Language Strategies in Multinational Corporations: A Cross-Sector Study of Financial Service Companies and Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

Situated at the intersection of sociolinguistics and international business and management studies, this article focuses on language management in two different industry sectors, namely the financial service sector and the manufacturing sector. Employing a multiple case study design consisting of two matched pair cases, the study examines the means by which language is managed, i.e. language management tools, in two financial service companies and two manufacturing companies. The study contributes to existing literature by capturing the effect of industry sectors on corporate language management – a level of analysis which has largely been overlooked in previous research.