An Integrative Framework for International and Intercultural Communication Contexts: Conflicts, Ferment and Theoretical Analysis

Abstract

Many scholars observe that international and intercultural communication is taking new directions in the twenty-first century, and they are reconceptualizing a range of critical topics, including cultural identity and its role in intercultural business negotiations; communication ethics and its impact on international business; and the role of mass media in disseminating information and setting issues agenda for citizens. This reconceptualization of critical communication concepts is attracting the interest of academics and researchers nations and is leading to a rethinking of the theoretical frameworks guiding communication debates and analyses. As nations are becoming interdependent and interconnected because of global market, it is important that countries involved in global markets understand one another’s cultural patterns and variations in their communication differences in order to ensure continuing growth, expansion, and sustainability. Recent studies traced the slow growth of global business operations to a lack of effective communication, ineffective intercultural business communication skills, inability of entrepreneurial engagement in cross-border transactions, and
incompetence in cross-cultural strategic alliance negotiations. This paper identifies and discusses various communication contexts, issues, and theoretical frameworks, and provides recommendations for effective utilization of communication tools in global and intercultural environments.