Multinational Messaging: Examining Language Variation and Hofstede’s Power Distance in Posts on X.
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2025-06-23
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en
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Business is becoming more digital and brands are now dependent on social platforms to
promote the advertised goods or services. Business is becoming more international due
to globalization as well. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to understand their audiences and
how to effectively communicate with different cultures. Communication depends on
different cultural values described by Hofstede (2011), including the dimension Power Distance.
This study aimed to investigate how Power Distance influences the social media presence of
Mercedes-Benz USA India and how this presence affects the brand’s
engagement. A corpus analysis examined posts by both accounts on X in the year 2024. Findings
showed that posts showed a similar style in terms of linguistic elements.
Additionally, Power Distance was not portrayed explicitly in posts. However, USA received
significantly more engagement than India. Results suggest that businesses are choosing a more
international standardized messaging style in order to remain globally competitive.
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