Transnational teams in the electronic age: are team identity and high performance at risk?

Abstract The literature on effort‐withholding behaviors (e.g., loafing, shirking, free‐riding) in groups has generally focused on co‐located and single‐country settings. Drawing from a variety of literatures, we offer a causal model that shows why effort‐withholding behaviors may be particularly at risk in transnational teams (TNTs). We theorize that three characteristics of TNTs (cultural value diversity, reliance on electronic communications, and the lack of onsite monitoring) will reduce the salience of transnational team identity which, in turn, will increase members' propensity to withhold performance‐effort. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.