Navigating Business Communication: Values and Facework

Abstract

Effective business communication contributes to business development and to the psychological well-being and job satisfaction of employees. Face concerns were proved to navigate communication behaviors in face-threatening situations. It has been established that cultural values influence face concerns, yet the problem of face in terms of communication with ingroup and outgroup members is rarely addressed. The present research was aimed at identifying the relationship between individual values, face concerns, facework, and perceived communication efficacy in intra- and inter-cultural business communication. We hypothesized that Sh. Schwartz high order individual values influence face concerns and subsequent facework behaviors, which in turn relate to perceived communication satisfaction and willingness to communicate. This conceptual model was tested on employees of two business organizations (n = 363) in intra- and intercultural contexts of business communication using path analysis. Results showed that self-face concern is driven by Conservation values and Self-enhancement values, while mutual-face concern is driven by Self-transcendence and Openness to change values. Other-face concern is context-determined: in interaction within ingroup Conservation values determine other-face concern, in interaction with outgroup members Openness to change values are related to other-face concern. Face concerns can be seen as a factor that determines the achievement of relational goals in business communication: mutual-face concern is positively, and self-face is negatively related to communication satisfaction. Mutual-face and other-face are related to willingness to communicate, but only in intracultural context. Our findings demonstrate the universal and context-specific relationships of the studied variables and show an important role of face concerns in business relationships. The variability of face concerns is due to individual factors and the specific demands of intra- and intercultural communication contexts. Analysis of the business interaction on several levels reveals psychological processes and specific context demands that inform future research in the field and makes implications for practitioners.