Title: Multilingual practices and inclusion in context: a model based on the Big Four accounting firms in Luxembourg

Authors: Hélène Langinier; Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen

Addresses: Ecole de Management de Strasbourg, University of Strasbourg (HuManiS), Strasbourg, Cedex, France ' School of Business and Economics, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

Abstract: We draw on Bourdieusian field theory to develop a process model to explain how multilingual practices in Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are legitimised through power relations in specific societal and industry contexts, and how these practices shape the inclusion of human resources. We illustrate the development of our model with examples from the field of Big Four professional service firms in Luxembourg, and identify the elements shaping the legitimisation of multilingual practices in this specific organisational and geographical context. We conclude that greater legitimacy of multilingual practices facilitates the inclusion of employees with non-traditional linguistic capital, who may be valuable to firms in other ways.

Keywords: inclusion; multilingualism; Bourdieu; language; practices; context.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2026.150366

European Journal of International Management, 2026 Vol.28 No.1, pp.24 - 45

Received: 11 May 2022
Accepted: 09 Oct 2022
Published online: 12 Dec 2025 *

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