Limits of a Second Language: Native and Second Languages in Management Team Communication

Area of Science:

• Cross-cultural psychology
• Cognitive linguistics
• International business management

Background:

• Cultural differences in speech acts pose challenges for Chinese and Western managers.
• Effective cross-cultural management requires understanding communication nuances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of language and ethnicity on predicting communication obstacles.
• To investigate how bilingualism influences metacognition in cross-cultural management scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of four groups: Native Chinese, English-speaking Chinese, Chinese-speaking Westerners, and non-Chinese-speaking Westerners.
• Assessment of communication obstacle prediction in a management team context.

Main Results:

• Bilingual subjects demonstrated reduced susceptibility to ethnic biases.
• Bilingual participants did not necessarily adjust their metacognitions to match native speakers' communication styles.

Conclusions:

• Language and ethnicity interact in complex ways within cross-cultural management.
• Findings have implications for metacognition studies in international business and linguistics.