What's in a word? Adopting a linguistic-style analysis of western MNCs’ global press releases

Michael Antioco, Kristof Coussement, Chavi Fletcher-Chen and Christiane Prange

Journal of World Business, 2023, vol. 58, issue 2

Abstract: We advance research on the impact of business English as a lingua franca (BELF) on the communication of multinational companies (MNCs). Study 1 helps predict country-level variations of linguistic style in the English language of 2,223 press releases from US, UK, German, and French companies. Press releases are a specific genre of narratives used to engage investors. Study 2 demonstrates in a controlled quasi-experimental setting that adapting linguistic styles alongside well-established frameworks of cultural values can shape investors’ attitudes and intentions. Within-language linguistic style differences in the use of BELF can create barriers to communication fairly overlooked in International Business.

Keywords: Culture; Language; Linguistic style; Business English as a lingua franca (BELF); Narrative theory; Investor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2022.101414

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