"Us and Them": Studies of the Hierarchy of Opposites of the Global Business Communication Settings and Cultures and Binary Structures in Intercultural Communication Theories

Binarity as an underlying concept of world order is very common in many cultures. In this article we will look at the impact of binary concepts in business communication. We will show that binary structures in business communication are an auxiliary tool for the analysis of business communication. Binary structures are not an element of business communication per se. In research binary structures are subject of critical commentaries and deconstruction from a postmodern perspective. From a postmodern perspective the binary structures are criticized as structural approach. Binary structures present a reference framework of the cognitive and methodological approach of the researcher. They also are selective and must not be representative. The criticism regarding binary structures is that they anticipate the framework of the research and its topic. We will discuss the state of research and the conceptualization of communication in international business cultures.