Research Methodologies, Frameworks and Project Ideas

This chapter will:Profile and cite replicable studies from a number of key research areas: contextualized business discourse research, research on business writing and business talk, and studies of business document design;Present some of the theoretical frameworks and methodologies business discourse researchers have used;Provide examples of project ideas that could form the basis for individual, collaborative or group research

Research Cases

This chapter will present ten research studies that showcase the work of business discourse researchers from around the world. The studies reflect many of the themes, research sites and approaches discussed in the rest of this volume, and illustrate the different facets of business discourse research today. For each study, details will be given of the business genre or genres under investigation, the research methodology(ies) used and the theories and paradigms referred to in the approach to analysis. Each study will be presented using the structure of a research article:Summary;Introduction and aims;Method;Findings;Commentary (Discussion & suggestions for future research)

Research-based Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:profile five examples of projects related to research-based business discourse teaching from around the world;discuss the methodologies used and implications for teaching or training;show how the profiled teaching projects critically reflect the developments in business discourse research we have discussed in Part 1

Challenges in the Future

This chapter will:; ; ; Discuss the future of intercultural business discourse research with particular reference to rapport management;; ; ; Provide a discussion of multimodality and how this might change business discourse in the future;; ; ; Discuss multimethod, multidisciplinary research as a way forward for business discourse research

Challenges in the Future

This chapter will:Discuss the future of intercultural business discourse research with particular reference to rapport management;Provide a discussion of multimodality and how this might change business discourse in the future;Discuss multimethod, multidisciplinary research as a way forward for business discourse research

Research-based Consultancy Work

This chapter will:Profile five examples of research-based consultancy work involving business discourse from around the world;Discuss the methodologies used and the implications either for teaching or training, or the design of more effective documents;Show how each of the projects reflects the developments in business communication research now or in the future that we have discussed in Part 1

Research-based Teaching Materials

This chapter will:Provide a brief survey of published materials for Language for Specific Business Purposes and Business Communication;Profile six sets of research-based teaching materials;Discuss the approaches taken in each case and show how these are related to business discourse research

The victorious English language: hegemonic practices in the management academy

This study explores hegemonic linguistic processes, that is, the dominant and unreflective use of the English language in the production of textual knowledge accounts. The authors see the production of management knowledge as situated in central or peripheral locations, which they examine from an English language perspective. Their inquiry is based on an empirical study based on the perspectives of 33 management academics (not English language speakers) in (semi) peripheral locations, who have to generate and disseminate knowledge in and through the English language. Although the hegemony of the center in the knowledge production process has long been acknowledged, the specific contribution of this study is to explore how the English language operates as part of the “ideological complex” that produces and maintains this hegemony, as well as how this hegemony is manifested at the local level of publication practices in peripherally located business and management schools

Talking a team into being in online workplace collaborations: the discourse of virtual work

Digital communication technologies led to a revolution in how people interact at work: relying on computer-mediated communication technologies is now a must, rather than an alternative. This empirical study investigates how colleagues in a virtual team use synchronous online communication platform in the workplace. Inspired by the conceptualisation of web-based communication platforms as tool, place or context of social construction, we explore the discursive strategies that contribute to the construction of the team’s shared sense of purpose and identity, a collegial atmosphere and consequently lead to effective collaboration. The close analyses of real-life data from a multinational workplace provide insights into the everyday communication practices of virtual team members. Our findings supplement organisational literature based on etic observations of the effectiveness of virtual work and provide a basis for further theorisations about how communication technologies affect the ecology of and discourse practices in computer-mediated communication at work

The gains and losses of face in ongoing intercultural interaction: A case study of Chinese participant perspectives

Given the small number of existing studies of face in intercultural settings and the increasing attention given to participant perspectives in face research, this paper explores the gains and losses of face as perceived by Chinese government officials during a three-week delegation visit to the United States of America. These perspectives were obtained from the group’s spontaneous discussions during regular evening meetings when they reflected on the day’s events. Several key features emerged from the discussions. Firstly, face enhancement was a primary goal for the visit – enhancement of their own face as a delegation, of the face of the Ministry they belonged to, as well as the face of their American hosts. Secondly, the delegates attempted to manage these face goals strategically. Thirdly, they spoke of face as a volatile image that could rise and fall sharply and yet endured across incidents, days and weeks. The paper reports on and discusses these participant perspectives in the light of recent theorizing on face