Abstract

This research places emphasis on the language(s) used by young managers (between 25 and 35 years of age) in the workplace. Our objective is to identify language practices and possible knowledge transfer processes. As a multicultural environment where French and English coexist, compete and are used in different businesses and working environments, the Montreal Metropolitan Area provides an interesting and relevant context to conduct such a study. More than 800 individuals answered our online questionnaire, and we conducted 26 in-depth qualitative interviews. For the purposes of this presentation, we focus on the respondents’ linguistic competencies and how these competencies may or may not be part of a broader organizational knowledge transfer process. Alongside our empirical description of the sample, we propose the preliminary groundwork for a dynamic conceptual model where language skills and practices favor individual and organizational innovation.