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

Mary Yoko Brannen, Rebecca Piekkari and Susanne Tietze
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Mary Yoko Brannen: Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria, BC, Canada
Rebecca Piekkari: School of Business, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
Susanne Tietze: Keele University, Staffordshire, UK

Journal of International Business Studies, 2014, vol. 45, issue 5, 495-507

Abstract: Language lies at the heart of international business (IB) activities, yet language as a key construct in the field of IB has not been sufficiently articulated or theorized. Language presents itself in forms such as national, corporate, technical or electronic, in functions in terms of defining hierarchies, exercising power or facilitating integration and in features such as the use of mixed syntax or gender-marking. Understanding the complex interplay between the multiple facets of language and how they affect day-to-day operations is becoming increasingly critical to global business effectiveness. The purpose of this special issue is, therefore, to catalyze and set a course for the development of a new domain in IB scholarship originating from an explicit focus on language.

Date: 2014
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