Title: Discretionary power on the front line: a bottom-up perspective on corporate language management

Authors: Guro Refsum Sanden; Dorte Lønsmann

Addresses: Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University, Kroghstraede 3, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark ' Department of Management, Society and Communication, Copenhagen Business School, Dalgas Have 15, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark

Abstract: This paper investigates the communication practices used by front-line employees to cross language boundaries in the context of English language policies implemented by the management of three multinational corporations (MNCs) headquartered in Scandinavia. Based on an analysis of interview and document data, our findings show that employees face a number of different language boundaries in their everyday work, and that ad hoc and informal solutions in many cases are vital for successful cross-language communication. We introduce the concept of 'discretionary power' to explain how and why front-line employees diverge from the corporate language policies, and emphasise the role of individual agency in the implementation of language policy. With a focus on the communication practices of front-line employees, the paper contributes with a bottom-up, employee-centred perspective on corporate language management, emphasising the importance of paying attention to the micro level of everyday interactions in the study of language policy and practice.

Keywords: English as a corporate language; discretionary power; linguistic diversity; language policy; front line; employee perspective.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2018.089042

European Journal of International Management, 2018 Vol.12 No.1/2, pp.111 - 137

Received: 18 May 2016
Accepted: 19 Apr 2017
Published online: 04 Jan 2018 *

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