Dear GEM&L Colleagues and Friends,
We hope this email finds you well. With just one month to go until our conference in Vienna, we are happy to see preparations coming together and excitement steadily building.
We are also delighted to witness the continued growth in language-sensitive management research. Already in 2025, we have identified several new publications in our area. Please find below a list of recent work – with the exception of one article, all have been (co-)authored by current or former GEM&L members.
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When can resistance to a standardization policy result in destandardization? The case of corporate language implementation
By Lauring, Jonasson and Sanden
In International Business Review
Abstract: The implementation of corporate language policies is widely regarded as a strategy for improving communication and coordination across globally dispersed organizations. However, employees who experience a mismatch between the corporate language and their competencies or job requirements may resist the policy or attempt to change it, as documented in existing language-sensitive international business research. Nevertheless, the long-term effects of resistance against a language policy initiative have yet to be explored. We applied a two-year qualitative study following the top management’s decision to use English as a corporate language in a Danish organization. Results showed that discrepancies between external job requirements and policy directions were used by employees as a source of power to legitimize reinterpretations of the policy leading to a language destandardization process with important consequences for the organization. These findings contribute to literature on language policy implementations by describing how negotiated reactions change the practice of a policy.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102446
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Rethinking international business scholarship as cross-language knowledge production: a dialogical approach to qualitative research
By Couper and Piekkari
In Journal of International Business Studies
Abstract: As a disciplinary field, international business (IB) is characterized by language diversity. Too often, however, international business (IB) research regards language diversity as a challenge to be overcome rather than an opportunity to generate new scientific knowledge. Consequently, previous research has primarily focused on the pragmatic, logistical, and methodological hurdles of translating multilingual datasets. In contrast, this conceptual paper takes language diversity as an opportunity to produce new knowledge and proposes a dialogical approach to qualitative cross-language research. The dialogical approach has the potential to enrich IB research with novel perspectives from under-represented voices, improve the understanding of IB phenomena and nurture tolerance for diversity and inclusion through cross-language interaction. It is worth noting that the dialogical approach does not promote shared understanding but mutual understanding that is achieved through collaboration. In doing so, it builds on two types of dialogue: (self-)reflexive dialogue, and dialogue between the researcher and others (interviewees, supervisors, and collaborators participating in the research process). The outcome is knowledge that is pluralistic and multivocal, including the voices that belong to non-English-speaking participants and scholars. We argue that the dialogical approach contributes to the future vision of responsible and linguistically inclusive IB scholarship.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-025-00776-0
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“Do you understand me correctly?” The role of accents in communication in global virtual teams
By Szymanski and Brighi
In Journal of International Management
Abstract: This study investigates the role of accent-based status differences on communication within global virtual teams. Through a quasi-experimental study including 117 individuals and 357 voicemails and written messages, we examine recipients’ perceptions of the sender’s intentions. We show how accent status – distinguished between native and non-native – match in verbal communication plays a role in how listeners interpret feedback. Applying social identity theory and suggesting an extension to media synchronicity theory, our study advances language-sensitive international management research by demonstrating that accent – in addition to language proficiency – constitutes another aspect of language that plays a role in interaction among linguistically diverse global virtual team members. We discuss implications for practice and future research.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2024.101221
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When little things make a big difference: A Bourdieusian perspective on skilled migrants’ linguistic, social, and economic capital in multinational corporations
By Peltokorpi and Xie
In Journal of International Business Studies
Abstract: While general foreign language proficiency is shown to provide important power and career-related advantages to employees in organizations, surprisingly little is known about how and why context-specific language capabilities (e.g., accents) in the form of linguistic capital, influence skilled migrants’ (SMs’) access and accumulation of social and economic capital in multinational corporations (MNCs). In this paper, we apply the theory of practice (Bourdieu in Outline of a Theory of Practice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1977) and interviews with 156 SMs to abductively examine interrelations among linguistic, social, and economic capital in Japan-based MNCs. Our analysis shows that actual or perceived insufficient linguistic capital prevented SMs’ access and accumulation of social capital (e.g., social networks) and economic capital (e.g., job promotions). Due to the reproductive interrelations among these three types of capital, linguistic capital explained the sustained disadvantaged positions of SMs in MNCs. This study contributes to the literature by focusing on SMs and the dynamic interrelations among linguistic, social, and economic capital, explaining why and how context-specific language capabilities create and sustain unequal relations between SMs and local employees in MNCs, leaving room for individual agency in the theory and research of practice, and bringing culture back to research on language in MNCs.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-023-00598-y
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Language inequalities and business school accreditation: voices from non-English-speaking countries
By Vigier and Bryant
In Higher Education
Abstract: The purpose of this empirical study is to understand how business schools in non-English-speaking contexts experience and manage their staff’s language challenges as they pursue international accreditation using English as the mandatory language. Our qualitative, exploratory research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with respondents from business schools located in 17 non-English-speaking countries. Through thematic analysis, our findings revealed that weak English language skills led to adverse consequences on effective engagement in international accreditation processes amongst non-academic staff. Translating and transferring knowledge across language boundaries implies practical costs in terms of the time and effort exerted by academic and non-academic staff involved in international accreditation. This emphasizes the colonizing effects of English as the mandatory accreditation language, possibly hindering business schools’ accreditation prospects in non-English-speaking countries. We contribute critical reflections to the debate on the colonizing effects of Englishization in higher education, notably at business schools outside the anglophone sphere seeking international accreditation. We draw on our data to develop recommendations to reduce the impact of language inequalities for business schools engaged in their accreditation journeys.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-025-01403-5
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Effects of Cultural Novelty on the Interplay Between Language and Cultural Adjustment in International Students
By Wilczewski, Wang, Giuri, Puffer, Soderberg, Meschke and Du
In Journal of Studies in International Education
Abstract: Recent research has revealed the significant role of perceived cultural differences, or cultural novelty, in shaping the intercultural experiences of diverse individuals. Yet, our understanding of how cultural novelty influences the relationship between language and cultural adjustment remains limited. This study addresses this gap by examining the moderating effect of cultural novelty on the relationship between foreign-language proficiency and cultural adjustment. Survey data from 1,092 international students in five countries were analyzed using mediation and moderated mediation analyses. The moderating effect of cultural novelty was confirmed, specifically in the host-language context, where higher cultural novelty significantly weakened the relationship between host-language proficiency and socializing with domestic students. Moreover, this research illuminates the influence of the lingocultural context on cultural adjustment. This study has important implications for higher education institutions. It demonstrates how cultural novelty can impact the ability of foreign-language proficiency to enhance student adjustment and the overall educational experience.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153251316928
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Bridging cultures with love: Spirituality in fostering intercultural effectiveness. The effect of language
By Wilczewski, Gorbaniuk, Gut and Wołońciej
In Applied Linguistics
Abstract: Research yields contradictory results on the relationship between an individual’s spirituality, that is, the relationship with God/the Transcendent, and their cultural development. To address this gap, we conceptualize a model that investigates the effects of two spirituality dimensions, namely felt love for God and love for others, on the behavioral aspect of intercultural competence, that is, intercultural effectiveness (IE), through ethnocentrism. This model undergoes testing using a sample of 144 international students who self-identify as Christians, Muslims, belonging to other religions, and non-religious. The results confirm the positive impact of spirituality on IE by reducing ethnocentrism. We establish suppressing effects of both love for God and love for others, suggesting intricate dynamics of these two spirituality dimensions within the intercultural communication model. Furthermore, we identify the direct effects of host language and English as a lingua franca proficiency on IE. We also define the mitigating effect of host language proficiency on the adverse impact of ethnocentrism on IE. This study underscores the importance of higher education institutions to nurture students’ relational spirituality and support them in overcoming ethnocentric perspectives.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amae069
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Language policy as interactional practice in everyday public space: The Corpus of Language Discrimination in Interaction
By Raymond, Albert, Hoey, Adams, Grothues, Henry, Marrese, Pielke, Reynolds and Tom
In Linguistic Society of America
Abstract: This article introduces the Corpus of Language Discrimination in Interaction (CLDI)—an open-access corpus of transcribed video data, capturing moments where individuals are policed in some way for the language they are speaking or otherwise endorsing while sharing public space (e.g. in stores, restaurants, parking lots, and parks). Despite having thus far largely evaded systematic inquiry, such interactions are illustrative of a particular genre of language policymaking and enforcement that takes place in everyday social life, which the CLDI aims to document and make available for ongoing empirical examination. After presenting the corpus itself, as an initial exploration into some of the practices and actions observable in these data, we describe the recurrent use of Speak English directives, accompanied by nation-state declarative accounts like This is America. Detailed analysis of such turns, and the responses they receive, throws into relief ways that language policies and ideologies can be instantiated, ratified, challenged, defended, and otherwise negotiated in and through the particulars of interactants’ joint conduct. We conclude by describing some future avenues for research, teaching, and public engagement on the basis of the CLDI.
Link: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/954236
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Book chapter:
Global Leadership and Language
By Sanden and Pietikäinen
In Osland, Reiche, Maznevski and Mendenhall, Advances in Global Leadership (Vol. 16)
Abstract: This chapter explores connections between global leadership (GL) and language. By drawing on theories and concepts from sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and language-sensitive international business and management studies, we discuss areas where language can be incorporated into GL research and vice versa. The chapter starts by outlining different dimensions of language as well as providing a brief historical account of the study of language within applied and sociolinguistics. This demonstrates that these fields encompass a broad range of topics and perspectives related to language in the global workplace. We argue that integrating language in GL offers valuable insights into organizational communication dynamics and leadership practices, for example, by uncovering intricacies of workplace interaction and explaining the impacts of linguistic diversity in the workplace. Similarly, GL concepts can help language scholars understand the leadership role in global, multilingual organizations, for example, in relation to language management. Combining GL and language research can provide researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of leadership processes in global contexts.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1535-120320250000016023
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Warmest congratulations to all authors!
If we have missed any recent publications, please do let us know. We would be happy to include them in our next newsletter.
We wish you a restful and enjoyable Spring Break, and we very much look forward to seeing many of you in May!
Sincerely,
Kristina Humonen on behalf of the GEM&L Board