Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-15T19:09:47.134Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - The implications of language boundaries on the development of trust in international management teams

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Jane Kassis Henderson
Affiliation:
ESCP Europe Paris campus
Mark N. K. Saunders
Affiliation:
University of Surrey
Denise Skinner
Affiliation:
Coventry University
Graham Dietz
Affiliation:
University of Durham
Nicole Gillespie
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Roy J. Lewicki
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Get access

Summary

Summary

This chapter explores the concept of language boundaries in international teams in multinational companies which use English as their shared working language. Drawing on research in the fields of intercultural communication theory and sociolinguistics, and on references in the management literature, the analysis demonstrates how language boundaries in teams both foster trust within parties and hinder trust between parties. Empirical data from interviews with international executives illustrate how English as a shared working language can create as well as break down language boundaries. The chapter identifies the implications these boundaries have on the formation and maintenance of trust through cooperation and relationship building. Findings show that it is an awareness of language practices and sociolinguistic competence rather than expert language knowledge that fosters the development of trust in multicultural, multilingual teams.

Introduction

Many management teams in multinational companies are not only multicultural, but also multilingual as they are composed of speakers of different mother tongues. The language factor has become omnipresent in international organizations, and globalization implies that they conduct their operations in multiple language environments and through multilingual teams (Feely and Harzing, 2003; Welch et al., 2001). Language differences are often considered to be an obstacle and the concept of the language barrier is therefore a familiar one in such organizations. Indeed, it is so well known that its implications are often overlooked. Language barriers are visible obstacles to communication and occur when individuals who do not speak and understand each other's languages have difficulties working together.

Type
Chapter
Information
Organizational Trust
A Cultural Perspective
, pp. 358 - 382
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bernstein, B. B. 1973. ‘Language and socialization’. In Minnis, N. (ed.) Linguistics at Large. St Albans, Hertfordshire: Paladin, 225–42.Google Scholar
Carroll, R. 1988. Cultural Misunderstandings: the French–American Experience. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Chao, G. T. and Moon, H. 2005. ‘The cultural mosaic: a metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1128–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chévrier, S. 2000. Le Management des équipes interculturelles. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.Google Scholar
Chomsky, N. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
DiStefano, J. J. and Maznevski, M. L. 2000. ‘Creating value with diverse teams in global management’. Organizational Dynamics, 29(1), 45–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feely, A. J. and Harzing, A.-W. 2003. ‘Language management in multinational companies’. Cross-cultural Management, 10(2), 37–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Firth, A. 1990. ‘“Lingua Franca” negotiations: towards an interactional approach’. World Englishes – Journal of English as an International and Intranational Language, 9(3), 269–81.Google Scholar
Glaister, K. W., Husan, R. and Buckley, P. J. 2003. ‘Learning to manage international joint ventures’. International Business Review, 12(1), 83–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodall, K. and Roberts, J. 2003. ‘Only connect: teamwork in the multinational’. Journal of World Business, 38, 127–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffith, D. A. 2002. ‘The role of communication competencies in international business relationship development’. Journal of World Business, 37, 256–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guirdham, M. 1999. Communicating Across Cultures. London: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gumperz, J. 1982. Language and Social Identity. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
2003. ‘Interactional sociolinguistics: a personal perspective’. In Schiffrin, D., Tannen, D. and Hamilton, H. E. (eds.) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Blackwell, paperback edition, 215–28.CrossRef
Henttonen, K. and Blomqvist, K. 2005. ‘Managing distance in a global virtual team: the evolution of trust through technology-mediated relational communication’. Strategic Change, 14, 107–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holden, N. J. 2002. Cross-cultural Management: a Knowledge Management Perspective. London: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Hymes, Dell H. 1971. ‘Competence and performance in linguistic theory’. In Huxley, R. and Ingram, E. (eds.) Language Acquisition: Models and Methods. New York: Academic Press, 3–28.Google Scholar
Iles, P. and Hayers, P. K. 1997. ‘Managing diversity in transnational project teams’. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 12(2), 95–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kassis Henderson, J. 2003. ‘Managing language diversity in top management teams’. Unpublished Research Project, Chair of Executive Governance, ESCP Europe, Paris campus.Google Scholar
2005. ‘Language diversity in international management teams’. International Studies of Management and Organization, 35(1), 66–82.
Lagerstrom, K. and Andersson, M. 2003. ‘Creating and sharing knowledge within a transnational team – the development of a global business system’. Journal of World Business, 38, 84–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H. and Schoorman, F. D. 1995. ‘An integrative model of organizational trust’. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maznevski, M. L. and Chudoba, K. M. 2000. ‘Bridging space over time: global virtual dynamics and effectiveness’. Organization Science, 11(5), 473–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mole, J. 1992. Mind your Manners, Managing Culture Clash in the Single European Market. London: Nicholas Brealey.Google Scholar
Möllering, G. and Stache, F. 2007. ‘German-Ukrainian business relationships: trust development in the face of institutional uncertainty and cultural differences’. MPIfG Discussion Paper 07/11.
O'Grady, S. and Lane, H. W. 1996. ‘The psychic distance paradox’. Journal of International Business Studies, 27(2), 309–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pan, Y., Wong Scollon, S. and Scollon, R. 2002. Professional Communication in International Settings. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Pauleen, D. J. and Yoong, P. 2001. ‘Relationship building and the use of ICT in boundary-crossing virtual teams: a facilitator's perspective’. Journal of Information Technology, 16(4), 205–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rousseau, D. M., Sitkin, S. B., Burt, R. S. and Camerer, C. 1998. ‘Not so different after all: a cross-discipline view of trust’. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 393–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, S. C. and Barsoux, J.-L. 2003. Managing Across Cultures, 2nd edn. Harlow: FT/ Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Schweiger, D. M., Atamer, T. and Calori, R. 2003. ‘Transnational project teams and networks: making the multinational organization more effective’. Journal of World Business, 38, 127–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scollon, R. and Scollon, S. W. 1995. Intercultural Communication: a Discourse Approach. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Seidelhofer, B. 2001. ‘Closing a conceptual gap: the case for a description of English as a lingua franca’. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 133–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tracy, K. 2003. ‘Discourse analysis in communication’. In Schiffrin, D., Tannen, D. and Hamilton, H. E. (eds.) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Blackwell, (paperback edition) 725–49.Google Scholar
Welch, D., Welch, L. and Marschan-Piekkari, R. 2001. ‘The persistent impact of language on global operations’. Prometheus, 19(3), 193–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welch, C., Marschan-Piekkari, R., Penttinen, H. and Tahvanainen, M. 2002. ‘Corporate elites as informants in qualitative international business research’. International Business Review, 11, 611–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, J. M., Straus, S. G. and McEvily, B. 2006. ‘All in due time: the development of trust in computer-mediated and face-to-face teams’. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 99(1), 16–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×