Radical change, such as through mergers or acquisitions, is integral to organizational life. Radical changes bring about qualitative changes in the ways people in the organization cognitively, emotionally and behaviourally interact with each other and the world around them. One increasingly common form of radical change in global organizations is replacing the native language of […]
Shared Language in Multinationals: Practical Implications
A couple of weeks ago I introduced the main premises of my latest academic research (forthcoming) on the benefits of shared language in multinational corporations in the blog. Based on an extensive international sample, my colleagues Harzing, Pudelko and I argue that shared knowledge is related to increased knowledge inflows from HQ to multinationals’ foreign […]
The Many Benefits of a Shared Language in Multinationals
Knowledge sharing is a critical activity when it comes to multinational enterprises (MNEs) and doing business across borders. In my previous blog posts I have already touched upon the importance of global employees as ‘linking pins’ between headquarters (HQ) and subsidiaries, discussed the required input of both, knowledge transmitters and receivers, and brought up the […]
‘Us versus Them’ in Multinationals: The Case of a Lingua Franca
A couple of my previous blog posts related to the topic of adopting a dominant language, mostly English, in multinational corporations. Even though using a lingua franca is generally considered to improve communication, simplify information flows and increase collaboration across culturally different units of the company, some possible roadblocks need to be mentioned too. Specifically, […]