Title: Developing language performance standards in international small firms: an interplay between HR expectations and employee reactions

Authors: Sazzad Talukder

Addresses: Åbo Akademi School of Business and Economics, Åbo Akademi University, Vänrikinkatu 3 B, 20500 Turku, Finland

Abstract: If language competence matters for international business success, we need to know against which standards firms assess this competence. Yet there is little research on how language performance standards are identified and established, especially in resource-constrained small firms. Adopting an inductive approach, this study addresses this gap by investigating the language performance standard development process in 22 Finland-based international small firms. A 5-year longitudinal study shows that HR decision-makers engage in what they view as a systematic process of identifying, experimenting with, evaluating, and selecting specific language performance standards for specific job positions. This process evolves in the interplay between HR decision-makers' expectations on employees' performance and employees' reactions to these expectations. It culminates in the formal integration of language standards into regularly appraised performance goals. The study sheds light on a key aspect of HR management in international small firms, aiding their survival and success.

Keywords: language; language performance; language performance standard; performance appraisal; social exchange; resource sharing; firm survival.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2025.144610

European Journal of International Management, 2025 Vol.25 No.3/4, pp.483 - 515

Received: 17 Jul 2023
Accepted: 28 Mar 2024
Published online: 25 Feb 2025 *

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