Exploring the language choice dilemma of international small firms: A social exchange perspective on English-only versus multilingualism
从社交交换视角探讨国际小企业决策者在英语唯一与多语主义之间的选择困境，发现外部语言多样性和内部语言能力不足导致艰难权衡。
In international business, firm-level language choices are important questions that require scarce organizational resources to deal with external stakeholders’ diverse preferences. While language choices have a major impact on the success and survival of SMEs, current knowledge of these choices is mainly based on data from MNEs, which constitutes a research gap. We help address this gap by exploring from a social exchange perspective why and how decision-makers in international small firms choose between “English-only” and “multilingual” approaches to language. We find that when evaluating the cost and benefits of these alternatives, decision-makers aim for high levels of both external and internal resource sharing. However, external language diversity and limited internal availability of relevant language competencies force them into difficult trade-offs.