Internationalization of companies and business processes

Corporate change in our modern, global environment is frequently embedded in an international context. Internationalization includes the expansion as well as the shifting and repositioning of business processes. In a current research project, we investigate the link between companies’ investments and divestments.

Moreover, in international contexts, managers and employees often communicate and make decisions in a foreign language rather than in their mother tongue. Thus, in several joint research studies, members of the Jackstädt Center, together with national and international partners, are investigating how people behave in foreign language contexts. An important finding is that changing the language causally affects cooperation behavior along two paths. On the one hand, engagement via a foreign language generates a subjectively felt, and possibly realistic, lack of comprehension, which subsequently affects both decision-making and behavior. On the other hand, languages establish a certain cultural background and, thus, may indirectly influence a person’s relevant values and norms.

In another project, members of the Jackstädt Center are studying the effects of terrorist attacks on the export performance of companies in developing countries. In 2018, we conducted three surveys in Germany and Pakistan that provided further insights into how companies deal with the threat of terrorism. Working papers that use this new data source are currently in progress and have been presented at international conferences, such as the annual meetings of the Academy of International Business, the Academy of Management, and the European International Business Academy. These papers will be prepared for submission to international journals.