What factors influence a virtual team’s performance in a cross-cultural setting? According to Derven (2016), three factors influence a virtual team’s performance – purpose, people, and process. Purpose, which can be described as a clarity of the formulated goals, determines the pace of the team, the efficiency of performance, and the appropriateness of key decisions, from the hiring practices to the selection of processes that align with the objectives and provide the best results. Besides, a clear purpose is crucial for evaluation purposes since it provides definitive benchmarks and impact on key stakeholders (Derven, 2016). People are represented by a unique mix of members with diverse backgrounds and relevant skills and cultural competencies. The success of this factor is determined by the robust personal connections, trust, sound ethical norms, and authenticity (Derven, 2016). Finally, the process is comprised of clear guidelines, roles and responsibilities of the team members, conflict-resolution framework, and risk identification and mitigation policies (Derven, 2016). How to make virtual teams more effective and efficient in cross-cultural settings? The two levers which enhance the productivity and efficiency of teams in the cross-cultural setting are diversity and inclusion. The former ensures the availability of a wide variety of values, thinking styles, approaches to problem-solving, and even more subtle details, such as differences resulting from age and gender (Derven, 2016). The latter provides ways of incorporating the existing diversification into the working process. Diversity allows for the maximal scope of team member selection, and inclusion promotes initiative, facilitates active participation, and provides directions for the mix of traits to maximize its efficiency. What challenges and obstacles virtual teams may encounter in a cross-cultural setting? Virtual teams display shortcomings in certain areas due to their limitations. For instance, they are often characterized by insufficient trust development, morale, conflict management, and performance monitoring (Lepsinger & DeRosa, 2015). It is tempting to consider these shortcomings as minor because the mechanisms of identifying and addressing them are well-studied and widely available. Nevertheless, according to Lepsinger and DeRosa (2015), the organizations which utilize virtual teams often neglect the necessary leadership practices or fail at implementing them. Therefore, poor understanding of the virtual teams’ specifics can be considered the primary obstacle that restricts their full potential. Why multinational organizations use virtual teams? The main reason for using virtual teams by multinational organizations is their capacity for cultural and social flexibility and adaptability (Barnwell, Nedrick, Rudolph, Sesay, & Wellen, 2014). The cultural competencies play an increasingly important role in successful business models, and obtaining comprehensive knowledge of cultural specifics in each new market may become an enduring and lengthy endeavor. Virtual teams, on the other hand, are expected to possess the knowledge and experience necessary for adjusting to the needs and expectations of the market