GEM&L birth and development:
A contribution to the ever-expanding field of language-sensitive IB research
Philippe Lecomte
Toulouse Business School
Pages: 1-32
JALT Business Communication Journal, Vol..2, Issue 1, November 2024, Pages 1-32
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.BzCom2.2024-01
Abstract
The article provides an overview of GEM&L (Research Group on Management & Language), exploring its origins, objectives, and influence within language-sensitive international business (IB) research. Founded in 2012, GEM&L emphasizes the importance of language in management, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among linguistics, communication studies, and business education to address global workplace needs. The paper traces the evolution of language-sensitive IB research, highlighting GEM&L’s contributions through conferences, publications, and special issues that explore the role of language in corporate strategy, knowledge transfer, and multinational team dynamics. Key developments and publications in this field illustrate the shift towards viewing language as a core element of management, beyond mere communication. GEM&L's initiatives emphasize language’s strategic role in organizational behavior, offering insights for further interdisciplinary convergence in research and practice.
Philippe Lecomte is President and founding member of GEM&L, an international research group on management and language. He has been an Associate Professor at Toulouse Business School (TBS), the head of TBS's Language Department, and co-director of the International Management program. He has co-edited five special issues for leading international management journals, as well as two books on language and management. He completed his PhD at the University of Paris X, France. His current research interest is on language in international business and management education.