The Impact of Intercultural Communication on Global Organizational Learning

Abstract

Organizational learning (OL) and knowledge management (KM) research has gone through dramatic changes in the last twenty years and, without doubt, the fi eld will continue to change in the next ten years. Our research suggests that Cyert and March were the fi rst authors to reference organizational learning in their publication of 1963. It was just twenty years ago that a conference was held at Carnegie Mellon University to honor March and his contribution to the fi eld of organizational learning. Many of these presentations were published in a special issue of Organization Science in 1991.Since that time we have seen a rapid expansion in the number of journal articlesboth academic and practitioner-devoted to organizational learning. Fields such as information technology, marketing and human resources have also jumped on the bandwagon. Doctoral programs are including seminars on organizational learning, and MBA courses on organizational learning are appearing. All of this refl ects acceptance of the concept that organizations have knowledge, do learn over time, and consider their knowledge base and social capital as valuable assets. It also reaffi rms the legitimacy of research on organizational learning and its practical applications to organizations.The fi rst edition of this Handbook was published in 2003 but most chapters were completed in 2001 or 2002. Our fi rst edition was widely used and it was clear-given the advancement of the fi eld-that a second edition was necessary. Some people might claim that it is foolhardy to seek to cover the full range of the literature within one volume. Our intent is to provide a resource that is useful to academics, practitioners, and students who want an overview of the current fi eld with full recognition that-to our delight-the fi eld continues to have major impact on research and management practices. Our response is

Relating Intercultural Communication Sensitivity to Conflict Management Styles, Technology Use, and Organizational Communication Satisfaction in Multinational Organizations in China

“…Intercultural sensitivity represents the affective aspect of intercultural communication competence and directly affects knowledge transfer in organizations (Taylor & Osland, 2003). Govindarajan and Gupta (2001) identified cultural differences as important hindrances to global business teams, arguing that "unless the differences in assumptions and beliefs inherent in that diversity are explicitly addressed, the cohesiveness of the group is likely to suffer and impede effectiveness" (p. 65).…”

The role of emotions in intercultural business communication: Language standardization in the context of international knowledge transfer

“…Communication in MNEs is especially subject to the "dual impact" of language and culture as it often involves interaction between people of diverse cultural backgrounds speaking distinct native languages (Peltokorpi, 2010, p.176). This creates inherent uncertainty in the meaning and co-construction of joint work, such as knowledge transfer (Taylor & Osland, 2003). In response, top management in many MNEs designate English as a common corporate language to facilitate in-house communication between headquarters and foreign subsidiaries (Harzing & Pudelko, 2013).…”

The World is Spiky: An Internationalization Framework for A Semi‐Globalized World

“…This can be treated analogously to the argument offered earlier regarding institutional national diversity within regions. In the learning context, the main idea is that heterogeneity in learning styles within regions might better equip MNEs to engage in multiregional expansion, in part because there is not an ex ante home region advantage and because MNEs might reinforce this learning disparity by acquiring new further ‘cultural capital.’ In this regard, Taylor and Osland () point to a key dimension within the organizational learning literature: intercultural communication. The basic concept is that for MNE cross‐national organizational learning to occur, whether in our model this is exploration, exploitation, or reconfiguration of knowledge, there has to be effective communication across its national subsidiaries.…”