1. ¹Department of Management, School of Business Administration, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
2. ²Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Correspondence: Yadong Luo, Department of Management, School of Business Administration, University of Miami, 414 Jenkins Building, Coral Gables, FL 33124-9145, USA. Tel: +1 305 284 4003; Fax: +1 305 284 3655; E-mail: yadong@miami.edu

Received 30 June 2002; Accepted 12 August 2005; Published online 13 April 2006.

Abstract

This paper develops a framework for analyzing the multinational corporation (MNC) as a multilingual community in which parent functional language and subunit functional languages are concurrently used and recursively linked through an intra-corporate communication network. The unit, breadth and intensity of an MNC's language system are designed to apply global strategies within the context of evolving environmental and organizational realities. To the extent that language design is the product of deliberate choice, we suggest that headquarters functional language is determined by the MNC's international strategy, organizational structure, and transnationality, while subunit functional language is designed in accordance with organizational form, strategic role, and expatriate deployment. Aligning language systems with organizational strategy and dynamics improves MNC communication, coordination, and knowledge-sharing.