Language Use and Communication in an International Management Setting: The Power to Misrecognize

Abstract

Linguistic and cultural differences have often been conceived as the main obstacles when communicating in international business settings. While acknowledging that such differences are of great importance, this article goes one step further in investigating the role of intercultural communication in international management settings. Hence, it is our argument that more focus should be directed at group processes within the organization. Based on a short illustrative case of a Danish subsidiary in China, it is argued that the differences in language use and communication style can be strategically used in categorization to divide power between different groups. This is important for understanding the implications of intercultural communication in international settings and how to deal with it accordingly.