Cultural diversity as a factor of product development

This paper investigates aspects of international product development in a case of Indo-German collaboration. On basis of semi-structured interviews, a case study approach is used to gain insights into intercultural R&D collaboration. In this context the concept of national culture from Geert Hofstede is used to analyze cultural differences in international product development teams. The findings reveal intercultural collaboration as a complex and challenging but also significant and worthwhile task. Our findings show that intercultural collaboration is influenced by cross-cultural issues indicating the importance for a better understanding of cultural differences.