Conclusion

This review of the treatment of language as a concept in international business (IB) in the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) reveals thematic and chronological patterns that are representative of the development of an important field in IB research. The interest in language acquisition as part of the IB curriculum in the 1980s and 90s directly reflected the growth of IB as a distinct area of business and management and the emphasis on the nation-state as the key geographical entity in IB theory. The over-simplified association of a single national language with the nation-state completely overshadowing regional languages and dialects defies the reality of many markets1 and excludes large numbers of consumers from the potential reach of the firm. The increase in global trade and investment which has happened over the last few decades has brought with it greater competition, complexity and uncertainty as China, India and other newcomers have jostled for their place in the global order, causing many practitioners to propose that only the use of English as a corporate lingua franca could bring order and efficiency to this diversity (Neeley, 2012). However, it is interesting to note that throughout the recent period both national2 and transnational3 bodies have continued to produce large-scale policy and educational studies affirming the centrality of language competence to cross-national communication, trade relations and business performance.