Purpose: Our purpose is to study how language proficiency and cross-cultural adaptation affect ethnically diverse teams in their cross-cultural communication competence. Methodology: The data was collected through six interviews of team members working in a product development project in a multinational company. The interviews were conducted in March of 2012. The data analysis followed an interpretative thematic analysis inspired by Boyatzis (1998). To analyze the data we have utilized some steps of the thematic analysis. With the analysis it was identified that ethnically diverse teams build language proficiency and cross-cultural adaptation. Findings: The findings from this research indicate that cross-cultural adaptation and language proficiency should be considered as important dimensions of cross-cultural communication competence within ethnically diverse teams. Language proficiency remains a challenge for many ethnically diverse teams and should be included in studies related to communication. Employees’ ability to adapt to the current environment and culture has an essential impact on team communication. Research limitations/implications: The research was done in a Multinational company based in Sweden within one team at Electrolux AB, therefore implications from our study may not be applicable to all ethnically diverse teams in Multinational companies globally.

China provides the rest of the world vast opportunities thanks to its low cost labour with ample manpower and gradually increasing expertise. It also has a huge potential in its size and market. With the increasing trade between China and Sweden at a rapid pace, the need for a research into intercultural communication, which helps to gener-ate an efficient and effective supply chain, is also growing at an accelerative speed.The purpose of this thesis is to look for possible problems and identify the frictions that may arise from the cause of cultural differences existing in the communication between Swedish and Chinese companies. This research is carried out from a Swedish perspective through the eyes of Swedish companies. However, the way they perceive the communica-tion between Sweden and China and the methods they have used to adjust to the cultural differences can be good examples to those who are interested in Chinese market.In the frame of references, a number of theories and literature related to intercultural communication were used to identify factors that influence communication between cul-tures, which formed the basis of the framework the authors used for the collection of pri-mary data. This thesis was conducted through an interpretive point of view and a qualita-tive method was used for the collection of empirical data. The primary data consisted of in-terviews and the secondary data was collected through literature reviews. Thus, the empiri-cal result was derived from the companies which have business relationship and experience of dealing with Chinese companies. Data was gathered from seven different Swedish com-panies located in Jonkoping County: Waggeryd Cell AB, Scandinavian Eyewear AB, Kapsch TraficCom AB, Kongsberg Automotive, Hestra-Handsken AB, Arlemark Glas AB and Falks Broker AB.The main conclusions of this study are namely that there are a number of cultural differ-ences existing in the communication between Swedish and Chinese companies. In most cases, Swedish companies initially tend to make the most effort to adapt to the situation and bridge these cultural differences by applying diverse solutions. Furthermore, two criti-cal key factors stand out as more important than the others in leading to successful com-munication between Swedish and Chinese companies: relationship and the concept of face. These two factors were shown to be present in all aspects of communication. Therefore, knowledge and successful incorporation of these two essential elements will be of greatest importance for Swedish companies who seek to communicate with Chinese companies.

Recent literature state that the relationship between buyers and sellers has gained more and more importance in business-to-business segments. The distribution of products may even end up in the shadow of these important relationships. The statement, of increased need for relationship marketing, is proven more tangible in cross-border interactions and communications. Managers who are maintaining and establishing international accounts have to acknowledge cultural differences, norms and preferences when keeping their international key accounts satisfaction. However, the practice around how cultural diversity implement the relationship process is something that could be further explored. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore cultural conflicts and dilemmas in manager’s relations with international key accounts.The thesis has a phenomenological approach, which aims at exploring personal business experiences of managers in practice. Thus, the aim is not to make general assumptions about either KAM, RM or business culture. The thesis is developed through five separate interviews with managers of different gender, practice and targeted customer culture. We mainly used Hofstede's (2017) framework when analyzing and discussing the implication of business culture on international relationships. Several strategies, both personal and business oriented, where noticed as a result of international and intercultural business collaborations. The result shows how complex the subject of business culture is and how limitations of managing cultural diversity can lead to conflicts and dilemmas.

Knowledge management is critical to achieving competitive advantage in the marketplace. The prominence of multicultural organizations also requires an understanding of knowledge-sharing behavior in multicultural teams. In spite of the need to accommodate these new conditions, a gap exists in the research on knowledge sharing in multicultural organizations. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that affect knowledge sharing in a multicultural context. In the research questions I examined the role that culture, monetary rewards, social units, and diversity play in knowledge sharing in a multicultural environment. This study used Hofstede's cultural dimension theory, Sveiby's knowledge-based theory, and agency theory as the theoretical foundation. A cross-sectional survey design was used for data collection. Data were collected from line managers in multicultural organizations in the United Arab Emirates (n=79). Sampling consisted of a nonprobability sample using convenience sampling. Multiple regression and path analyses were used to analyze the data. Results of this study indicated a positive relationship between the combined effect of rewards, social units, and cultural diversity on knowledge sharing in a multicultural context. There was also a positive relationship between rewards and knowledge sharing. However, no statistically significant relationship between social units or cultural diversity and knowledge sharing was found. This study may promote positive social change by improving understanding of how knowledge is shared in multicultural teams and by contributing to better cross-cultural communication. This study may be useful to managers of multicultural teams who want to improve knowledge sharing in their teams.