京都大学 大学院経済学研究科・経済学部

(Title) 

“Multilingual team communication: Reviewing the status quo and discussing the transformative effects of AI tools”

Abstract:
In multinational corporations, global teams are pivotal in facilitating collaboration across national boundaries but face notable challenges due to the diversity of their members. Language diversity, in particular, significantly influences teamwork dynamics, often creating barriers that introduce complex obstacles for multilingual collaboration. The initial segment of this presentation will highlight empirical studies on the complex effects of language barriers on trust building, emotional climate, power relations, and knowledge processing within multilingual teams. Building on this, the subsequent part will examine how artificial intelligence (AI) is set to redefine communication in multilingual teams. We will specifically focus on virtual teams that utilize rapidly advancing AI technologies for speech recognition, machine translation, language summarization, language editing, and language generation. After providing an overview of potential AI applications to enhance communication in multilingual virtual teams, we will address the current technological uncertainties surrounding AI's language processing capabilities. From this standpoint, we will investigate how members of multilingual virtual teams can navigate technological uncertainties, how AI tools influence team dynamics, and how AI tools affect diversity, equality, and inclusion within multilingual virtual teams. The discussion will conclude by proposing directions for future research, aiming to encourage empirical studies and theoretical advancements in international business.