Our research focuses on the human factor in multinational companies. We examine how people communicate and work together across languages, cultures, and countries. Our work connects international management with organizational behavior and human resource management. The following areas outline our main research interests and provide starting points for students interested in writing a thesis with us.
Language affects how people share knowledge, whose expertise is recognized, and who can contribute to discussions and decisions. Drawing on management research, linguistics, and organizational psychology, we examine how language barriers shape emotional dynamics and relationships between coworkers. Particular interests include the development of trust, differences in power, and the exchange of knowledge in multinational organizations. We also explore how companies build and use their language resources to work internationally.
How do team members develop a shared understanding when they work across languages, cultures, and locations? We examine how they communicate, get to know one another, and coordinate their work, including how they choose and combine communication media. We also study employees who belong to several teams at once. Our research on job crafting explores how they change their tasks and working arrangements to manage high demands, and how these changes affect colleagues. One of our latest projects investigates how geopolitical shocks and international crises affect everyday collaboration in multinational teams.
We investigate how generative AI changes communication across languages. Recent work examines how the instructions given to AI systems influence the cultural appropriateness of translated business emails and recipients’ responses. Our ongoing projects ask how generative AI redistributes the work of writing, translating, and interpreting messages, and how this affects trust and knowledge exchange. We are interested in when AI reduces language barriers and when fluent wording conceals misunderstandings. We also examine the skills people need to assess AI-generated messages and use them appropriately.
We study how leaders support collaboration among people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, including in virtual work settings. Our research examines how leaders respond to frustration and uncertainty arising from language barriers and help team members contribute their expertise. We are also interested in how leaders recognize abilities that may be obscured by limited language proficiency, encourage participation, and build trust across distance. These questions help us understand which leadership practices suit different international work contexts and which competencies leaders need to develop.
We examine how people experience belonging and exclusion at work, and how these experiences shape their sense of who they are professionally. Recent research explores microaggressions: subtle comments or actions that can make highly qualified migrants feel devalued or excluded. Another strand examines the career aspirations and professional identities of Japanese women, including those working for foreign-owned subsidiaries. Across these settings, we ask how language, cultural background, and gender interact.
Much of our research is qualitative, using interviews and case studies to understand people’s experiences and organizational processes in multinational companies. Depending on the research question, we also use quantitative and mixed-methods designs. Alongside empirical studies, we undertake conceptual theory building to develop explanations and connections that guide future research.
We collaborate with researchers in Germany and internationally, as well as with organizations interested in the issues we study. Organizations interested in research collaboration are welcome to contact Prof. Helene Tenzer at tenzer@lmu.de