ABSTRACT
This chapter moves towards a more abstract conceptualisation of culture, and explores the role of (national) culture in professional encounters. A particular focus is on the complex relationship between national culture and politeness. A central concern of the chapter is to address the question whether culture is an issue at work – in particular in the increasingly multilingual and multicultural realities of many workplaces – and to explore what role politeness plays in these contexts. In line with recent research developments, this chapter challenges essentialist assumptions that tend to treat culture as the default explanation for a wide range of phenomena. Thus rather than assuming that in those situations where members from different countries interact and do business with each other, culture is relevant per se, I will start by exploring the question of whether culture is (really) an issue at work.
