Coping with multilingualism: Internationalization and the evolution of language strategy

• Published date: 01 November 2019
• Author: Lawrence S. Welch,Denice E. Welch
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1191
• Date: 01 November 2019

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Coping with multilingualism: Internationalization

and the evolution of language strategy

Denice E. Welch | Lawrence S. Welch

Melbourne Business School, University of

Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia

Correspondence

Denice E. Welch, Melbourne Business School,

University of Melbourne, 200 Leicester Street,

Carlton Victoria 3053, Australia.

Email: d.welch@mbs.edu

Research Summary: In this article, we explore the interac-

tion between internationalization and language strategy.

We identify a range of language coping mechanisms that

internationalizing firms use in response to the multilingual-

ism they encounter. Learning outcomes and strategy impli-

cations of each of these mechanisms are identified. We

then build a conceptual model to depict how, over time,

interaction and influence between internationalization and

language strategy become a two-way, co-evolutionary pro-

cess. A key aspect is the role of management in shifting

the firm from a reactive to a more proactive stance on lan-

guage strategy. A case study is used to contextualize and

illustrate the co-evolutionary process over the long term.

Case data demonstrate the constant adoption and adapta-

tion of coping mechanisms that feed into language strategy

as internationalization unfolds.

Managerial Summary: This article links the internation-

alization process of firms with the exposure to multilin-

gualism and the development of language strategy. We

outline how internationalizing firms may utilize a range

of language coping mechanisms—such as the adoption of

a common corporate language—to handle multilingual-

ism. These feed into the development of language strat-

egy. The case of Fazer, the Finnish bakery,

confectionary, and catering firm, provides an illustration

of how language strategy co-evolves over time as interna-

tionalization proceeds—in Fazer’s case, many decades.

Fazer’s experience also demonstrates the importance of

management and changes in top management in ensuring

a more proactive language strategy is adopted and

enforced. Adequate allocation of resources and a link to

performance management were found to be critical in

supporting strategic implementation.

Received: 2 December 2016 Revised: 9 October 2017 Accepted: 18 October 2017

DOI: 10.1002/gsj.1191

Copyright © 2017 Strategic Management Society

618 Global Strategy Journal. 2019;9:618–639.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gsj

KEYWORDS

co-evolutionary process, internationalization, language

coping mechanisms, language strategy, strategic

learning

1|INTRODUCTION

“In 2011-2012, we were speaking about One Fazer Strategy, which aimed at shared

processes and a shared culture. A common corporate language was a natural part of

the One Fazer Strategy because we believed that it was not possible to achieve the

One Fazer goal without a common language. At that time, we also spoke about global

growth and expansion.”(Fazer company informant)

The world of international business is a world of multilingualism. Coping with this reality is a

challenge for the firm’s management and its employees, particularly as the firm expands and enfolds

more and more diverse languages, as the above quotation indicates. The role of language has long

been recognized in international business research. Early work on the internationalization process

included language as an element of psychic distance, a concept equivalent to cultural distance

(Johanson & Vahlne, 1977; see also Dow & Larimo, 2009). Likewise, language has been considered

as a component of cross-cultural communication research. However, such treatment had the effect

of consigning language to the “culture box.”

More recently, language has come to be considered in a more substantive way: that is, viewing lan-

guage as a research issue in its own right (Welch, Welch, & Piekkari, 2005). Because of its impact on

foreign marketing processes such as advertising and promotion, the role of language has been of partic-

ular interest (e.g.,Clarke, 2000; Crick, 1999; Marcella & Davies,2004). Other work has addressed areas

such as foreign direct investment (via mergers and acquisitions); international joint ventures; and licens-

ing and franchising (see Cuypers, Ertug, & Hennart, 2015; Kroon, Cornelissen, & Vaara, 2015;

Maclean & Hollinshead, 2011); as well as headquarter-subsidiary relationships; and the management of

language diversity (Feely & Harzing, 2003; Marschan-Piekkari, Welch, & Welch, 1999a; Neeley,

Hinds, & Cramton, 2012; Peltokorpi, 2015; Reiche, Harzing, & Pudelko, 2015).

One area that remains to be addressed is the relationship between internationalization, multilin-

gualism, and strategy (Piekkari, Welch, & Welch, 2014). This connection, therefore, is the focus of

our article. We use the following research question to guide our analysis: How does language strat-

egy evolve as internationalization unfolds, and in what form? The three concepts that are the subject

of our analysis are defined as follows: (a) internationalization is “a multifaceted process that occurs

over time”involving increasing commitments to foreign markets in a variety of forms (Welch &

Paavilainen-Mäntymäki,2014, p. 2); (b) language refers to everyday spoken and written communica-

tion;

1

and (c) we define language strategy as the pattern of language policy responses a firm uses to

cope with the multilingualism arising from international operations.

1

We recognize, though, that there are other layers or forms of language, such as professional, technical and industry language, and

“company speak”and that definitions of language may vary, depending on scientific discipline—for example, linguistics, semiotics,

and organizational discourse (Welch et al., 2005; Welch & Welch, 2015).

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