Environmental Management DOI 10.1007/s00267-016-0809-9 Group Development and Integration in a Cross-Disciplinary and Intercultural Research Team Naomi Kirk-Lawlor 1 ● Shorna Allred 2 Received: 9 July 2015 / Accepted: 19 December 2016 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract Cross-disciplinary research is necessary to solve many complex problems that affect society today, including problems involving linked social and environmental sys- tems. Examples include natural resource management or scarcity problems, problematic effects of climate change, and environmental pollution issues. Intercultural research teams are needed to address many complex environmental matters as they often cross geographic and political boundaries, and involve people of different countries and cultures. It follows that disciplinarily and culturally diverse research teams have been organized to investigate and address environmental issues. This case study investigates a team composed of both monolingual and bilingual Chilean and US university researchers who are geoscientists, engi- neers and economists. The objective of this research team was to study both the natural and human parts of a hydro- logic system in a hyper-arid region in northern Chile. Interviews (n = 8) addressed research questions focusing on the interaction of cross-disciplinary diversity and cultural diversity during group integration and development within the team. The case study revealed that the group struggled more with cross-disciplinary challenges than with inter- cultural ones. Particularly challenging ones were instances the of disciplinary crosstalk, or hidden misunderstandings, where team members thought they understood their cross- disciplinary colleagues, when in reality they did not. Results showed that translation served as a facilitator to cross- disciplinary integration of the research team. The use of translation in group meetings as a strategy for effective cross-disciplinary integration can be extended to mono- lingual cross-disciplinary teams as well. Keywords Intercultural ● Cross-disciplinary ● Team development ● Interdisciplinary ● Cross-cultural Introduction Cross-disciplinary research, defined here as research that involves teams of scientists from different disciplines or specialties (Aagaard-Hansen and Svedin 2009), is widely considered necessary to address complex issues that involve coupled social systems and earth systems, such as resource management, water scarcity, and climate change (Bakker 2012; Carew and Wickson 2010; Jakobsen et al. 2004; Klein 2004; Metzger and Zare 1999; Mobjork 2010; Robinson 2008; Tress et al. 2007). Because coupled human- environmental systems interactions are so complex and interdependent, no single discipline has the tools and outlook necessary to effectively address them. Only through cross- disciplinary interactions, the most productive environmental and natural resource research questions can be determined and addressed (Klein 2004). For example, in order to address the challenges that climate change and rising sea levels pose for low-lying communities, social scientists, engineers, and climate scientists often must work together across the dis- ciplines. Following common convention (e.g. (Aagaard- Hansen and Svedin 2009; Rosenfield 1992; Wickson et al. * Naomi Kirk-Lawlor nek35@cornell.edu 1 Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 2120 Snee Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA 2 Department of Natural Resources, 102 Fernow Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00267-016-0809-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.