This paper draws on the common ingroup identity model (CIIM) to examine the interactive effects of dual identity – a combination of common and separate identity – on the relationships between host country national (HCN) employees’ English proficiency, social interactions, and helping behaviors toward expatriates in foreign subsidiaries. Study 1 using time-lagged data from 706 HCNs in various foreign subsidiaries suggests that the positive English proficiency-interaction frequency and interaction frequency-information sharing relationships are stronger when dual identity is high. Study 2 using time-lagged data from 330 HCNs in various foreign subsidiaries demonstrates that interaction avoidance mediates the positive relationship between English proficiency and knowledge transfer and that HCNs with high dual identity have more interactions and transfer more knowledge to expatriates. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a novel CIIM-based perspective on intergroup relations in multilingual settings, integrating and building on language and CIIM research, and extending CIIM research from laboratory settings to organizations.

We analyze highly qualified international migrants’ experiences of work life in host locations from the perspective of how these experiences are (co-)shaped by language. Based on qualitative pilot studies in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and in Finland [UK data to be added], some commonalities and differences are identified. We highlight how dominant language ideologies place migrants with less job market bargaining power under greater pressure to know the local language(s), presenting a further challenge in valorizing their professional qualifications and forcing them into often less desirable niche positions. However, migrants with sufficient qualifications to eventually land high-level jobs that can be carried out in English may also find themselves in precarious positions. Accordingly, we demonstrate the important role of relevant others in facilitating workplace integration of migrants, and the diversity of roles in which such relevant others can be found. This pattern appears more pronounced in a context with fewer migrants (Finland in this case). We find some indications of how such help can be institutionalized, pointing towards firm-level and societal implications of the study.

This article suggests a preliminary model of Chinese Language Operative Capacity (CN-LOC) for business network expansion into China based on assumptions of the revised Uppsala Internationalization Model and the framework of Strategic International Human Resource Management. Findings of studies about language effects in international business are synthesized into a model that suggests antecedents and consequences of CN-LOC and mediating variables. Managers looking to expand their business networks to China are advised to consider the benefits CN-LOC offers businesses and manage it as an asset. When seen as a country-specific advantage, CN-LOC may have consequences for education and concerning civil ties.

MNEs adopt cutting-edge digital technologies and apply them in the decision-making process between headquarters (HQ) and subsidiaries, known as ‘workplace digitalization’, enhancing both operational coordination and local responsiveness. While extant research primarily focuses on the effectiveness of workplace digitalization in enhancing firm performance from HQ’s perspective, this study shifts its attention to Host Country Nationals (HCNs) as active agents. This study investigates how workplace digitalization motivates HCNs to voice opinions that could improve MNEs’ decision-making effectiveness in digital environments. Grounded upon the Social Exchange Theory (SET) framework, we propose a positive relationship between workplace digitalization and HCNs’ proactive digital voices, mediated by HQ-subsidiary interaction of HCNs. Additionally, we examine contextual factors of HCNs’ digital embeddedness that strengthen these relationships. Our research emphasizes the crucial role of HCNs in MNEs, particularly in the digitalized work environment.

A common language facilitates exchange in international business (IB). The People’s Republic of China is a global player of significant economic and geopolitical importance. Thus, we can expect Chinese language capital to play a major role in IB. This article conceptualizes its importance from a Western (German) and Eastern (Chinese) point of view. Western concepts such as Positive or Constructive Management, the four-side communication model, language and power, and Chinese concepts such as harmony, guanxi, and xinren explain the important role Chinese language skills play for a beneficial Sino-Western business relationship.

This study aims to examine how expatriates can obtain cooperation or active support from host country nationals (HCNs) at foreign subsidiaries in host countries. It is hypothesized that the cultural intelligence (CQ) of both HCNs and expatriates, at a dyadic level, influences the willingness of HCNs to help. Additionally, the study will investigate how the degree of CQ impacts HCNs' willingness to assist expatriates. Moreover, it will explore whether the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) between expatriates and HCNs positively affects the willingness of HCNs to help. Subsequently, the relationship between HCNs' willingness to help, expatriate adjustment, and expatriate turnover intention will be examined. The data will be analyzed using a multi-level path model, and the results will be derived from a cross- lagged survey. The findings are expected to largely support the hypotheses, except for Hypothesis 5, which concerns the relationship between willingness to help and turnover intention. Specifically, it is proposed that the CQ of both HCNs and expatriates will be positively related to HCNs' willingness to help and expatriate adjustment, while being negatively related to expatriates' turnover intentions.