Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/233871 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
cege Discussion Papers No. 421
Publisher: 
University of Göttingen, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege), Göttingen
Abstract: 
Recent research has shown that the grammatical representation of the future in languages influences how future-oriented an individual behaves in her private life. In this paper, I examine whether this effect of language characteristics on a person's behaviour is also evident in the business world. I test the hypothesis that companies with board members whose native language grammatically separates the present from the future are less future-oriented. I find significant effects of the inflectional marking of the future in one language on the growth rate of a company's intangible assets, which I use as a benchmark for its future orientation.
Subjects: 
Language Structure
Future Tense
Research and Development Activities
JEL: 
O10
O30
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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