Explaining Employees’ Reactions towards a Cross-Border Merger: The Role of English Language Fluency

David P. Kroon (), Joep P. Cornelissen and Eero Vaara
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David P. Kroon: VU University Amsterdam
Joep P. Cornelissen: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Eero Vaara: Aalto University School of Business

Management International Review, 2015, vol. 55, issue 6, No 2, 775-800

Abstract: Abstract In this paper, we focus on the role of language in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and explore how organization members’ language skills, or fluency, in the adopted lingua franca may impact their reactions to a merger. Drawing on a qualitative study of the post-merger integration between a French and Dutch airline where English was adopted as a lingua franca, we illustrate how language fluency influences the ability of individuals to give meaning to their changed circumstances. Moreover, we elaborate on how language fluency indexes social groupings and identities, and may thus be a driver of perceptions of status inequality and identity politics between different groups of employees. With our study we draw attention to the multi-faceted role of English as a lingua franca. Our findings also contribute to research on sociocultural dynamics associated with post-merger integration and the role of language in mergers and acquisitions, as well as in multinational companies more generally.

Keywords: English language fluency; Cross-border mergers and acquisitions; Identity politics; Status attributions; Perceived anxiety; Post-merger integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11575-015-0259-2

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