Intercultural Communication and Collaboration in Software Development

Abstract

Many Global Software firms outsource parts of their operations to other countries due to cheaper labour costs and to find employees with high knowledge within a specific area. Collaboration and communication between different nationalities aredifficult not only due to the distance geographically,but also distances in cultural aspects. The purpose of this study is to investigatedifferent factors that impact intercultural communication and collaboration in software development firms. Previous research in this field shows various factors impacting intercultural communication and collaboration in software development companies. To investigate these factors exploratory mixed-method design has been used. Initially, qualitative methodology was used to collect data from semi-structured interviews. Eight interviews were conducted with various work roles within a single Norwegian firm. The interviewees explain how various factors impact their communication and collaboration withcolleagues inIndia and Ukraine. These results have been analysed. Secondly, a quantitative survey was conducted based on Isern ́s (2014) eight identity factors of intercultural communication. Other factors based on the findings from the interviewshave also been discussed.