Abstract This paper investigates the roles of disagreement and trust in multicultural teamwork on an English-medium master’s programme at an Austrian business university. The teamwork project – assigned by the content teacher – took place mostly outside the classroom and simulated business practice both in terms of the tasks and the multicultural context. Each team comprised two Austrian students and two international students, resulting in an English as a lingua franca (ELF) setting. The teams were observed and audio-/video-recorded, with the analysis focusing on an early stage of the project where they laid the groundwork for the team mental models in terms of establishing the team goals, relationships and communicative practices. Additionally, retrospective interviews were conducted at the end of the project with each of the team members and the lecturer to gain emic insights into the project. The findings suggest a symbiotic relationship between disagreement and trust, in which high levels of trust and the construction of a psychologically safe space allow the team members to disagree with and challenge each other without damaging their relationships, leading to better decisions. In turn, these decisions can contribute to a sense of shared success that strengthens the team’s joint identity.

中文翻译：

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“冷静我的怀疑被消除了”：建设性的分歧和在多元文化的学生团队合作中创造一个心理安全的空间

摘要 本文研究了分歧和信任在奥地利商学院英语授课硕士项目中多元文化团队合作中的作用。由内容教师分配的团队合作项目主要在课堂之外进行，并在任务和多元文化背景方面模拟商业实践。每个团队由两名奥地利学生和两名国际学生组成，形成了英语作为通用语言 (ELF) 的环境。对团队进行观察和录音/视频录制，分析侧重于项目的早期阶段，他们在建立团队目标、关系和沟通实践方面为团队心理模型奠定了基础。此外，在项目结束时对每个团队成员和讲师进行了回顾性访谈，以获得对项目的专业见解。研究结果表明分歧和信任之间存在共生关系，其中高度信任和心理安全空间的构建允许团队成员在不损害他们的关系的情况下提出不同意见和挑战，从而做出更好的决策。反过来，这些决定可以有助于增强团队的共同认同感的共同成功感。其中高度信任和心理安全空间的构建使团队成员可以在不损害彼此关系的情况下提出不同意见和相互挑战，从而做出更好的决策。反过来，这些决定可以有助于增强团队的共同认同感的共同成功感。其中高度信任和心理安全空间的构建使团队成员可以在不损害彼此关系的情况下提出不同意见和相互挑战，从而做出更好的决策。反过来，这些决定可以有助于增强团队的共同认同感的共同成功感。