0000000000427448
AUTHOR
Rebecca Piekkari
The Silent Board: How Language Diversity May Influence the Work Processes of Corporate Boards
Manuscript Type Empirical. Research Question/Issue Corporate boards often change their working language when they acquire foreign members. Consequently, boards �talk� in one language but �think� in another. The present study explores and explains how language diversity influences work processes of corporate boards. Research Findings/Insights On the basis of a multiple case study of nine multinational corporations (MNCs) from four Nordic countries, we discovered evidence of impoverished and silenced discussions in board meetings in those case companies that were unprepared to switch to English as the new working language of the board. Some board members found it difficult to contribute to bo…
The effect of language use on the financial performance of microfinance banks: Evidence from cross-border activities in 74 countries
Abstract This multi-year study examines the relationship between financial performance and language use, observing 405 partnerships between microfinance banks and their international financial partners in 74 countries. Drawing on language research in international business, we find that microfinance banks based in English-speaking, French-speaking, and Spanish-speaking countries have higher performance. Furthermore, the linguistic distance between the home country of a microfinance bank and the home country of its international partner(s) is negatively related to its financial performance. Our large-scale study confirms the effect of language use on organization-level financial performance …
The Role of Language in Corporate Governance: The Case of Board Internationalization
Multinational corporations internationalize their corporate boardrooms in order to capitalize on their commercial and financial internationalization. Board internationalization provides access to specialized knowledge and skills, broadens social networks and ensures greater transparency of strategic decision-making. The entry of a foreign board member is often coupled with a change in the working language of the board. The purpose of the present study is to explore and explain how increased language diversity influences decision-making and work processes of corporate boards. We draw on previous research on board internationalization, diversity and language in multinational corporations. Bas…
Market Determinants of Voluntary Disclosure of Macroeconomic Effects on Corporate Performance
The macroeconomic environment is an important determinant of firm performance. Nevertheless, many firms are simplistic in the approach they use to identify, analyze and create strategies for managing the vital relationship between intrinsic competitiveness and macroeconomic fluctuations. Few firms disclose this information to outside stakeholders, which means they are prevented from understanding the intrinsic performance. We analyze the effects of the implementation/development of IFRS/IAS 1 on voluntary macroeconomic information disclosure with a focus on information content and market determinants. We base our analysis on a sample of the 100 largest public European firms in the period 20…
The Effect of Cross-Border Language Use on Financial Performance of Microfinance Banks
This empirical study investigates the financial performance effect of cross-border language use in 405 partnerships between microfinance banks and their international partners in 74 countries. Motivated by the literature on language in International Business, we find that microfinance banks that use a global language such as English have better financial performance. Further, the linguistic distance between the microfinance banks and their international partners is negatively related to the financial performance of these banks. This study highlights tangible performance outcomes of cross-border language use and suggests that language use needs to be addressed as a strategic issue in interna…