Intercultural competence in business discourse

The realm of business is the realm of hard facts, profit and loss statements, tough competition and merciless battle for market share. The reality is that business survival is almost always at stake in our turbulent times. There is no denying that it is the competence of business people that plays a key role in business success. This paper discusses the concept of competence from the perspective of the anthropocentric theory, i.e. viewed as an inherent property of a human being. The author also presents an overview of the selected concepts of competence, discursive competence and intercultural competence in international business. The author points to potential risks related to the expansion of business activity into foreign markets, including the risks resulting from cultural differences. The selected issues of negotiation in international business are also discussed in the last section of the paper.