Towards a Richer Understanding of Language and Identity in the MNC: Constructing Cosmopolitan Identities Through “English”

dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributor.authorKarhunen, Päivien_US
dc.contributor.authorKankaanranta, Anneen_US
dc.contributor.authorRäisänen, Tiinaen_US
dc.contributor.departmentCenter for Markets in Transition (CEMAT)en
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Management Studiesen
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-23T06:08:09Z
dc.date.available2023-08-23T06:08:09Z
dc.date.issued2023-06en_US
dc.descriptionPublisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).
dc.description.abstractBringing in insights from sociolinguistics, this conceptual paper advances the theorizing on language and identity in the MNC, viewed as socially constructed by individuals in interaction when they cross fluid linguistic and geographical boundaries. We posit that the identities of global business professionals in the MNC are not intrinsically tied to nationality and native language, they are rather cosmopolitan and constructed in interactions in English as the working language (BELF: English as a Business Lingua Franca). We further conceptualize the multilingual MNC as a social constellation – providing the context for processes of identity construction but also shaped by them. We outline three propositions that capture the ways in which BELF contributes to the construction of a cosmopolitan identity on three dimensions (individual, interactional and contextual) in multilingual professional MNC settings. The first one concerns the identification of individuals as participants in BELF interactions drawing from their different linguistic resources, national origins and professions, and previous experiences. The focus in the second one is on BELF interactions that manifest an orientation to both sharedness and difference in skills, knowledge and social relations. The third proposition concerns the MNC context in terms of enabling BELF interactions and being (re)constructed as a social constellation with fluid linguistic and geographical boundaries. We further elaborate on the methodological implications of sociolinguistic and cosmopolitan approaches to IM research on identity in general, and how our propositions could guide future research on language and identity in the MNC in particular.en
dc.description.versionPeer revieweden
dc.format.extent24
dc.format.extent507-530
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationKarhunen, P, Kankaanranta, A & Räisänen, T 2023, ' Towards a Richer Understanding of Language and Identity in the MNC: Constructing Cosmopolitan Identities Through “English” ', Management International Review, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 507-530 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-023-00504-6en
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s11575-023-00504-6en_US
dc.identifier.issn0938-8249
dc.identifier.issn1861-8901
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 7100964f-7ccf-4d30-a0ee-a39d5cd1d9bfen_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE ITEMURL: https://research.aalto.fi/en/publications/7100964f-7ccf-4d30-a0ee-a39d5cd1d9bfen_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE LINK: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148093283&partnerID=8YFLogxKen_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE FILEURL: https://research.aalto.fi/files/118766454/s11575_023_00504_6.pdfen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/122648
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-202308234994
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.relation.ispartofseriesManagement International Reviewen
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 63, issue 3en
dc.rightsopenAccessen
dc.subject.keywordBELFen_US
dc.subject.keywordCosmopolitanismen_US
dc.subject.keywordEnglish as business lingua francaen_US
dc.subject.keywordIdentityen_US
dc.subject.keywordLanguageen_US
dc.subject.keywordMNCen_US
dc.subject.keywordMultilingualismen_US
dc.subject.keywordMultinational companiesen_US
dc.titleTowards a Richer Understanding of Language and Identity in the MNC: Constructing Cosmopolitan Identities Through “English”en
dc.typeA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessäfi
dc.type.versionpublishedVersion

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