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The importance of language in international knowledge transfer

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Abstract

Abstract and Key Results

  • In this article, we examine the effects of language on the transfer of knowledge within multinational companies. We unbundle language from the culture box and use the basic communication model to show how language affects all stages.

  • We also examine a range of influences — cost, transfer medium, teams, networks, trust, staff movements and motivation — on international knowledge transfer to demonstrate how language effects their operation.

  • We develop the concept of language as a “reconfiguration agent” to explain its extensive, pervasive, on-going and system-altering characteristics.

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  1. Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Denice E. Welch & Lawrence S. Welch

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  1. Denice E. Welch
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  2. Lawrence S. Welch
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Welch, D.E., Welch, L.S. The importance of language in international knowledge transfer. MANAGE. INT. REV. 48, 339–360 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-008-0019-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-008-0019-7

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