IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/manint/v46y2006i6d10.1007_s11575-006-0122-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The importance of language in global teams: A linguistic perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Stephen Chen

    (Australian National University)

  • Ronald Geluykens

    (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster)

  • Chong Ju Choi

    (Cass Business School)

Abstract

Abstract and Key Results Often one of the main problems faced in global teams is that one or more of the team members will need to use a foreign language. This can cause communication difficulties and hinder the performance of global teams. We discsuss in this paper how research in linguistics can help further research on these difficulties in global teams, giving examples of different types of challenges and their implications. Linguistic analysis can enrich our theories about global team management and improve management practice of global teams.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Chen & Ronald Geluykens & Chong Ju Choi, 2006. "The importance of language in global teams: A linguistic perspective," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 679-696, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:manint:v:46:y:2006:i:6:d:10.1007_s11575-006-0122-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11575-006-0122-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11575-006-0122-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11575-006-0122-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guy Oliver Faure, 1999. "The Cultural Dimensions of Negotiation: The Chinese Case," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 187-215, May.
    2. Lee Sproull & Sara Kiesler, 1986. "Reducing Social Context Cues: Electronic Mail in Organizational Communication," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(11), pages 1492-1512, November.
    3. Walsh, James P. & Henderson, Caroline M. & Deighton, John, 1988. "Negotiated belief structures and decision performance: An empirical investigation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 194-216, October.
    4. Ghauri, Pervez & Fang, Tony, 2001. "Negotiating with the Chinese: a socio-cultural analysis," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 303-325, October.
    5. David Schweiger & Tugrul Atamer & Roland Calori, 2003. "Transnational project teams and networks : Making the multinational organization more effective," Post-Print hal-02311650, HAL.
    6. Martin Schulz, 2003. "Pathways of Relevance: Exploring Inflows of Knowledge into Subunits of Multinational Corporations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(4), pages 440-459, August.
    7. Martha L. Maznevski & Katherine M. Chudoba, 2000. "Bridging Space Over Time: Global Virtual Team Dynamics and Effectiveness," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(5), pages 473-492, October.
    8. Marschan, Rebecca & Welch, Denice & Welch, Lawrence, 1997. "Language: The forgotten factor in multinational management," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 591-598, October.
    9. Schweiger, David M. & Atamer, Tugrul & Calori, Roland, 2003. "Transnational project teams and networks: making the multinational organization more effective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 127-140, May.
    10. David A. Morand, 1996. "Dominance, Deference, and Egalitarianism in Organizational Interaction: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Power and Politeness," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 544-556, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Contractor, Farok & Yang, Yong & Gaur, Ajai S., 2016. "Firm-specific intangible assets and subsidiary profitability: The moderating role of distance, ownership strategy and subsidiary experience," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 950-964.
    2. Sharp, Ziva, 2010. "From unilateral transfer to bilateral transition: Towards an integrated model for language management in the MNE," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 304-313, September.
    3. Tenzer, Helene & Terjesen, Siri & Harzing, Anne-Wil, 2017. "Language in international business : A review and agenda for future research," Other publications TiSEM 8afd108a-9666-4fbb-934f-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Loderer, Anja & Muehlfeld, Katrin & Wilken, Robert & Moritz, Alexandra & Slomski, Véronique, 2024. "The language barrier as a springboard towards (team) creativity: An exploratory study of foreign language use in teams," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    5. Maria Adenfelt & Katarina Lagerström, 2008. "The development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams: A conceptual framework," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 319-338, May.
    6. Bradley L Kirkman & Kevin B Lowe & Cristina B Gibson, 2017. "A retrospective on Culture’s Consequences: The 35-year journey," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(1), pages 12-29, January.
    7. Ting Liu, 2018. "The Review of Language Studies in International Business: Suggestions and Future Directions for Japan," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 18-30, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    8. Denice E. Welch & Lawrence S. Welch, 2008. "The importance of language in international knowledge transfer," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 339-360, May.
    9. Sherae Daniel & Ritu Agarwal & Katherine J. Stewart, 2013. "The Effects of Diversity in Global, Distributed Collectives: A Study of Open Source Project Success," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 312-333, June.
    10. Jacopo Bregolin, 2022. "Communication Effort and the Cost of Language: Evidence from Stack Overflow," Working Papers 202213, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    11. Yunxia Zhu, 2009. "Managing Business Relationships in New Zealand and China," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 225-248, April.
    12. Mehmet Demirbag & Ekrem Tatoglu & Keith W. Glaister, 2010. "Institutional and Transaction Cost Influences on Partnership Structure of Foreign Affiliates," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 709-745, December.
    13. Tenzer, Helene & Pudelko, Markus, 2017. "The influence of language differences on power dynamics in multinational teams," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 45-61.
    14. 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.
    15. Li, Yanxi & Sai, Qian, 2020. "The effects of language and religion on cross-border acquisition completion," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    16. Chen, Stephen & Lin, Nidthida, 2019. "The effect of inter- and intra-organizational distances on success of offshored outsourced innovation: A configurational approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 519-529.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ting Liu, 2018. "The Review of Language Studies in International Business: Suggestions and Future Directions for Japan," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 18-30, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    2. Aurélien Portuese, 2012. "Law and economics of the European multilingualism," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 279-325, October.
    3. Sharp, Ziva, 2010. "From unilateral transfer to bilateral transition: Towards an integrated model for language management in the MNE," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 304-313, September.
    4. Catherine Durnell Cramton, 2001. "The Mutual Knowledge Problem and Its Consequences for Dispersed Collaboration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(3), pages 346-371, June.
    5. Sumita Raghuram & Philipp Tuertscher & Raghu Garud, 2010. "Research Note ---Mapping the Field of Virtual Work: A Cocitation Analysis," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 983-999, December.
    6. Maria Adenfelt & Katarina Lagerström, 2008. "The development and sharing of knowledge by Centres of Excellence and transnational teams: A conceptual framework," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 319-338, May.
    7. Ambos, Tina C. & Ambos, Björn & Eich, Katharina J. & Puck, Jonas, 2016. "Imbalance and Isolation: How Team Configurations Affect Global Knowledge Sharing," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 316-332.
    8. Christopher Melin, 2011. "Le management de projets des firmes multinationales comme un mécanisme de coordination des relations siège-filiales," Post-Print hal-00690839, HAL.
    9. Sidhu, Jatinder S. & Volberda, Henk W., 2011. "Coordination of globally distributed teams: A co-evolution perspective on offshoring," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 278-290, June.
    10. Lionel P. Robert & Alan R. Dennis & Manju K. Ahuja, 2008. "Social Capital and Knowledge Integration in Digitally Enabled Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 314-334, September.
    11. Kieran Mathieson, 2007. "Towards a Design Science of Ethical Decision Support," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(3), pages 269-292, December.
    12. Florin POPESCU, 2016. "Research On Complex, Large Industrial Projects In Transnational Environment," SEA - Practical Application of Science, Romanian Foundation for Business Intelligence, Editorial Department, issue 12, pages 593-607, December.
    13. Zakaria, Norhayati, 2017. "Emergent Patterns of Switching Behaviors and Intercultural Communication Styles of Global Virtual Teams During Distributed Decision Making," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 350-366.
    14. Cristina B. Gibson & Jennifer L. Gibbs & Taryn L. Stanko & Paul Tesluk & Susan G. Cohen, 2011. "Including the “I” in Virtuality and Modern Job Design: Extending the Job Characteristics Model to Include the Moderating Effect of Individual Experiences of Electronic Dependence and Copresence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(6), pages 1481-1499, December.
    15. Ann Majchrzak & Arvind Malhotra & Richard John, 2005. "Perceived Individual Collaboration Know-How Development Through Information Technology–Enabled Contextualization: Evidence from Distributed Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 16(1), pages 9-27, March.
    16. Kent Marett & Joey F. George, 2013. "Barriers to Deceiving Other Group Members in Virtual Settings," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 89-115, January.
    17. Jonathan Sapsed & David Gann & Nick Marshall & Ammon Salter, 2005. "From here to eternity?: The practice of knowledge transfer in dispersed and co-located project organizations," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(6), pages 831-851, September.
    18. S. X. Zeng & X. M. Xie & C. M. Tam & P. M. Sun, 2008. "Identifying cultural difference in R&D project for performance improvement: A field study," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 61-70, November.
    19. Randi Lunnan & Sverre Tomassen & Ulf Andersson & Gabriel R. G. Benito, 2019. "Dealing with headquarters in the multinational corporation: a subsidiary perspective on organizing costs," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 8(1), pages 1-24, December.
    20. Raab, Katharina J. & Ambos, Björn & Tallman, Stephen, 2014. "Strong or invisible hands? – Managerial involvement in the knowledge sharing process of globally dispersed knowledge groups," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 32-41.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:manint:v:46:y:2006:i:6:d:10.1007_s11575-006-0122-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.