English is More than Just Words in Cross-Cultural Business Communication

Abstract

This study investigated the preference of using English in cross-cultural business communication of undergraduate learners majoring in Business English at a private university in Thailand. The three main geographical groups of generalized cultural differences within the world of cross-cultural business communication are Western which encompasses North America; Central which encompasses Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East); and Eastern which encompasses Japan, China, and Eastern Asia. The overall results revealed that the participants displayed a significant affinity towards the Western geographical culture group in reference to cross-cultural business communication utilizing English. Furthermore, the participants respected that some qualities of the Central and Eastern geographical cultural group were also needed in cross-cultural business communication. In conclusion, the findings showed that although that the learners had limited global or cultural exposure outside of Thailand, they assumed that any cross-cultural business communication using English would be better accommodated in a Western geographical cultural group setting.