The Role of Culture during Internationalization

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of culture during internationalization, covering many aspects that contribute to cultural make up. The current pace of the internationalization of businesses brings to the fore the importance of culture and its roles in the whole of process of internationalization and the performance of an internationalized organization in the long run. With an increasing number of businesses turning to foreign markets, internationalization is becoming more common. With an understanding of cultural differences and potential areas for problems during internationalization, it is apparent that the most prominent aspects of culture for international businesses are that of communication, both verbal and non-verbal communication. Although little research has been done on the topic so far, the importance of communication and the problems arising from cultural differences in non-verbal cues as well as misinterpretation during translation of information from one language to another appears as the number one issue of cross-cultural integration. Overall however, culture as a whole does have profound effects on companies internationalizing, with a number of aspect of culture needing a great deal of attention in order to begin operating with foreign markets.