Adopting a common corporate language: IHRM implications

Marschan-Piekkari, Rebecca; Welch, Denice E.; Welch, Lawrence S.

doi:10.1080/095851999340387

Cited by 213 publications

(189 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…3 The field's slow start is reflected in the low number of citations most of the earliest publications have garnered to date (Holden 1987: 29;San Antonio 1987: 71;Fixman 1990: 129;Swift 1991: 81;Tsalikis et al 1992: 37;Sims 3 We used Google Scholar rather than Scopus or the Web of Science to search for citations as Google Scholar has a much better coverage in the Social Sciences than the two former databases (Harzing 2013 and Guice 1992: 25). In this respect, Marschan-Piekkari's early publications (Marschan et al 1997: 335;Marschan-Piekkari et al 1999a: 206, 1999b marked an influential turning point, which was followed by an ever increasing growth of the field. The early marginalization of language research in international business also becomes evident in publication outlets.…”

Section: Overview Of Our Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

2017

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A fast growing number of studies demonstrates that language diversity influences almost all management decisions in modern multinational corporations. Whereas no doubt remains about the practical importance of language, the empirical investigation and theoretical conceptualization of its complex and multifaceted effects still presents a substantial challenge. To summarize and evaluate the current state of the literature in a coherent picture informing future research, we systematically review 264 articles on language in international business. We scrutinize the geographic distributions of data, evaluate the field's achievements to date in terms of theories and methodologies, and summarize core findings by individual, group, firm, and country levels of analysis. For each of these dimensions, we then put forward a future research agenda. We encourage scholars to transcend disciplinary boundaries and to draw on, integrate, and test a variety of theories from disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience to gain a more profound understanding of language in international business. We advocate more multi-level studies and cross-national research collaborations and suggest greater attention to potential new data sources and means of analysis.

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Section: Overview Of Our Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

2017

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“…First, as a community, it has developed a specialist vocabulary which helps to define the boundaries of the new domain within IB that is distinct from research on related constructs such as culture or communication. For example, instead of focusing on expatriates as cultural boundary spanners, language-sensitive researchers have begun to talk about them as "language nodes" (Marschan-Piekkari et al, 1999b). Alongside notions of social capital, languagesensitive researchers are surfacing the concept of "language capital" (Welch & Welch, 2008), and next to cultural distance, language-sensitive researchers have begun to theorize and measure "language distance" (West & Graham, 2004).…”

Section: Current Issues and Suggested Protocolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The multifaceted role of language in international business: Unpacking the forms, functions and features of a critical challenge to MNC theory and performance

2014

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Language lies at the heart of international business (IB) activities, yet language as a key construct in the field of IB has not been sufficiently articulated or theorized. Language presents itself in forms such as national, corporate, technical or electronic, in functions in terms of defining hierarchies, exercising power or facilitating integration and in features such as the use of mixed syntax or gendermarking. Understanding the complex interplay between the multiple facets of language and how they affect day-to-day operations is becoming increasingly critical to global business effectiveness. The purpose of this special issue is, therefore, to catalyze and set a course for the development of a new domain in IB scholarship originating from an explicit focus on language.

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“…Only since the groundbreaking research by Piekkari (see e.g. Marschan, Welch, & Welch, 1997;Marschan-Piekkari, Welch, & Welch, 1999a, 1999b) have international business and management studies recognized the importance of language as a "medium for thought" (Brannen & Doz, 2012: 80), which is "central to the process of constructing organizational, social and global realities" (Piekkari & Tietze, 2011: 267). The fact that scholars have traditionally subsumed language under the umbrella of culture (Kassis Henderson, 2005) may be a key reason why the "linguistic turn" (Tietze, 2007) of the field was delayed for so long.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of language barriers on trust formation in multinational teams

2013

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AcknowledgementsWe thank Sebastian Reiche for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We are very grateful for the constructive and thoughtful guidance by special issue editors Rebecca Piekkari and Mary Yoko Brannen, as well as three anonymous reviewers. MNTs in three German automotive corporations, we show how MNT members' cognitive and emotional reactions to language barriers influence their perceived trustworthiness and intention to trust, which in turn affect trust formation. We contribute to diversity research by distinguishing the exclusively negative language effects from the more ambivalent effects of other diversity dimensions. Our findings also illustrate how surface-level language diversity may create perceptions of deep-level diversity.Furthermore, our study advances MNT research by revealing the specific influences of language barriers on team trust, an important mediator between team inputs and performance outcomes. It thereby encourages the examination of other team processes through a language lens. Finally, our study suggests that multilingual settings necessitate a reexamination and modification of the seminal trust theories by Mayer, Schoorman (1995) andMcAllister (1995). In terms of practical implications, we outline how MNT leaders can manage their subordinates' problematic reactions to language barriers and how MNT members can enhance their perceived trustworthiness in multilingual settings.

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Adopting a common corporate language: IHRM implications

Cited by 213 publications

References 2 publications

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

The multifaceted role of language in international business: Unpacking the forms, functions and features of a critical challenge to MNC theory and performance

The impact of language barriers on trust formation in multinational teams

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