Ten reasons why corporate language policies can create more problems than they solve

An increasing number of multilingual organisations such as multinational corporations (MNCs) choose to address linguistic diversity through corporate language policies, for example by adopting a common corporate language. Although a common corporate language may improve efficiency of communication at the front-line level, previous research has demonstrated that there are several potentially negative consequences associated with the implementation of such policies. This conceptual paper reviews the role of language policies in multilingual organisations, and identifies ten crucial language policy challenges in international business and management.