Research has identified the usefulness of multicultural and multilingual employees in overcoming cultural and language barriers in international work contexts, but still needs to clarify why and how these employees engage in bridging behavior. Based on in-depth analyses of 154 interviews, we inductively develop a comprehensive model of bridging behaviors with novel and counterintuitive insights. We show that bridging behaviors are not only based on individual strengths, which multiculturals and multilinguals possess, but also—paradoxically—on their weaknesses. Multiculturals’ and multilinguals’ strengths and experience with weaknesses result in different determinants and enactments of bridging. Grounded in our inductive theory building, we propose four bridging behaviors: cultural teaching, language teaching, cultural facilitating, and language facilitating. Multiculturals and multilinguals cycle between these bridging behaviors depending on their capabilities and motivations in specific situations. We provide theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

中文翻译：

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研究多元文化和多语言在克服组织中文化和语言障碍中的矛盾桥接行为


研究已经确定了多元文化和多语言员工在克服国际工作环境中的文化和语言障碍方面的有效性，但仍需要阐明这些员工为什么以及如何参与桥接行为。基于对 154 次访谈的深入分析，我们归纳开发了一个具有新颖和违反直觉的桥接行为的综合模型。我们表明，桥接行为不仅基于多元文化和多语言所拥有的个人优势，而且自相矛盾的是，还基于他们的弱点。多元文化和多语言的优势和弱点经验导致了不同的桥接决定因素和制定。以我们的归纳理论构建为基础，我们提出了四种桥接行为：文化教学、语言教学、文化促进和语言促进。多元文化和多语言者根据他们在特定情况下的能力和动机在这些桥接行为之间循环。我们提供了研究结果的理论和实践意义。