Babel in business: The language barrier and its solutions in the HQ-subsidiary relationship

被引：137

作者：

Harzing, Anne-Wil ^{[1
]}

Koester, Kathrin ^{[2
]}

Magner, Ulrike ^{[3
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Melbourne, Dept Management & Mkt, Parkville, Vic 3010, Australia

[2] Heilbronn Univ, Dept Business Adm 2, D-74081 Heilbronn, Germany

[3] Univ Freiburg, Dept Psychol Educ & Dev Psychol, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany

来源：

JOURNAL OF WORLD BUSINESS | 2011年 / 46卷 / 03期

基金：

澳大利亚研究理事会;

关键词：

Language barrier; Multinationals; Communication; HQ-subsidiary relationships; Japan; Germany; MULTINATIONAL-CORPORATION; ORGANIZATION; RETHINKING; POWER;

D O I：

10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.005

中图分类号：

F [经济];

学科分类号：

02 ;

摘要：

Using interview data from managers in eight German and Japanese corporate HQs and their subsidiaries in Japan or Germany, we provide the first large-scale empirical analysis of the language barrier and its solutions. We found that language is an important barrier, slowing down and increasing the cost of decision-making. Our research suggests twelve different solutions, ranging from informal day-to-day solutions such as changing communication patterns and code-switching, to more structural solutions such as language training and a common corporate language. We confirm and extend previous research and conclude that future research should more explicitly consider the different configurations of language skills for HQ and subsidiary managers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

引用

页码：279 / 287

页数：9

共 38 条

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