Fostering Cultural Variety in the Workplace Through AI-Informed Avatars

Developing cross-cultural managerial competencies has become increasingly important in organizational and corporate contexts, yet access to meaningful intercultural opportunities remains uneven. This challenge is particularly evident in settings with limited international diversity, such as monocultural workplaces or roles that are not yet fully integrated into global dynamics. To address these gaps, this study explores AI-informed, culturally differentiated avatars as simulation-based tools to foster the development of cross-cultural competencies and support internationalization within work environments. The paper examines an initial static avatar implementation based on established cross-cultural management theoretical lenses, such as the GLOBE framework1. These tools will be refined considering potential risks of bias, stereotyping, and cultural oversimplification, particularly in anticipation of future LLM-driven role-play applications. Findings indicate that the avatars enhance cultural variety and support the development of cross-cultural competencies, including cultural intelligence and behavioral flexibility.