dEjournals Home Page
Competitio
Online ready Current Most Read Archives Search
Register Login

Competitio

Vol. 22 No. 1-2 (2023)
PhD student papers

Literature analysis of the language challenges and the responses thereto of European multinational companies

Published:
2024-07-13
DOI Linkhttps://doi.org/10.21845/comp/2023/1-2/3
Author
Edina Várnagy
View
PDF
Keywords
language diversity language barrier EPRG-model economics of languages language strategy
License

Copyright (c) 2023 Edina Várnagy

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How To Cite
Selected Style: APA
Várnagy, E. (2024). Literature analysis of the language challenges and the responses thereto of European multinational companies. Competitio, 22(1-2), 101-119. https://doi.org/10.21845/comp/2023/1-2/3
Received 2022-04-20
Accepted 2023-02-09
Published 2024-07-13
Abstract

Language diversity is an inherent part of international business transactions,
despite the dominance of English. The challenge for management, HRM, and
employees in multinational companies is to find the right strategy. Multinational
organizations can be categorized using the EPRG (ethnocentric, polycentric,
regiocentric, geocentric) model, according to how they define their relationship
with subsidiaries, and how they operate in foreign markets. Using this model,
conclusions can also be drawn from their applied language strategy.

JEL code: F23, Z13

 

References
  1. Aichhorn, N., & Puck, J. (2017). Bridging the language gap in multinational companies: Language strategies and the notion of company-speak. Journal of World Business, 52(3), 386–403. doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2017.01.002
  2. Andersen, H., & Rasmussen, E. S. (2004). The role of language skills in corporate communication. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 9(3), 231–242. doi:10.1108/13563280410551150
  3. Bouchien de Groot, E. (2012): Personal preference or policy? Language choice in a European-based international organization. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. Vol. 17. Iss 3. pp. 255-271. doi:10.1108/13563281211253511
  4. Böcskei, E., & Bács, Z., & Kovács, T., & Tarnóczi, T. & Fenyves, V. (2018). Intézményi szolgáltatásokról a külföldi hallgatók szemével – mitől lesz egy intézmény multikulturális? International Journal of Engineering and Management Sciences 3(4), 343–363. doi:10.21791/IJEMS.2018.4.29
  5. Charles, M. (2007). Language Matters in Global Communication: Article Based on ORA Lecture, October 2006. Journal of Business Communication, 44(3), 260–282. doi:10.1177/0021943607302477
  6. Ehrenreich, S. (2010). English as a Business Lingua Franca in a German Multinational Corporation: Meeting the Challenge. Journal of Business Communication, 47(4), 408–431. doi:10.1177/0021943610377303
  7. Feely, A. J., & Harzing, A. (2003). Language management in multinational companies. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 10(2), 37–52. doi:10.1108/13527600310797586
  8. Fredriksson, R., Barner-Rasmussen, W., & Piekkari, R. (2006). The multinational corporation as a multilingual organization. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 11(4), 406–423. doi:10.1108/13563280610713879
  9. Gaál, Z., Szabó, L., & Kovács, Z. (2005). Nemzetközi vállalati stratégiák és a nemzeti-vállalati kultúrák összefüggései. Vezetéstudomány, 2–14. doi:10.14267/veztud.2005.07.01
  10. Harzing, A.-W., & Pudelko, M. (2013). Language competencies, policies and practices in multinational corporations: A comprehensive review and comparison of Anglophone, Asian, Continental European and Nordic MNCs. Journal of World Business, 48(1), 87–97. doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2012.06.011
  11. Heikkilä, J.-P., & Smale, A. (2011). The effects of “language standardization” on the acceptance and use of e-HRM systems in foreign subsidiaries. Journal of World Business, 46(3), 305–313. doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.004
  12. Horváth, I. (2021): Tolmácsolás, digitalizáció, mesterséges intelligencia. Akadémiai Kiadó. doi: 10.1556/9789634546801
  13. Kankaanranta, A., & Louhiala-Salminen, L. (2010). “English? – Oh, it’s just work!”: A study of BELF users’ perceptions. English for Specific Purposes, 29(3), 204–209. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2009.06.004
  14. Louhiala-Salminen, L., & Kankaanranta, A. (2012). Language as an issue in international internal communication: English or local language? If English, what English? Public Relations Review, 38(2), 262–269. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.12.021
  15. Luo, Y., & Shenkar, O. (2017). The Multinational Corporation as a Multilingual Community: Language and Organization in a Global Context. JIBS Special Collections, 59–92. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-42745-4_4
  16. Machili, I. (2015). “it’s not written on parchment but it’s the way to survive’: Official and unofficial use of languages in MNCs. Language in Focus, 1(2), 54–84. doi:10.1515/lifijsal-2015-0009
  17. Maclean, D. (2006): Beyond English Transnational corporations and the strategic management of language. Management Decision, 44(10), 1377–1390. doi:10.1108/00251740610715704
  18. Marschan-Piekkari, R., Welch, D., & Welch, L. (1999). Adopting a common corporate language: IHRM implications. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10(3), 377–390. doi:10.1080/095851999340387
  19. Muratbekova-Touron, M. (2008). From an ethnocentric to a geocentric approach to IHRM. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 15(4), 335–352. doi:10.1108/13527600810914139.
  20. Neeley, T. B. (2013). Language Matters: Status Loss and Achieved Status Distinctions in Global Organizations. Organization Science, 24(2), 476–497. doi:10.1287/orsc.1120.0739
  21. Neeley, T. B., Hinds, P. J., & Cramton, C. D. (2012). The (Un)Hidden Turmoil of Language in Global Collaboration. Organizational Dynamics, 41(3), 236–244. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2012.03.008
  22. Nekvapil, J., & Nekula, M. (2006). On Language Management in Multinational Companies in the Czech Republic. Current Issues in Language Planning, 7(2-3), 307–327. doi:10.2167/cilp100.0
  23. Nielsen, T. H. (2020). Developing shared communication practices: A study of BELF in multinational team meetings. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 9(1), 131–153. doi:10.1515/jelf-2020-2029.
  24. Perlmutter, H. V. (1969). The tortuous evolution of the multinational corporation. The Columbia Journal of World Business, 4(1), 9-18.
  25. Piekkari, R., Welch, D., & Welch, L. (1997). Language: The forgotten factor in multinational management. European Management Journal, 15(5), 591–598. doi:10.1016/S0263-2373(97)00038-8
  26. Rekettye, G. & Tóth, T. & Malota, E. (2015): Nemzetközi marketing. Akadémia Kiadó. Budapest. p. 473.
  27. Rogerson-Revell, P. (2007). Using English for International Business: A European case study. English for Specific Purposes, 26(1), 103–120. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2005.12.004
  28. Sanden, G. R. (2020). Language policy and corporate law: A case study from Norway. Nordic Journal of Linguistics, 43(1), 59–91. doi:10.1017/s0332586519000222
  29. Saulière, J. (2014): Corporate language: the blind spot of language policy? Reflections on France’s Loi Toubon. Current Issues in Language Planning, 15(2), 220–235. doi:10.1080/14664208.2014.858658.
  30. Selmer, J., & Lauring, J. (2011). Host country language ability and expatriate adjustment: the moderating effect of language difficulty. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(3), 401–420. doi:10.1080/09585192.2011.561238
  31. Steyaert, C., Ostendorp, A., & Gaibrois, C. (2011). Multilingual organizations as “linguascapes”: Negotiating the position of English through discursive practices. Journal of World Business, 46(3), 270–278. doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.003
  32. Tenzer, H., & Pudelko, M. (2017). The influence of language differences on power dynamics in multinational teams. Journal of World Business, 52(1), 45–61. doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2016.11.002
  33. Tungli, Z., & Peiperl, M. (2009). Expatriate practices in German, Japanese, U.K., and U.S. multinational companies: A comparative survey of changes. Human Resource Management, 48(1), 153–171. doi:10.1002/hrm.20271
  34. Vaara, E., Tienari, J., Piekkari, R., & Säntti, R. (2005). Language and the Circuits of Power in a Merging Multinational Corporation. Journal of Management Studies, 42(3), 595–623. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00510.x
  35. Van den Born, F., & Peltokorpi, V. (2010). Language Policies and Communication in Multinational Companies: Alignment with Strategic Orientation and Human Resource Management Practices. Journal of Business Communication, 47(2), 97–118. doi:10.1177/0021943610364515
  36. Welch, D. E., & Welch, L. S. (2018). Coping with multilingualism: Internationalization and the evolution of language strategy. Global Strategy Journal, 9(4), 618–639. doi:10.1002/gsj.1191.
  37. Wind, Y., Douglas, S. P., & Perlmutter, H. V. (1973). Guidelines for Developing International
  38. Marketing Strategies. Journal of Marketing, 37(2), 14. doi:10.2307/1250046
  39. Yanaprasart, P. (2016). Managing Language Diversity in the Workplace: Between ‘One Language Fits All’ and ‘Multilingual Model in Action’. Universal Journal of Management, 4(3), 91–107. doi:10.13189/ujm.2016.040302.