Impact of Language Competencies on International Business Performance: Small and Medium Enterprise Perspective

Research suggests that around 75-80% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) close within ten years (Wright et al, 2015) of commencement in United Kingdom due to a lack of growth. One way to generate growth is to export products and /or services and venture into international markets. Research studies emphasize there is strong link between exports and growth in UK and internationalisation is becoming critically important for business survival and growth (Lu and Beamish, 2001, Webster and Deshpande, 1989). Going international often requires knowledge of the languages in the countries to which the products are to be exported. However, little is known about the role of language competences within SMEs. In this paper we explore the role of languages/linguistic competencies using new scale ‘language operating Climate’ for SME’s growth and exports in United Kingdom.