11675: Protecting Minority and Indigenous Languages: Toward a Business Case for Linguistic Diversity (session 25778)

Linguists estimate that by the end of the 21st century between 50% and 90% of the world’s languages will no longer be spoken. In sharp contrast, discussions of language in business have generally focused on the importance of a single language, usually English, especially in multinational corporations, where research finds that corporate monolingualism is more efficient and fosters the development of a global work culture. This research examines the possibility of creating an economic incentive for firms to promote linguistic diversity, including minority and indigenous languages. Based on the theory of planned behavior, this paper explores consumers' willingness to pay a premium price for language-certified products. A sample of 404 consumers from the Basque Country (Spain) are surveyed and the antecedents of willingness to pay for products from Bikain-certified companies are explored. Bikain is a language certification promoted by the Basque Government, which to the best of our knowledge is unique in the world. The results support the proposed model and allow us to conclude that consumers' favorable attitude towards linguistic diversity has a significant impact on the willingness to pay for products from Bikain-certified companies through subjective norms and attitudes towards linguistic certification. Consumer ethnocentrism, another variable that has been noted in previous studies as an antecedent of purchasing sustainable products, and multilingualism are significant antecedents of willingness to pay.

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