From anxiety to belonging: U-shaped effects of foreign language anxiety on organizational identification in MNC subsidiaries

As corporate language policies become increasingly prevalent in multinational corporations (MNCs), local employees from diverse linguistic backgrounds face communication barriers that affect both performance and psychological well-being. Organizational identification is a key driver of local employee attitudes in such contexts. Drawing on self-efficacy theory, social identity theory, and social comparison theory, this study investigates the U-shaped relationship between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and organizational identification among local employees in MNC subsidiaries headquartered in non-Anglophone countries. It examines how global deployment experience moderates this relationship. Using a multilevel analysis on survey data from 278 local employees across 26 subsidiaries in South Korea, we find a U-shaped relationship between FLA and organizational identification, which is steeper among local employees without global deployment experience. These findings underscore the psychological impact of language use in MNCs and suggest that international secondment programs can effectively reduce FLA and enhance local employees’ organizational identification.