2023 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Shaping spaces of innovation communities - The role of promoters in German-Japanese networks
| Project/Area Number |
20K01167
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| Research Institution | Ritsumeikan University |
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Principal Investigator |
Schlunze R.D 立命館大学, 経営学部, 教授 (70319599)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | Management geography / proximity / boundary spanning / mixed method / cultural synergy |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
From a Management Geography perspective, a contextual management appraisal investigating boundary spanners’ proximity has been developed to investigate synergy creation in intercultural teams. The model suggests that geographical, institutional, organizational, social, cognitive, and cultural proximities affect the extent to which intercultural synergy is realized. The main hypothesis was that the closer the proximity of the promotor, the better the performance of the intercultural team. In order to test the hypothesis, a mixed method case study was designed combining quantitative data from an online questionnaire and qualitative data from interview transcripts. Following up the questionnaire replies more than fifty interviews were conducted. The synergy creation process was codified evaluating the creation of innovative virtual spaces. The triangulation of qualitative and quantitative research showed that proximity, and the choice of appropriate communication channels, lead indeed to synergetic outcomes, but the embedded units of the case study showed clearly that intercultural competence development is crucial for the creation of an intercultural innovation community. Clearly, boundary spanners’ intercultural communication in the social networks has an important role in creating an innovative, intercultural community. Future research should replicate the introduced approach deepening the understanding of the networker role of intercultural competent boundary spanners in international businesses.
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