The impact of language barriers on trust formation in multinational teams

This study systematically investigates how language barriers influence trust formation in multinational teams (MNTs). Based on 90 interviews with team members, team leaders, and senior managers in 15 MNTs in three German automotive corporations, we show how MNT members’ cognitive and emotional reactions to language barriers influence their perceived trustworthiness and intention to trust, which in turn affect trust formation. We contribute to diversity research by distinguishing the exclusively negative language effects from the more ambivalent effects of other diversity dimensions. Our findings also illustrate how surface-level language diversity may create perceptions of deep-level diversity. Furthermore, our study advances MNT research by revealing the specific influences of language barriers on team trust, an important mediator between team inputs and performance outcomes. It thereby encourages the examination of other team processes through a language lens. Finally, our study suggests that multilingual settings necessitate a reexamination and modification of the seminal trust theories by Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) and McAllister (1995). In terms of practical implications, we outline how MNT leaders can manage their subordinates’ problematic reactions to language barriers and how MNT members can enhance their perceived trustworthiness in multilingual settings

Building International Business Theory: A Grounded Theory Approach

The field of international business (IB) is in need of more theory development (Morck & Yeung, 2007). As such, the main focus of our manuscript was to provide guidance on how to build IB specific theory using grounded theory (GT). Moreover, we contribute to future theory development by identifying areas within IB where GT can be applied and the type of research issues that can be addressed using this methodology. Finally, we make a noteworthy contribution by discussing some of GT’s caveats and limitations, particularly those relevant to IB. This effort is intended to spur further interest in the development of IB theory

Akzeptanz von innovativen Gesundheitstechnologien bei älteren Menschen – Ergebnisse einer empirischen Analyse

Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit der Akzeptanz von Gesundheitstechnologien in der Bevölkerung älterer Menschen. In diesem Kontext wurden qualitative und quantitative Daten bei Teilnehmern eines EU-geförderten Forschungsprojektes erhoben, die über einen Zeitraum von 24 Wochen einen Aktivitätsmonitor eingesetzt haben. Während die qualitativen Daten einen detaillierten Einblick in Praktiken und Einstellungen der Zielgruppe hinsichtlich der Nutzung solcher Technologien schaffen sollten, wurde mithilfe quantitativer Messungen das Akzeptanzverhalten älterer Menschen im Hinblick auf den Aktivitätsmonitor beschrieben. Die Kombination qualitativer und quantitativer Ergebnisse zeigt, dass Gesundheitstechnologien wie Aktivitätsmonitore grundsätzlich auf Interesse bei der älteren Bevölkerung stoßen, allerdings Merkmale wie das Design, die Bedienung sowie der Nutzen solcher Geräte maßgeblich zur Akzeptanz beitragen und diese Merkmale während Design- und Entwicklungsphasen priorisiert werden sollten

Selling, resistance and reconciliation: A critical discursive approach to subsidiary role evolution in MNCs

Studies of political dynamics between multinational corporation (MNC) parents and subsidiaries during subsidiary role evolution have largely focused on control and resistance. This paper adopts a critical discursive approach to enable an exploration of subtle dynamics in the way that both headquarter (HQ) and subsidiaries subjectively reconstruct their independent-interdependent relationships with each other during change. We draw from a real-time qualitative study of a revealing case of charter change in an important European subsidiary of an MNC attempting to build closer integration across European country operations. Our results illustrate the role of three discourses – selling, resistance and reconciliation –in the reconstruction of the subsidiary-parent relationship. From this analysis we develop a process framework that elucidates the important role of these three discourses in the reconstruction of subsidiary roles, showing how resistance is not simply subversive but an important part of integration. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the micro-level political dynamics in subsidiary role evolution and how voice is exercised in MNCs. This study also provides a rare example of discourse-based analysis in an MNC context advancing our knowledge of how discursive methods can help to advance international business (IB) research more generally