Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Brain drain: The cognitive neuroscience of foreign language processing in multinational corporations

  • Article
  • Published:
Journal of International Business Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article adopts a cognitive neuroscience perspective to develop theory about the consequences of foreign language use in organizational settings. In contrast to previous work that has focused on the interpersonal effects of foreign language use, we focus on intra-personal, cognitive processes that affect employee performance. Our model delineates how foreign language processing depletes cognitive resources, which can ultimately result in biased decision-making and reduced self-regulation. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of our model for international business research in the context of an increasing number of organizations that have adopted a common corporate language.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abutalebi, J. 2008. Neural aspects of second language representation and language control. Acta Psychologica, 128 (3): 466–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abutalebi, J., & Green, D. 2007. Bilingual language production: The neurocognition of language representation and control. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 20 (3): 242–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akkermans, D., Harzing, A. W., & van Witteloostuijn, A. 2010. Cultural accommodation and language priming: Competitive versus cooperative behavior in a prisoner’s dilemma game. Management International Review, 50 (5): 559–584.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alter, A. L., Oppenheimer, D. M., Epley, N., & Eyre, R. N. 2007. Overcoming intuition: Metacognitive difficulty activates analytic reasoning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136 (4): 569–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baars, B. J., & Franklin, S. 2003. How conscious experience and working memory interact. Trends in Cognitive Science, 7 (4): 166–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A. D. 2003. Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 4 (10): 829–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barling, J., Kelloway, E. K., & Frone, M. R. 2005. Handbook of work stress. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barner-Rasmussen, W., & Aarnio, C. 2011. Shifting the faultlines of language: A quantitative functional-level exploration of language use in MNC subsidiaries. Journal of World Business, 46 (3): 288–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, W. J., Cropanzano, R., & Sanfey, A. G. 2011. Organizational neuroscience: Taking organizational theory inside the neural black box. Journal of Management, 37 (4): 933–961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Björkman, A., & Piekkari, R. 2009. Language and foreign subsidiary control: An empirical test. Journal of International Management, 15 (1): 105–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bodenhausen, G. V., Sheppard, L. A., & Kramer, G. P. 1994. Negative affect and social judgment: The differential impact of anger and sadness. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24 (1): 45–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, M. H., & Yang, K.-S. 1982. Ethnic affirmation versus cross-cultural accommodation: The variable impact of questionnaire language on Chinese bilinguals from Hong Kong. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 13 (2): 16–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brannen, M. Y., & Doz, Y. 2012. Corporate languages and strategic agility: Trapped in your jargon or lost in translation? California Management Review, 54 (3): 77–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brannen, M. Y., & Thomas, D. 2010. Bicultural individuals in organizations: Implications and opportunity. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 10 (1): 5–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brannen, M. Y., Piekkari, R., & Tietze, S. 2012. Call for papers: The multifaceted role of language in international business: Unpacking the forms, functions and features of a critical challenge to MNC theory and performance, http://www.palgrave-journals.com/jibs/cfp_language_si.html, accessed 12 November 2012.

  • Brislin, R. W. 1980. Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In H. C. Triandis, & J. W. Berry (Eds), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology 389–444. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabeza, R., & Nyberg, L. 2000. Imaging cognition II: An empirical review of 275 PET and fMRI studies. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 12 (1): 1–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chee, M., Hon, N., Lee, H. L., & Soon, C. S. 2001. Relative language proficiency modulates BOLD signal change when bilinguals perform semantic judgments. NeuroImage, 13 (6): 1155–1163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway, A. R. A., Cowan, N., & Bunting, M. F. 2001. The cocktail party phenomenon revisited: The importance of working memory capacity. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 8 (2): 331–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Côté, S. 2005. A social interaction model of the effects of emotion regulation on work strain. Academy of Management Review, 30 (3): 509–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, N. 2001. The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24 (1): 87–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, T., & Blake, S. 1991. Managing cultural diversity: Implications for organizational competitiveness. Academy of Management Executive, 5 (3): 45–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramton, C. D., & Hinds, P. J. 2004. Subgroup dynamics in internationally distributed teams: Ethnocentrism or cross-national learning? Research in Organizational Behavior, 26: 231–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danziger, S., Levav, J., & Avnaim-Pesso, L. 2011. Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108 (17): 6889–6892.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, T. K., & Teng, B. 1999. Cognitive biases and strategic decision processes: An integrative perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 36 (6): 757–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bot, K. 2008. The imaging of what in the multilingual mind? Second Language Research, 24 (1): 111–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Dreu, C. K. W., Nijstad, B. A., Baas, M., Wolsink, I., & Roskes, M. 2012. Working memory benefits creative insight, musical improvisation and original ideation through maintained task-focused attention. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38 (5): 656–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, P. D. 2011. Social ties and international entrepreneurship: Opportunities and constraints affecting firm internationalization. Journal of International Business Studies, 42 (1): 99–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, J. St. B. T. 2006. The heuristic-analytic theory of reasoning: Extension and evaluation. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13 (3): 378–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, J. St. B. T. 2008. Dual-processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59: 255–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, J. St. B. T., Barston, J., & Pollard, P. 1983. On the conflict between logic and belief in syllogistic reasoning. Memory and Cognition, 11 (3): 295–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, M.W., & Calvo, M.G. 1992. Anxiety and performance: The processing efficiency theory. Cognition and Emotion, 6 (6): 409–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredriksson, W., Barner-Rasmussen, W., & Piekkari, R. 2006. The multinational corporation as a multilingual organization: The notion of a common corporate language. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 11 (4): 406–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gigerenzer, G., & Gaissmaier, W. 2011. Heuristic decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 62: 451–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gigerenzer, G., & Todd, P. M. ABC Research Group. 1999. Simple heuristics that make us smart. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hahne, A. 2001. What’s different in second-language processing? Evidence from event-related brain potentials. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 30 (3): 251–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harzing, A.-W., & Feely, A. J. 2008. The language barrier and its implications for HQ-subsidiary relationships. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 15 (1): 49–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harzing, A.-W., & Maznevski, M. 2002. The interaction between language and culture: A test of the cultural accommodation hypothesis in seven countries. Language and Intercultural Communication, 2 (2): 120–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harzing, A.-W., & Pudelko, M. 2013. Language competencies, policies and practices in multinational corporations: A comprehensive review and comparison of Anglophone, Asian, Continental European and Nordic MNCs. Journal of World Business, 48 (1): 87–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hastie, R., & Dawes, R. M. 2001. Rational choice in an uncertain world: The psychology of judgment and decision making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, J. 2011. The validity of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis – Rethinking the relationship among language, thought, and culture. US-China Foreign Language, 9 (9): 560–568.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heatherton, T. F. 2011. Neuroscience of self and self-regulation. Annual Review of Psychology, 62: 363–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilbig, B. E. 2010. Reconsidering “evidence” for fast-and-frugal heuristics. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 17 (6): 923–930.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, W., Friese, M., & Strack, F. 2009. Impulse and self-control from a dual-systems perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4 (2): 162–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, W., Friese, M., Schmeichel, B. J., & Baddeley, A. D. 2010. Working memory and self-regulation. In K. D. Vohs, & R. F. Baumeister (Eds), The handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications 204–225. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hong, Y., Morris, M. W., Chiu, C., & Benet-Martinez, V. 2000. Multicultural minds: A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition. American Psychologist, 55 (7): 709–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, A. (Ed) 1995. Rethinking the psychology of work. In, The changing nature of work 511–555. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, J. Y., Zhang, X., & Tjosvold, D. 2013. Emotion regulation as a boundary condition of the relationship between team conflict and performance: A multi-level examination. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34 (5): 714–734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Frederick, S. 2002. Representativeness revisited: Attribute substitution in intuitive judgment. In T. Gilovich, D. Griffin, & D. Kahneman (Eds), Heuristics and biases: The psychology of intuitive judgment 49–81. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Slovic, P., & Tversky, A. 1982. Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, M. J., Bleckley, M. K., Conway, A. R. A., & Engle, R. W. 2001. A controlled-attention view of working-memory capacity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130 (2): 169–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S. 1995. The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15 (3): 169–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S., & Berman, M. G. 2010. Directed attention as a common resource for executive functioning and self-regulation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5 (1): 43–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karoly, P. 1993. Mechanisms of self-regulation: A systems view. Annual Review of Psychology, 44: 23–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keysar, B., Hayakawa, S. L., & An, S.G. 2012. The foreign-language effect: Thinking in a foreign tongue reduces decision biases. Psychological Science, 23 (6): 661–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, E. I. 2007. Fundamental components of attention. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 30: 57–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. Q. 2008. Fundamentals of human neuropsychology. New York: Worth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenneberg, E. H. 1967. Biological foundations of language. Oxford: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, S. C. 2012. The original sin of cognitive science. Topics in Cognitive Science, 4 (3): 396–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, I. 1986. Chinese cognition. In M. H. Bond (Ed), The psychology of the Chinese people 73–105. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, T. Y., & Hsu, M. 1974. Measuring creative thinking in Taiwan by the Torrance test. Testing and Guidance, 2: 108–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y., & Shenkar, O. 2006. The multinational corporation as a multilingual community: Language and organization in a global context. Journal of International Business Studies, 37 (3): 321–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macrae, C. N., Milne, A. B., & Bodenhausen, G. V. 1994. Stereotypes as energy-saving devices: A peek inside the cognitive toolbox. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66 (1): 37–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maertz, Jr., C. P., Hassan, A., & Magnusson, P. 2009. When learning is not enough: A process model of expatriate adjustment as cultural cognitive dissonance reduction. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108 (1): 66–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. 1991. Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98 (2): 224–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marschan, R., Welch, L., & Welch, D. 1997. Language: The forgotten factor in multinational management. European Management Journal, 15 (5): 591–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marschan-Piekkari, R., Welch, D., & Welch, L. 1999a. Adopting a common corporate language: IHRM implications. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10 (3): 377–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marschan-Piekkari, R., Welch, D., & Welch, L. 1999b. In the shadow: The impact of language on structure, power, and communication in the multinational. International Business Review, 8 (4): 421–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. 2008. Toward a physiology of dual-process reasoning and judgment: Lemonade, willpower, and expensive rule-based analysis. Psychological Science, 19 (3): 255–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, J. 2006. Beyond the critical period: Processing-based explanations for poor grammaticality judgment performance by late second language learners. Journal of Memory and Language, 55 (3): 381–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, R. K., Busenitz, L. W., Bird, B., Marie Gaglio, C., McMullen, J. S., Morse, E. A., & Smith, J. B. 2007. The central question in entrepreneurial cognition research 2007. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31 (1): 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molinsky, A. 2007. Cross-cultural code-switching: The psychological challenges of adapting behavior in foreign cultural interactions. Academy of Management Review, 32 (2): 622–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molinsky, A. L. 2013. The psychological processes of cultural retooling. Academy of Management Journal, 56 (3): 683–710.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neeley, T. B. 2013. Language matters: Status loss and achieved status distinctions in global organizations. Organization Science, 24 (2): 476–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neeley, T. B., Hinds, P. J., & Cramton, C. D. 2012. The (un)hidden turmoil of language in global collaboration. Organizational Dynamics, 41 (3): 236–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, K. L., & Nollen, S. D. 1996. Culture and congruence: The fit between management practices and national culture. Journal of International Business Studies, 27 (4): 753–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, S. 2010. Top management team internationalization and firm performance. Management International Review, 50 (2): 185–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nisbett, R. E. 2003. The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently … and why. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norman, D. A., & Shallice, T. 1986. Attention and action: Willed and automatic control of behavior. In R. Davidson, G. Schwartz, & D. Shapiro (Eds), Consciousness and self-regulation: Advances in research and theory 1–18. New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Piekkari, R. 2006. Language effects in multinational corporations: A review from an international human resource management perspective. In G. Stahl, & I. Björkman (Eds), Handbook of research in international human resource management 536–550. Bodmin: MPG Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piekkari, R., Oxelheim, L., & Randøy, T. 2012. Language diversity as the dark side of corporate board internationalization. Paper presented at the 2012 European International Business Academy, Brighton, UK.

  • Porath, C. L., & Bateman, T. S. 2006. Self-regulation: From goal orientation to job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91 (1): 185–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reigeluth, C. M. (Ed) 1999. Instructional-design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory. Vol. II Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J. A. 2003. Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion. Psychological Review, 110 (1): 145–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabourin, L. 2009. Neuroimaging and research into second language acquisition. Second Language Research, 25 (1): 5–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schrauf, R. W. 2009. English use among older bilingual immigrants in linguistically concentrated neighborhoods: Social proficiency and internal speech as intracultural variation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 24 (2): 157–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senior, C., Lee, N., & Butler, M. J. R. 2011. Organizational cognitive neuroscience. Organization Science, 22 (3): 804–815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Service, E., Simola, M., Metsaenheimo, O., & Maury, S. 2002. Bilingual working memory span is affected by language skill. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 14 (3): 383–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer, M. A., Harrison, D. A., Gregersen, H., Black, J. S., & Ferzandi, L. A. 2006. You can take it with you: Individual differences and expatriate effectiveness. Journal of Applied psychology, 91 (1): 109–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. 1979. Rational decision making in business organizations. American Economic Review, 69 (4): 493–513.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanovich, K. E., & West, R.F. 1997. Reasoning independently of prior belief and individual differences in actively open-minded thinking. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89 (2): 342–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takano, Y., & Noda, A. 1993. A temporary decline of thinking ability during foreign language processing. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 24 (4): 445–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. 2004. High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72 (2): 271–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. 1974. Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185 (4157): 1124–1131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaid, J., & Menon, G. 2000. Correlates of bilinguals’ preferred language for mental computations. Spanish Applied Linguistics, 4 (2): 325–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Volk, S., & Becker, W. J. forthcoming. How insights from neuroeconomics can inform organizational research: The case of prosocial organizational behavior. Schmalenbach Business Review, in press.

  • Volk, S., & Köhler, T. 2012. Brains and games: Applying neuroeconomics to organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 15 (4): 522–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Hippel, W., & Gonsalkorale, K. 2005. “That is bloody revolting!” Inhibitory control of thoughts better left unsaid. Psychological Science, 16 (7): 497–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner, D. M., Erber, R., & Zanakos, S. 1993. Ironic processes in the mental control of mood and mood-related thought. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65 (6): 1093–1107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch, D., & Welch, L. 2008. The importance of language in international knowledge transfer. Management International Review, 48 (3): 339–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahra, S. A., Korri, J. S., & Yu, J. F. 2005. Cognition and international entrepreneurship: Implications for research on international opportunity recognition and exploitation. International Business Review, 14 (2): 129–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zak, P. J., & Nadler, A. 2010. Using brains to create trust: A manager’s toolbox. In A. A. Stanton, M. Day, & I. M. Welpe (Eds), Neuroeconomics and the firm 69–77. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Anne-Wil Harzing, Anne Huff, and David Whetten for their much appreciated advice concerning this article. The authors are also very grateful for the constructive and thoughtful guidance provided by special issue editor Mary Yoko Brannen and by two anonymous reviewers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of International Business, The University of Sydney Business School, Darlington, Australia

    Stefan Volk

  2. Department of Management and Marketing, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia

    Tine Köhler

  3. School of Business and Economics, The University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Markus Pudelko

Authors
  1. Stefan Volk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tine Köhler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Markus Pudelko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefan Volk.

Additional information

Accepted by Mary Yoko Brannen, Deputy Editor, 23 March 2014. This article has been with the authors for two revisions.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Volk, S., Köhler, T. & Pudelko, M. Brain drain: The cognitive neuroscience of foreign language processing in multinational corporations. J Int Bus Stud 45, 862–885 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2014.26

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2014.26

Keywords

Search

Navigation