دانلود رایگان مقاله چشم انداز سطح تفسیر بر ادراک استفاده زبان بین المللی فراگیر

ABSTRACT

Virtual work has become an increasingly important part of the international business environment. In particular,two components of virtual work; workplace mobility and distributed work, depicting physical and psychological distance to the workplace, have gained substantial scholarly attention. However, while the main stream of the international business literature, studying global virtual teams, has used mobility and distribution as predictors for negative work outcomes, there are indications that virtual work can have positive implications for the organization. In this study, we explore how workplace mobility and distributed work can affect employees’ perceptions of their colleagues and of managerial activities. More specifically, we focus on inclusive language use by managers and employees since this is a theme of growing interest in international business research. Relying on responses from 676 individuals from five Danish multicultural business organizations, we demonstrate a positive association between workplace mobility and perceptions of employees’ openness to language diversity as well as between distributed work and perceptions of consistent common corporate language at management level. This is consistent with construal level theory predicting that distance between employees and the organization will lead to more objective and goal-oriented perceptions whereas individuals that are more emerged in organizational social life will view issues more in relation to goal irrelevant factors. 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conclusions

This novel study explored the association between two central aspects of virtuality, workplace mobility and distributed work on perceptions of employees’ and managers’ use of inclusive language. Contrary to the lion’s share of international business studies on virtual work, the results highlight the potential positive aspects of physical and psychological distance to the organization. Thus, individuals who are further away from the firm tend to be more positive toward central aspects of working in international business organizations. The presented findings are consistent with Construal level theory and have significant theoretical and practical importance. Thus, the study contributes to the international business literature on global virtual work highlighting the necessity to gain a more balanced view concerning not only the challenges but also the possibilities of virtual groups. Furthermore, the study gives virtual managers a deeper understanding of how physical and psychological distance influence employee perceptions, and how their viewpoints can add important insights into organizational practices and policies.