Developing an Original Theory of Cross-Cultural Communication Adaptation in Nigerian Multinational Corporate Communication

Nigerian subsidiaries of multinational corporations operate at the intersection of global corporate communication standards and local cultural communication expectations, creating adaptation challenges that are inadequately theorised by existing cross-cultural communication frameworks developed primarily for bilateral Western-Eastern cultural encounters. This study developed an original theory of cross-cultural communication adaptation for multinational corporate communication in the Nigerian context. A grounded theory methodology was employed over a 24-month research period, conducting in-depth interviews with 48 communication professionals, including local Nigerian communication officers, expatriate communications directors, and community relations managers, from multinational corporations in the oil and gas, telecommunications, consumer goods, and financial services sectors operating in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano. Theoretical sampling was applied to achieve representation across industry, region, and organisational hierarchy. Constant comparative analysis and memo writing generated theoretical categories through an iterative process. The emerging substantive theory identifies four communication adaptation strategies: surface adaptation (language and format modification without deep cultural engagement), structural mimicry (adopting outward forms of local communication while retaining Western content assumptions), negotiated hybridisation (genuine synthesis of global standards with local communication norms through iterative dialogue), and community epistemic centering (restructuring communication entirely from local community knowledge frameworks). Original contributions include the concept of ethnic-plural communication intelligence (the capacity to navigate simultaneously across multiple ethnic community communication norms in a single national market) and a processual theory of corporate communication legitimacy in culturally diverse settings.

Keywords: cross-cultural communication, multinational corporations, communication adaptation, Nigeria, grounded theory