In the shadow: the impact of language on structure, power and communication in the multinational

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

“…While Luo and Shenkar (2006) distinguish between parent and subsidiary functional languages, MarschanPiekkari, Welch, and Welch (1999a) refer to parent country, subsidiary and common corporate languages as mentioned above. Moreover, an internal hierarchy of languages has been identified which orders and separates the privileged home country language and the official corporate language from other less prestigious languages employed in the MNC (Marschan-Piekkari et al, 1999a).…”

“…The performative potential of languages to unite, disrupt, form and disable flows of knowledge between different parts and units of the networked MNC began to capture scholarly attention, and IB researchers started to theorize about language as an organizational-level concept (Barner-Rasmussen, 2003;Brannen & Doz, 2012;Fredriksson et al, 2006;Marschan-Piekkari et al, 1999a). More specifically, IB researchers sought to capture organizational dynamics in multilingual headquarters -subsidiary and inter-subsidiary relationships as well as interorganizational settings such as international joint ventures (Brannen & Salk, 2000) and mergers and acquisitions (Brannen & Peterson, 2009;Vaara et al, 2005).…”

“…In their conceptual article, Luo and Shenkar (2006: 324) write that "[g]lobal language design affects corporate performance via several channels" such as communication, coordination, knowledge sharing and value creation. Previous empirical findings show that the adoption of a common corporate language changes headquarters-subsidiary relationships (Marschan-Piekkari et al, 1999a), affects cohesion within the MNC (Barner-Rasmussen & Björkman, 2007) and affects the ability of the MNC to exercise control over its foreign subsidiaries located in different language environments (Björkman & Piekkari, 2009). Unlike diversity research, where the focus of the extant research has been on the diversityperformance link (Stahl et al, 2010), IB researchers have primarily devoted their attention to the "intervening variables" and processes between language as an input and performance as an output.…”

How non-native English-speaking staff are evaluated in linguistically diverse organizations: A sociolinguistic perspective

“…Marschan-Piekkari, Welch & Welch, 1999b; and asymmetries in language fluency may contribute to the emergence of different organizational factions (Hinds, Neeley & Cramton, 2013). As language fluency often correlates with age, occupational position and organizational level (Barner-Rasmussen & Aarnio, 2011;Fredriksson, Barner-Rasmussen & Piekkari, 2007;Heikkilä & Smale, 2011), the effects of a shift in the language regime are unequally distributed.…”

Host country language ability and expatriate adjustment: the moderating effect of language difficulty

“…Barner-Rasmussen and Björkman (2007) found language fluency to be positively associated with positive inter-unit relationships. Marschan-Piekkari et al (1999) demonstrated that proficiency in certain national languages was 7 a strong organizational principle leading to tight social networks with language groups and exclusion of individuals that were not proficient in those languages. Hence, language proficiency provides a shared social identity and the emergence of in-groups, while individuals and groups that are less skilled in a certain language risk being excluded from daily interaction, decision making, knowledge sharing and collaboration (Giles & Byrnes, 1982;Piekkari et al, 2005;Welch & Welch, 2008).…”