavor (Borgatti & Cross, 2003).

Shaw, Scheufele, and Catalano found that the ability to instant message colleagues improved productivity and decreased the use of email and phone tag. Using instant messaging, workers were able to see whether other employees were online, reducing the need for repetitive attempts to reach them. This study did not address the human aspects of this form of communication.

Creativity is a key to deriving meaning in an online world. Students in an online environment who were asked to engage in a project found that creativity was a key component in the ability to create new knowledge and to avoid misunderstandings (Patarakin & Visser, 2003). Innovation is increased with the volume of different perspectives and domains to which one is exposed (Ixchel, Faniel, & Majchrzak, 2007).

Means of coping and comfort differ between Westerners and Asians. In a Western society that stresses independence, "the individual is the sole agent in the coping process. In contrast, there is increasing evidence that individuals from collectivistic societies, such as Asians, engage in coping that reflects their interdependent tendencies" (Kuo, Roysircar, & Newby-Clark, 2006). These cultural differences are reinforced by the educational systems within these countries. In America, creativity and different intelligences are supported. However, in China, creativity is often suppressed: "conformity is emphasized significantly more in Asian schools than in America. Inflexible rules, standard routines, and an emphasis on conformity are just the right tools to squelch creativity" (Zhao, 2008, p. 20).

The ability to acquire speech and language is universal. However, although the process is the same for everyone, the meaning and content derived from messages are almost entirely environmental. We learn how to interpret words and phrases from those around us (Hwa-Froelich, 2004). When asked how we are, we do not always tell the entire truth, but respond in a manner consistent with our cultural conditioning. We will not always provide detailed information.

The response we give when asked how we are depends on many factors, including the closeness and familiarity of the persons speaking and the formal relationship that exists between them. For instance, if a manager and an employee are conversing, the response may be more vague than if the question is between two friends. In some cultures, it may be considered inappropriate for a manager to ask a subordinate how they are. In Middle Eastern countries, it is traditional to respond with information about one's family rather than oneself. This answer may appear strange to a Western communicator and could even be interpreted as evasive or insulting. These types of misunderstandings are common in electronic communication. Similarly, the Westerner's brief response to "How are you?" may seem terse to someone from a different cultural background.

Electronic communication offers new pathways for the exchange of information. Communication in the online world depends on the individual's tendency to seek knowledge and the willingness to share information (Mergel, Lazer, & Binz-Scharf, 2005; Woudstra & Van Der Hooff, 2008; Boh, 2007). Employees use a variety of tools in their quest for knowledge; among them, directories and personal networks are the most widely used (Ehrlich & Shami, 2008).

One example of a knowledge-sharing tool is software known as SmallBlue — a social context-aware expertise search system that uses privacy settings to infer content and a socially dynamic network from email and chat log information (Ehrlich, Lin, & Griffiths-Fisher, 2007). Searching for information has social implications, and the mechanisms that lead to seeking social help are not fully understood (Evans, Kairam, & Pirolli, 2009). Technology-based information seeking and seeking information from a social group are not psychologically interchangeable actions (Gray & Meister, 2006).

In an experiment involving communication between American and Russian students, notable differences were found. Russian students were much more likely to address their professor as "dear teacher" or to sign their letters with "love" (Stevens, 2001, p. 59). These same forms of emotional expression were not found among American students (Stevens, 2001). Cultural differences such as these set the stage for miscommunication and misunderstanding.