SMEs Need Languages!

Natalie Wilmot28th November 2013

Cater Allen Private Bank, owned by Santander

PCL

Riba Farré (Barcelona)

Personna

Sheffield Hallam University

My Journey

Globally, over two thirds of exporters have less than 20

employees(Daniels et al, 2013)

Currently in the UK, 64% of SMEs only trade domestically

(Telegraph, 2013)

In a poll of 500 UK SMEs only 6% said overseas trade was a key target for their business

next year... (Telegraph, 2013)

... Although a 2012 study suggested that 60% of SMEs

questioned plan to begin trading in a new overseas

market over next three years (Hagen et al, 2013)

40 % of those questioned suggested they would need foreign language skills to

help them achieve their goals (Hagen et al, 2013)

In the Sheffield City Region, 95% of employment is

provided by just over 54,000 SMEs

(FDI Intelligence, 2013)

Background

Very High Impact Low ImpactLimited information to locate/analyze markets

Meeting export production quality standards/specs

Inability to contact overseas customers Lack of excess production capacity for exports

Identifying foreign business opportunities Verbal/nonverbal language differences

Difficulty in matching competitors prices

Excessive transportation/insurance costs

Different foreign customer habits/attitudes

Poor/deteriorating economic conditions abroadPolitical instability in foreign markets

Significant Barriers to Export Exist

Leonidou, 2004

Very little!

Academic literature not particularly concerned with the topic

Some data

exists...

However it mainly focuses on survey data looking at

which languages SMEs use and frequency

There's a lot it

doesn't tell us...

Not really explored how it impacts on relationships in business, although Incelli (2008) suggests language is a barrier

What do we know about how SMEs use languages?

Shows an interest in the culture and customer’s country, and often smooths the path of negotiation by facilitating social contacts

Allows a relationship of trust to develop Improves the flow of communication both to and

from the market Improves ability to understand the ethos and

business practices of the market Improves ability to negotiate and adapt product and

service offerings to meet the specific needs of the customer

Gives a psychological advantage in selling

What are the benefits of having foreign language capabilities?

Turnbull, 1981 cited in Swift, 1991

How can language barriers be managed in an organisation?

Language Control Policies

Lingua franca

Functional multilinguism

Controlled language

Common corporate language

Bridging Individuals

Language Nodes

Selective Recruitment

Expatriate Management

Inpatriation

Third Party Resources

External language resources

Machine translation

Training

Wilmot, 2013 based on Feely and Harzing, 2003

BELF is a neutral language (Kankaanranta and Louhiala-Salminen

2007)Grammatical correctness is not

important, and it can be used to "get things done"

It is owned by the international business community, not native

speakers

English cannot be viewed as a neutral language (Tietze, 2004)

It is still bound up with power and is a form of hegemony (Pennycook, 2007)

Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF)

1 Spanish 2 Arabic 3 French 4 Mandarin Chinese 5 German 6 Portuguese 7 Italian 8= Russian 8= Turkish 10 Japanese

Which Language?

British Council, 2013

“It felt like… half of our professional competence had been taken away

when we had to use a language that was not our own native

tongue. You felt like an idiot…” (Vaara et

al, 2005:609)

Lack of competence

may cause loss of face

(Kameda, 2005)

Can be challenging to

participate fully (Charles, 2007)

Task oriented approach may

cause "thin communication"

(Bouchien de Groot, 2012)

Code switching may be viewed

as deviant behaviour

What are the Challenges of speaking in a Foreign Language?

Poster on the Wall of Beijing Language and Cultural University, cited in British Council (2013)

Bouchien de Groot, E (2012) Personal Preference or Policy? Language choice in a European-based international organization, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 17(3), 256-271

British Council (2013) Languages for the Future [online] available at http://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/britishcouncil.uk2/files/languages-for-the-future-report.pdf last accessed 27th November 2013

Charles, M (2007) Language Matters in Global Communication, Journal of business Communication, 44(3), 260-282 Daniels, JD, Radebaugh, LH and Sullivan, DP (2013) International Business: Environments and Operations, 14th Edition. Pearson,

Essex FDI Intelligence (2013) A Revival Made in Sheffield [online] available at http://

www.fdiintelligence.com/Special-Reports/2013/Sheffield-City-Region2 last accessed 27th November 2013 Hagen, S, Angouri, J, Dippold, D and Aponte-Moreno, M (2013) ARCTIC: Assessing and Reviewing Cultural Transaction in International

Companies [online] available at https://www.surrey.ac.uk/arctic/files/arctic_final_report.pdf last accessed 28th November 2013 Incelli, E (2008) Foreign language management in Lazio SMEs, Language Policy, 7(2), pp99-120 Kameda, N (2005) A research paradigm for international business communication, Corprate Communications: An International

Journal, 10(2), 168-182 Kankaanranta, A and Louhiala-Salminen, L (2007) Business Communication in BELF, Business Communication Quarterly, 70(1), 55-59 Leonidou (2004) An Analysis of the Barriers Hindering Small Business Export Development, Journal of Small Business Management,

42(3), 279 – 302 Pennycook, A (2007) The Myth of English as an International Language, in Makoni, S and Pennycook, A (eds) Disinventing and

Reconstituting Languages. Clevedon, Multilingual Matters Swift, JS (1991) Foreign Language Ability and International Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, 25(12), 36 -49 Telegraph (2013) Can British business double exports by 2020? [online] available at http://

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10439497/Can-British-business-double-exports-by-2020.html last accessed 28th November 2013

Tietze, S (2004) Spreading the Management Gospel – In English, Language and Intercultural Communication, 4(3) 175-189 Vaara, E, Tienari, J, Piekkari, R and Santti, R (2005) Language and the Circuits of Power in a Merging Multinational Corporation,

Journal of Management Studies, 42:3, pp595-623 Wilmot, N (2013) Professional Identity and Language Competence: A Theoretical Framework for the Relationship. Paper presented at

the 7th International GEM&L conference, Identities, Languages and Company Cultures: Cohesion through Diversity?, Marseille, 21-22 March. Unpublished

References