Effects of language proficiency and communication on procedural justice in an international joint venture

ABSTRACT

In cross-border partnerships, several language strategies have been identified for better outcomes between interacting employees of two contracting parties: adopting a common corporate language (CCL), increasing the frequency of communication and employing translation services. This study empirically examines the factors influencing procedural justice in the context of a Japanese-European international joint venture (IJV). The findings from our research suggest that perceived common corporate language differences (CC-LADs) and frequency of communication both have an influence on procedural justice in the decision-making process of key employees. While a higher self-perceived CC-LAD led to a negative, higher communication frequency led to a positive perception of justice. The paper also found a moderation effect of frequency on perceived CC-LADs, suggesting that employees with higher CC-LAD see decision-making processes as fairer when communication occurs more frequently. Direct effects are even applicable to the small group of employees who perceive their own CCL ability higher than that of their counterparts whereas a moderation effect is applicable for the employees who perceive their CCL ability as lower than their counterparts.

KEYWORDS:

• Common corporate language
• communication frequency
• international joint venture
• procedural fairness and decision-making
• managerial employees

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lara Makowski-Komura

Lara Makowski-Komura is a PhD post-doc and received her PhD at Kobe University under supervision of Ralf Bebenroth. She is interested in language implication and expatriations. After spending six years in Japan, Lara is back in Germany to start working in a Japanese firm at Duesseldorf

Ralf Bebenroth

Ralf Bebenroth is a full and tenured professor at Kobe University, Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Japan as well as a specially appointed Professor at Kyoto University. He is living and working in Japan for around 20 years and since his PhD in 2001. Ralf is particularly interested in Mergers and Acquisitions.

Ashish Malik

Ashish Malik is an Associate Professor at University of Newcastle, Central Coast Campus in New South Wales, Australia. His academic qualifications, training and professional experience, are in the fields of Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations. His current research is at the interface of strategy, HRM and innovation management focusing on knowledge-intensive services industries in an international context.