The international marketplace is changing rapidly. E-commerce is now a standard way to do business. The Internet has opened up vast opportunities for corporations to penetrate new markets and territories. As the economy is becoming more global in nature, companies are handling more business on an international level. Gronlund (1999) stated that one main reason behind this rapid growth is competition. International corporations are eager to use any resources available to gain market share wherever possible. While this kind of business enriches the international economy, there are communication barriers that sometimes prohibit further expansion in the global marketplace. In order for businesses to be effective they need to tackle the sometimes hidden culture issues that hamper smooth communications, or worse, halting growth all together. Companies, who do not take the time to research cultural beliefs and philosophies before conducting business, often fail their objectives because they simply do not possess the knowledge of their client's cultural diversity. Each culture has its own rules about proper behavior that affect verbal and nonverbal communication. Whether a person looks the other in the eye-or not, or how close the people stand to each other when they are talking, are all rules of politeness that may differ from culture to culture. While cultural misunderstandings can probably never be eliminated, there are companies that have gone to great lengths to insure that their products or services adapt to different cultural beliefs. They have identified the challenges, and have broken key communication barriers such as language, technology, management styles, and needs. From their efforts, they have formed solid bridges to conduct their business.
There is several communication challenges international companies face when conducting business globally. One main barrier is language.