Business discourse: Old debates, new horizons

The aim of this introductory article is twofold: (1) to locate business discourse in the context of some of the most salient debates within its cognate discipline, i.e., business communication, thus acknowledging epistemological and methodological indebtedness; and (2) to encourage the discussion around a distinct paradigm for business discourse as a new Þeld of study by sketching out a Þrst analytical framework that draws on multidisciplinary research and promotes multimethod research. The article argues that the Þrst step towards a future multidisciplinary identity for business discourse depends on the operationalization of partnership research, i.e., collaborative research across associated disciplines. 1. Old debates: A Þeld in search of identity? In our earlier work, we deÞned business discourse as “talk and writing between individuals whose main work activities and interests are in the domain of business and who come together for the purpose of doing business” (BargielaChiappini and Nickerson 1999a: 2). We further pointed out that the interactants’ status was the decisive element that distinguishes professional from business discourse, in that the former but not the latter, would involve a lay person. Moreover, business discourse refers to spoken and written communication that usually takes place within a corporate setting, whether physical (e.g., a manufacturing organization) or virtual (e.g., telework). Within the remit (and word limit) of a position article, it is our intention to discuss the relevance of a business discourse approach to the analysis of communication in business settings. The signiÞcance of this move is best understood against the background of some of the ongoing debates within the broad Þeld of business communication, such as the related issues of disciplinary deÞnition and disciplinary boundaries and the discussions surrounding the plethora of methodological approaches that characterize the Þeld. We will be arguing