In the shadow: the impact of language on structure, power and communication in the multinational

The principal aim of this paper is to explore the impact of language on communication within large and geographically dispersed multinationals. Much of the earlier research emphasizes the importance of horizontal communication and team building as control and coordination mechanism in such organizations: yet the role of language is often forgotten. Based on an in-depth case study of one Finnish multinational, Kone and its diverse subsidiaries, it is argued that language imposes its own structure on communication flows and personal networks. Subsidiary staff with confined language skills tend to build supporting personal relationships with language mediators, while those with superior language capabilities are able to build broad contact networks within the multinational. The investigation also reveals that language is often used as an informal source of expert power in multinationals.

[1]  V. Pucik,et al.  Information, control, and human resource management in multinational firms , 1986 .

[2]  Marshall W. Meyer,et al.  Power in Organizations. , 1982 .

[3]  Jean-Claude Usunier,et al.  International Marketing: A Cultural Approach , 1993 .

[4]  J. Johanson,et al.  The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments , 1977 .

[5]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  Power in and Around Organizations , 1983 .

[6]  The Foreign Language Needs of U.K.-Based Corporations , 1990 .

[7]  M. Patton.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods, 2nd ed. , 1990 .

[8]  C. Bartlett,et al.  Changing the Role of Top Management: Beyond Structure to Processes , 1995 .

[9]  Carol S. Fixman.  The Foreign Language Needs of U.S.-Based Corporations , 1990 .

[10]  Örjan Sölvell,et al.  Organization of the Dynamic Multinational Enterprise : The Home Based and the Heterarchical MNE , 1995 .

[11]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[12]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Matrix management: not a structure, a frame of mind. , 1990, Harvard business review.

[13]  Lawrence S. Welch,et al.  Control in less-hierarchical multinationals: The role of personal networks and informal communication , 1996 .

[14]  Stuart Macdonald,et al.  The survival of the gatekeeper , 1994 .

[15]  Hoon Park,et al.  Sources and consequences of communication problems in foreign subsidiaries: The case of United States firms in South Korea , 1996 .

[16]  R. Marschan.  New structural forms and inter-unit communication in multinationals : the case of Kone Elevators , 1996 .

[17]  Keith Sisson,et al.  Coming unstuck? In search of the “corporate glue” in an international professional service firm , 1995 .

[18]  Timothy Ch.U. Kalu,et al.  A framework for empirically investigating the power of functional units in organizations , 1995 .

[19]  Edward M. Mazze,et al.  International business, an introduction to the world of the multinational firm , 1971 .

[20]  N. Adler.  International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior , 1986 .

[21]  Nobuyuki Chikudate.  Communication Network Liaisons as Cultural Interpreters for Organizational Adaptation in Japan-Europe Business Environments , 1995 .

[22]  Jay R. Galbraith,et al.  Transfer of Managers as a Coordination and Control Strategy in Multinational Organizations. , 1977 .

[23]  Colin Wright,et al.  Linguistic Auditing: A Guide To Identifying Foreign Language Communication Needs In Corporations , 1999 .

[24]  Cecilia Pahlberg.  Cultural differences and problems in HQ-subsidiary relationships in MNCs , 1995 .

[25]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Interunit Communication in Multinational Corporations , 1994 .

[26]  Malcolm Borg,et al.  International transfers of managers in multinational corporations , 1988 .

[27]  Nitin Nohria,et al.  Face-to-Face: Making Network Organizations Work , 1992 .

[28]  M. Forsgren,et al.  Subsidiary Influence and Autonomy in International Firms , 1992 .

[29]  Mats Forsgren,et al.  Managing the international multi-centre firm: Case studies from Sweden , 1990 .

[30]  Ulf R. Andersson,et al.  Subsidiary embeddedness and control in the multinational corporation , 1996 .

[31]  D. Victor.  International Business Communication , 1997 .

[32]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[33]  Denice Welch,et al.  Language: The forgotten factor in multinational management , 1997 .

[34]  William G. Egelhoff.  Information-processing Theory and the Multinational Corporation , 1993 .

[35]  Sumantra Ghoshal,et al.  Changing the role of management , 1995 .

[36]  Matthew B. Miles,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook , 1994 .