Some of the reasons are:  

• ease of learning English 
• money saving (cheaper than expensive translation/interpreting) 
• popularity of English (in Europe about 80% of children are taught English since primary school) 
• attitude (the author stresses that workers from many countries do not see a problem in communicating in English and do not consider learning each other's language necessary) 

The authors stress that workers from many countries do not perceive it as a problem. They do not consider learning each other's languages because English provides an easy and accessible way to solve common problems. 

(Source: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170317-the-international-companies-using-only-english).  

The differences in English skills can also cause irritation when they lead to an asymmetry of power between native and non-native speakers. A study at the German car manufacturer Porsche revealed for example that “[…] even graduate engineers – plant managers with up to 5000 employees – say nothing in "meetings" because they can't think of anything in English or they don't want to embarrass themselves. [...]" 

(see the original text in the German newspaper Die Süddeutsche online: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/beispiel-porsche-sprache-in-firmen-schlechtes-deutsch-besser-als-gutes-englisch-1.292633). 

An interesting awareness-raising question is asked by Scott McCulloch (2019). He draws attention to the fact that English – the most commonly learnt second language – may not be enough if English is taught without an intercultural communication focus. The problem is that workers may be skilled in English but not intercultural communication. Use of English only may cause miscommunication problems that can be very costly for international companies. In the article, the importance of enhancing plurilingualism and pluriculturalism that allows companies to profit in a global market is highlighted. 

(Source: https://familyenterprisefoundation.org/resources/resources/our-insights/articles/2019/july/how-language-barriers-affect-international-business/) 

The analysis of crossing linguistic boundaries in the multinational corporation's context shows that employees construct multilingualism as a 'given reality' and as an 'opportunity' and foreground the social aspect of non-L1 language use in the workplace. Motivation to use English depends on working level, companies, etc.  

In the case study, researchers from different universities of the Greater Region – University of Lorraine, University of Luxembourg, Saarland University and University of Strasbourg – and from various disciplines – Geography, Sociology, Business Administration, and Linguistics – focused on linguistic and spatial borders in cross-border enterprises, especially regarding challenges of intercultural management (cf. Polzin-Haumann/Reissner 2016: 105). 

The enterprise Smart 

The case study was conducted in the enterprise Smart in Hambach (France), which counted 800 employees plus the same amount of employees of the suppliers at that time. As the French subsidiary of the German Daimler AG, smart employs about 5 % of German employees; most of the employees come from France. Most employees live near the factory, some of them are cross-border commuters and cross the German-French border on their way to work every day (ibid.). 

Research focus 

From a linguistic perspective, research questions concern, for example, the linguistic landscape in the enterprise, borders and transitions between the languages, and how they are perceived by the employees. Furthermore, possible connections between socioprofessional affiliation, national origin, and language skills were addressed. With the interdisciplinary focus of the researchers involved, different perspectives on the communication processes within the enterprise are introduced — in accordance with the aforementioned requirement to create interdisciplinary linguistic studies on business communication and intercultural management in order to be able to do justice to their inherent complexity (ibid. 106). 

Methodology 

The study followed a Grounded Theory approach: From the practices in the company, ideas for category development were formulated and, on this basis, a first analysis of the conditions in the enterprise was carried out. In this step, further survey instruments were also determined, before the data collection followed, which was continuously adjusted based on further monitoring processes. Methods for data collection were, for example, interviews, observations, or carte mentales. The methodology and the research design can be seen as complex as data collection methods of different disciplines were used and combined (ibid. 107f.). 

Corpus 

The following findings are based on conversation with the company manager, guided interviews (approx. 15 hours in total) with employees at different hierarchical levels and from different work areas, as well as questionnaires on their language biographies. The interviews were conducted in tandem with two researchers from different nationalities and disciplines. This module focuses on the role of different languages in specific communication contexts as well as the question of borders and transitions between the languages and their perception by the different employees (ibid. 108).

For further reading and a comprehensive overview of the case study results check: 

• in French: Trépos, Jean-Yves/Ehrhart, Sabine/Hamez, Grégory/Langinier, Hélène/Polzin-Haumann, Claudia/Reissner, Christina (2016): „Frontières linguistiques et communautés de travail. Un bilinguisme à l'épreuve du changement industriel”, in: questions de communication 29/2016, 351-374.
• in German: Polzin-Haumann, Claudia/Reissner, Christina (2016): „Unternehmenskommunikation in einem internationalen Unternehmen in der SaarLorLux-Region. Eine Fallstudie auf interdisziplinärer Grundlage”, in: Hennemann, Anja/Schlaak, Claudia (edd.): Unternehmenskommunikation und Wirtschaftsdiskurse - Herausforderungen für die romanistische Linguistik, Heidelberg, 103-121.

View page of  the German-Luxembourg-French border region

For further reading and a comprehensive overview of the case study results check: 

• in French: Trépos J. et al. (2016), „Frontières linguistiques et communautés de travail. Un bilinguisme à l'épreuve du changement industriel”, questions de communication No. 29(2016), pp. 351-374. 
• in German: Polzin-Haumann C. and Reissner C. (2016), „Unternehmenskommunikation in einem internationalen Unternehmen in der SaarLorLux-Region. Eine Fallstudie auf interdisziplinärer Grundlage”, in Hennemann A. and Schlaak C. (eds), Unternehmenskommunikation und Wirtschaftsdiskurse – Herausforderungen für die romanistische Linguistik, pp. 103-121, Winter, Heidelberg.

In this context, translation as a tool for better text results came out to be best practice as the following quote illustrates: 

This specific practice of cross-lingual text production can be realized in its best way because of the bilingual working environment at Alleo. By identifying the genres and writing requirements at the workplace this practice could also inspire a creative mix of languages. This includes more than a simple translation, for example hybrid language practices through multilingual writing tools for companies with more than two languages. 

Culturally and/or institutionally influenced differences and working techniques of the German and the French railway societies (DB and SNCF) are brought together in Alleo by managing a joint and intercultural negotiation process. The factors of success and their effects are listed in the following table (Barmeyer and Davoine 2015, 433). 

Click to enlarge

As a „factor of success“, the authors of the Alleo highlight plurilingualism („Taking different perspectives through knowledge and understanding of different social conceptual systems, efficient work and reduction of linguistic misunderstanding“) and intercultural competences („Appropriate ability to act through cognitive and emotional understanding of culture and systems“) (ibid). 

To know more about this former company (2007-2018) please click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleo. 

In the category „multilingualism“ (German-French), the project Alleo shows the integrative function of multilingual practices to avoid misunderstandings that are caused by different social conceptual systems incorporated in one language. 

We have seen that in border regions the two neighbouring national languages are mostly used. 

Another step towards intercultural competence in multilingual professional contexts besides the specifics of border regions is the role of Third-Country Nationals (TCNs) in international enterprises that has been described by Barmeyer and Eberhardt (2019). The article focusses on an „[…] empirical survey conducted in various multinational enterprises, deals with TCN managers’ perceptions of which competencies are regarded as relevant for coping with the challenges posed by their interface function. Intercultural competence is identified as having a special significance as meta-competence, because it enables individuals in intercultural contexts to assume neutral and objective positions“ (Barmeyer and Eberhardt 2019:31).

The idea of building bridges between the different national and ethnic groups is also to create a policy of multilingualism as recommended in the final paper of the Dylan Project (2012): “In classrooms, meetings and interaction at the workplace in companies and in European institutions and bodies, a multilingual mode, encouraged by a policy of multilingualism and linked to an appropriate participatory framework, seems to be one of the conditions for taking full advantage of multilingualism as an asset“ (Berthoud, Grin and Lüdi 2012, 20).

Here you can see some of the main practices in multilingual contexts that have been identified among cross-border workers in Luxemburg: 

• the use of routine formula and key words 
• translation 
• receptive plurilingualism 
• accommodation and negotiation 
• Lingua Franca – in general French 
• Creative mix of languages and strategies (ibid) 

All these aspects of language policy and language management in international companies, especially in border regions, show that the choice of one language (e.g. English) as lingua franca in professional/vocational contexts must be revised.