Let’s Talk about Language: A Review of Language‐Sensitive Research in International Management

Karhunen, Päivi; Kankaanranta, Anne; Louhiala‐Salminen, Leena; Piekkari, Rebecca

doi:10.1111/joms.12354

Cited by 83 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 161 publications

(209 reference statements)

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“…Karhunen et al’s () JMS literature review illustrates a contribution to theory building through an analysis of assumptions. The authors review language‐sensitive research in international management and discover three different categories of taken‐for‐granted assumptions, which correspond to three different theoretical views of language: structural, functional, and social practice.…”

Section: Some Avenues For Advancing Theory With Reviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing Theory with Review Articles

Post

Sarala

Gatrell

et al. 2020

J Management Studies

339

282

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Reviewing a body of work presents unique opportunities for making a theoretical contribution. Review articles can make readers think theoretically differently about a given field or phenomenon. Yet, review articles that advance theory have been historically under‐represented in Journal of Management Studies. Accordingly, the purpose of this editorial is to propose a multi‐faceted approach for fashioning theoretical contributions in review articles, which we hope will inspire more authors to develop and submit innovative, original, and high‐quality theory‐building review articles. We argue that advancing theory with review articles requires an integrative and generative approach. We propose a non‐exhaustive set of avenues for developing theory with a review article: exposing emerging perspectives, analysing assumptions, clarifying constructs, establishing boundary conditions, testing new theory, theorizing with systems theory, and theorizing with mechanisms. As a journal, Journal of Management Studies is a journal of ideas – new ideas; ideas drawn from reflections on extant theory and ideas with potential to change the way we understand and interpret theory. With this in mind, we think that advancing theory with review articles is an untapped source of new ideas.

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Section: Some Avenues For Advancing Theory With Reviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing Theory with Review Articles

Post

Sarala

Gatrell

et al. 2020

J Management Studies

339

282

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One caveat, however, is that many studies in IB typically do not focus on "how 'English' is conceptualized, how it is used, or what the discourse is like" (Kankaanranta et al 2015: 134). The latter is important in BELF and the present study, where language is conceptualized as a social practice, whereas in some IB studies it is often regarded as either a context-independent 'system' that management can implement, or as a question of individual competence (Karhunen et al 2018).…”

Section: English As a Corporate Languagementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Moreover, NS were often found to be less adept at accommodating to various speakers than NNS, and to speak too fast or use a too advanced language (Charles/ Marschan-Piekkari 2002, Cogo 2016, Kankaanranta/Planken 2010b, Sweeney/Hua 2010. Thus, the linguistic skills of NS do not automatically make them good communicators in (B)ELF interactions that require more complex communicative strategies (Karhunen et al 2018).…”

Section: English Lingua Franca and English As A Business Lingua Francamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Norwegian Business Professionals´ Need for and Use of English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) in Multinational Corporations

Nielsen¹

2019

HJLCB

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English is now the corporate language of many multinational corporations (MNCs) worldwide. However, when English is used as a shared language resource, a lingua franca, its use may be both fluid and local, and the characteristics of its local use should then be explored. This article therefore investigates English used as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) in MNCs in Norway through task-based interviews with Norwegian business professionals about their need for and use of BELF. The findings indicate that business professionals need to use it frequently, and for both routine and more complex tasks, like demanding business meetings. While getting the job done was paramount to all, several associated NS-like ‘correct’ usage with ‘professionalism.’ Their BELF use was characterized by local, ‘company speak’, translingual practices and the accommodation of both non-native (NNS) and native (NS) speakers of English, and the ways in which the latter were accommodated displayed a more positive attitude to these interlocutors than has been found in similar studies. This article argues that English used as a corporate language is a complex phenomenon requiring business professionals to have a wide set of communication resources and the ability to use the language flexibly.

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“…Communicative resources are not limited to language but include also "the non-verbal, visual, symbolic, and material" (Karhunen et al, 2018(Karhunen et al, , p. 1000. These two approaches to language can also be combined (e.g., Joshi & Lahiri, 2015).…”

Section: Theory and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of language use on the financial performance of microfinance banks: Evidence from cross-border activities in 74 countries

Golesorkhi

Mersland

Piekkari

et al. 2019

Journal of World Business

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This multi-year study examines the relationship between financial performance and language use, observing 405 partnerships between microfinance banks and their international financial partners in 74 countries. Drawing on language research in international business, we find that microfinance banks based in English-speaking, French-speaking, and Spanish-speaking countries have higher performance. Furthermore, the linguistic distance between the home country of a microfinance bank and the home country of its international partner(s) is negatively related to its financial performance. Our large-scale study confirms the effect of language use on organization-level financial performance and extends research on language in multinationals from intra-firm to inter-firm relationships.

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Let’s Talk about Language: A Review of Language‐Sensitive Research in International Management

Cited by 83 publications

References 161 publications

Advancing Theory with Review Articles

Advancing Theory with Review Articles

Norwegian Business Professionals´ Need for and Use of English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) in Multinational Corporations

The effect of language use on the financial performance of microfinance banks: Evidence from cross-border activities in 74 countries

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