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Corporate language-based communication avoidance in MNCs: A multi-sited ethnography approach

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  • Lauring, Jakob
  • Klitmøller, Anders

Abstract

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are highly dependent on a corporate language to control and coordinate their distributed operations. However, research on the impact of language differences on intra- and inter-unit communication is still underdeveloped. In this study, we focus on corporate language-based communication avoidance (CLBCA) which has received little systematic attention in international business (IB) literature despite the negative impact it may have on MNC effectiveness. Applying a research methodology labeled multi-sited ethnography, we traced CLBCA across three Danish owned MNCs and identified five contextual factors that affect avoidance behavior in second language encounters: formality level, media leanness, group size, power difference, and relation strength. Thereby, this study provides novel insights into context dependent language barriers in MNCs. A central argument in this article is that communication avoidance in MNCs should not be perceived only as an individual level variable as has been the practice in most studies so far.

Suggested Citation

  • Lauring, Jakob & Klitmøller, Anders, 2015. "Corporate language-based communication avoidance in MNCs: A multi-sited ethnography approach," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 46-55.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:50:y:2015:i:1:p:46-55
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2014.01.005
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    2. König, Andreas & Fehn, Angela & Puck, Jonas & Graf-Vlachy, Lorenz, 2017. "Primary or complex? Towards a theory of metaphorical strategy communication in MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 270-285.
    3. Helene Tenzer & Siri Terjesen & Anne-Wil Harzing, 2017. "Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 815-854, December.
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    5. Vesa Peltokorpi, 2023. "The “language” of career success: The effects of English language competence on local employees’ career outcomes in foreign subsidiaries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(2), pages 258-284, March.
    6. Kubovcikova, Annamaria & van Bakel, Marian, 2022. "Social support abroad: How do self-initiated expatriates gain support through their social networks?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1).
    7. Alfredo Jimenez & Jonas Holmqvist & Diego Jimenez, 2019. "Cross-Border Communication and Private Participation Projects: The Role of Genealogical Language Distance," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(6), pages 1009-1033, December.
    8. Johann Fortwengel, 2021. "The formation of an MNE identity over the course of internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1069-1095, August.
    9. Nurmi, Niina & Koroma, Johanna, 2020. "The emotional benefits and performance costs of building a psychologically safe language climate in MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
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    12. Tian, Xiaocong, 2022. "The art of rhetoric: Host country political hostility and the rhetorical strategies of foreign subsidiaries in developing economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    13. Nevskiy, Sergei (Невский, Сергей), 2015. "The economic policy of the allies in the post-war West Germany (1945-1947 years) [Economic Policy of Aliens in Post-War West Germany (1945—1947)]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 6, pages 40-78.

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