The effect of the dimension of culture masculinity/ femininity in communication in multinational projects

Abstract: As companies expand their operation worldwide, multinational communication in multi-cultural teams has become an important research topic, therefore, the purpose of this study promises to offer an understanding of how different degrees of the single dimension of culture MAS (Masculinity/Femininity) affects communication in a multinational and multicultural environment, using as a starting point and reference for this study an undis-closed Swedish multinational company with operations in over 70 countries.The cultural dimension of MAS used in the study was proposed by Geert Hofstede (1980) as part of his research on culture, and it is a key element that set the bases of this work.A qualitative research process has been undertaken with an inductive reasoning approach that led to collect data through observation and interviews which then was analyzed under the Laying the Groundwork approach developed by Gioia & Corley (2012) used to build a conceptual map that allowed the researchers to induce principles and theories that can explain how Masculinity and Femininity affect Communication through data-to-theory connections.The findings showed that different degrees of the Masculinity and Femininity dimension create aggregated dimensions that affect communication in a multinational context both positively and negatively. This study also found that communication experiences re-sistance and it is affected when it moves from a feminine culture to a masculine culture. Opposite to this, it was found that communication develops easily when it starts in a mas-culine culture and is directed to feminine cultures.