International Business Negotiations A Turn-Key Project

The article describes and analyses the negotiation process between a Swedish supplier and an African customer. Although the literature on international business negotiations is very poor, it is reviewed; a model for international business negotiations is developed and then utilised to describe and analyse a case-study. The factors influencing the negotiation process are identified and conclusions are drawn; the process took a very long time, more than two years, and a number of unexpected issues caused interference in the process. The differences in cultural background and the atmosphere between the parties strongly affected their chances of reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement.     

浅谈国际商务谈判中的跨文化问题及对策

国际商务谈判是商务活动的重要内容 ,不可避免地要遇到跨文化问题。跨文化问题阻碍着商务谈判的顺利进行。探讨东西文化、国际商务谈判的跨文化差异问题 ,分析中西方谈判决策过程中的文化差异以及谈判风格的不同 ,尤其是了解、宽容多元文化 ,掌握跨文化谈判的对策 ,对提高国际商务谈判的成功有一定的帮助     

略论跨文化商务谈判差异及影响

在国际间商务交往活动日益频繁的今天,跨文化商务谈判中的文化差异和影响问题也日益凸显.为促进中国的跨文化商务谈判多获得成功,应注意跨文化商务谈判中的语言差异及其影响、思维差异及其影响、观念差异及其影响、谈判风格差异及其影响等问题,以在国际贸易中取得较大的主动权.     

Cultural identities of Chinese business: networks of the shark-fin business in Hong Kong

From a global standard, shark-fin consumption certainly violates international norms on bio-diversity and endangers the existence of the shark species. Furthermore, the commercial shark-fin industry generates additional adverse environmental impacts. Nevertheless, shark-fin consumption has served an important role in the cultural aspect of Chinese ‘foodway’. More importantly, the business relations and networks behind this industry have never been comprehensively studied. In so doing, this paper employs first hand interviews with the traders and processors, as well as official statistics from the government of Hong Kong, to come up with one of the most comprehensive and in-depth pieces of research on the business relations and the cultural aspects of shark-fin business in Hong Kong. In addition, we will explore the theoretical as well as the cultural dimensions of shark-fin business in trying to question the meaning of Chinese business networks. One of the key findings of this piece of research is that the collective activities of shark-fin consumption, business relations and networks are embedded along the historically, socially and culturally constructed Chinese identity. The implication is that such orchestration between culture and business can have far-reaching consequences to other Chinese businesses.     

Chinese values and negotiation behaviour: A bargaining experiment

The importance of Chinese culture in cross-national negotiation has become conventional wisdom in international business research and practice. However, empirical work has not sufficiently established whether, how and under what conditions specific cultural values of the Chinese affect their negotiation decisions. This paper reports an experiment with a purpose-designed game task in which Chinese subjects divide a fixed gain over escalating stages. We find that concerns for face and harmony promote cooperative negotiation decisions while desire to win and risk seeking accentuate competitive ones. Values only predict behaviour in the critical, final stage of the bargaining process supporting a dynamic view of the effect of culture in negotiation.     

企业的文化风险及对策研究

企业的文化风险不仅是理论界的重要研究对象,同时也是企业在跨国经营中必须面对的实际问题。跨国经营中的文化风险具体表现为沟通风险、种族优越风险、管理风险和商务惯例与禁忌风险等几种形式。文化风险的产生源自于不同文化之间的差异其对企业提供的产品与服务、对市场的选择、市场进入方式、协调管理原则以及国际营销策略都有重要的影响。企业在跨国经营中首先要正确认识文化风险,制定文化风险管理战略,选择适当的风险控制工具,加强跨文化管理,开展跨文化培训,并适当地实行本土化经营。     

How does the negotiation between “me” and “we” in professional identity influence interpersonal horizontal knowledge sharing in multinational enterprises: A conceptual model

Professional identity is an identity that includes two aspects, the personal self (“me”) and the social self (“we”), which are in constant negotiation with each other. The interplay of these two aspects is important because it can shift identity-related motivation and behavior but has received relatively little attention in international business research to date. Recognizing identity dynamics can enrich our understanding of the motivations and behaviors of subsidiary employees in sharing knowledge with overseas colleagues. We develop a conceptual model to reveal the relationship between identity dynamics and interpersonal horizontal knowledge sharing in multinational enterprises. Specifically,- we propose that the different negotiation states between the personal self and the social self of professional identity are related to with whom an employee shares knowledge and what type of knowledge they share. Our article contributes to the knowledge sharing literature by uncovering the psychological mechanisms that influence the behavior of individuals in horizontal knowledge diffusion.     

The negotiator’s power as enabler and cultural distance as inhibitor in the international alliance formation

We examined how the negotiator’s power, the explorative–exploitative purpose and cultural distance interact in the negotiation for an international business alliance formation. Our participant observation in some several events of negotiation suggests that the executive’s power plays an enabling role in the negotiation for alliance formation. However, cultural distance between the negotiating parties in the international business context hampers the success of the negotiation. In particular, person power supports the explorative alliance purpose. The explorative alliance embodies technical and behavioural uncertainty. On the other hand, position power supports the exploitative alliance purpose. The exploitative alliance purpose more aptly embodies behavioural uncertainty than technical uncertainty does.Cultural distance has a high negative influence on person power and the explorative alliance, and person power and the explorative alliance indicate high uncertainty. In comparison, cultural distance has a negative influence on position power and exploitative alliance, and position power and exploitative alliances indicate low uncertainty. In other words, cultural distance matters more in the person–explorative combination than it does in the position–exploitative combination. The main assumption is that cultural distance has adverse effects on both power and tasks in the negotiation. However, the notions of power and purpose do not influence the effect of national cultural differences.     

The Ukraine/Russia conflict: Geopolitical and international business strategies

The Ukraine and Russian conflict is one of the most pressing current global business issues. It has become a political and social issue that is influencing business practices around the world. While the topic is popular in the mainstream business press, there has been relatively little academic work on the topic. To address this gap, this article discusses the impact of the conflict on international business in terms of the perception by society about Ukrainian or Russian business activities. This means highlighting how a conflict can involve direct military intervention but also social interaction. This article reveals that there are many effects on global business stemming from the Ukraine–Russian conflict many of which are currently known, but others will be known in the future. Managerial implications are stated in the article that highlights the cultural and social impact of the crisis as well as future research suggestions for international business researchers that stress the importance of the conflict.     

Negotiation beliefs: Comparing Americans and the Chinese

We address the micro foundations of international business research by examining negotiation beliefs as a parsimonious guide for international business negotiators. We conceptualise the construct of ‘negotiation beliefs’ as a negotiator’s cognition about the nature of negotiation and effective negotiation strategies. We integrate the negotiation literature and empirically investigate the differences and similarities in the negotiation beliefs of Americans and the Chinese. Across two studies, we conduct a conceptual analysis of negotiation beliefs and develop measures for the culturally similar and culturally different factors of the negotiation beliefs of Chinese and American negotiators. We find that negotiation beliefs can predict negotiation outcomes. Our findings indicate that Americans and the Chinese share negotiation beliefs about cooperation and competition. They also understand negotiation using culturally different factors, namely hierarchy and relationship for the Chinese and economic interest and confrontation for the Americans. We further discuss the theoretical and practical implications for international negotiations, particularly regarding disputes between the US and China.     

An event study of the effects of partner and location cultural differences in joint ventures

This study focuses on one of the most important aspects of domestic joint venture and international joint venture (IJV) formation: culture difference. The study adapts the Makino and Beamish (1998) ownership-structure classification of IJVs and empirically examines the effects of JV partner and JV location cultural differences. Using an event-study methodology, our results reveal the impact of cultural difference on shareholder value creation. The article discusses the implications of using cultural difference measures in international research.     

A Social Contract for International Business Ethics

This article begins with a detailed analysis of how the choice situation of a social contract for international business ethics can be constructed and justified. A choice situation is developed by analyzing conceptions of the multinational firm and the domain of international business. The result is a hypothetical negotiation between two fictional characters, J. Duncan Grey and Elizabeth Redd, who respectively represent the interests of businesses and communities seeking to engage in international trade. The negotiators agree on ethical principles governing wages, the environment, and compliance social and cultural norms. These principles are then shown to rest in wide reflective equilibrium with considered moral judgments on international business ethics, which are drawn from international agreements, such as the UN Declaration on Human Rights, and voluntary business initiatives, such as the Global Sullivan Principles and the UN Global Compact.     

Hidden influences in international negotiations: The interactive role of insecure cultural attachment,risk perception,and risk regulation for sellers versus buyers

This research examines the previously unstudied role of cultural attachment in international negotiations. Specifically focusing on the fearful attachment style, this article reveals the intricate interaction of cultural attachment, risk perception, and risk regulation on negotiators' ability to claim value in international negotiation. Supporting our theorizing based on cultural attachment and prospect theory, findings show that risk‐averse sellers with fearful attachment to their national culture perceive greater risk and in turn are more motivated to regulate risk through relationship‐building with their counterpart (Study 1). Moreover, these individuals achieve lower economic gains when they regulate relational risk by making fewer threats to walk away (Study 2). We discuss the implications and the importance of understanding one's attachment to own national culture as its interplay with role and risk mechanisms impacts effectiveness in international negotiations.     

跨文化商务谈判中应该注意的一些问题

随着中国对外合作关系的深入发展，中国公司面临的跨国谈判也在日益增加。由于跨国谈判的谈判方都是由来自不同国家和化背景的人组成的，在谈判过程中谈判各利益方就会不可避免地遇到许多单化谈判中不会遇到的挑战。这篇论从7个方面探讨了在跨国谈判中谈判利益方应该注意的一些问题．以推动谈判过程中双赢协议的达成。这7个方面包括谈判前的准备工作、谈判中的化问题以及谈判时的一些细节问题。     

论商务文化对国贸专业英语教学的影响 ——以高职院校为例

伴随经济全球化进程加深,国际贸易的发展跌宕起伏,亟待重新整合社会需求,培养更具商务文化意识的复合型国贸人才。以高职院校为例,从国贸专业英语教学的理论与实践切入,发掘商务文化的内涵,思考商务文化嵌入对英语教学的影响。语言教学需以传授语言文化背景为基础不断深化学生对语言结构形式的语用能力,国贸专业英语教学则应建构以商务文化为框架的丰富化、高效化、交际式、品质化教学模式。商务文化对国贸专业英语教学发挥基础性、多元化的作用,自觉树立商务文化意识、处理商务交际障碍、辩证把握母语文化与目的语文化关系是促进教学成果、提升学习效率、灵活商务交际、对标能力素质的必由之路。     

Why People Don't Ask: Understanding Initiation Behavior in International Negotiations

Negotiation is an interactive process that is important to all aspects of organizational success, a process that begins with communicating one's wants or needs. For many individuals, engaging others and asking for what one wants (i.e., initiating a negotiation) is a challenging task, made more difficult in an international context. Yet due to the integration of world markets, this is exactly the type of environment that many organizational representatives are facing with increasing regularity. This article offers an overview of the personal characteristics and situational factors that influence an individual initiating a negotiation (engaging a counterpart, making a request, and optimizing that request), with specific attention to seven cultural factors that must be understood to be most effective in international settings. The ways in which these cultural factors are likely to affect one's decision to engage a counterpart and style of delivery are illustrated for three countries: the United States, China, and Brazil. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Global managers’ perceptions of cultural competence

To work effectively in the global business arena, managers need a strong set of intercultural management skills. When dealing with clients, co-workers, and other stakeholders at home or abroad, managers with cross-cultural competence have a distinct competitive advantage in the multicultural marketplace. Although generally accepted as a valuable asset for doing business, cross-cultural competence defies easy definition. This study attempts to conceptualize the complex term from the practitioner's point of view. What does cross-cultural competence mean to global managers? From their perspective, which aspects of culture do business people need to understand? From the universe of cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, and country-specific information, what should an executive, with limited time, focus on to develop a basic level of cultural competence? This study asked Mexican managers what they needed to know about culture to do business with the U.S. In the process, they consistently identified certain basic components of cultural competence. Responses were surprisingly similar among the managers, indicating they had a clear picture of which cultural essentials were most important for global executives to learn. The results of the study reveal a working definition of cultural competence for global managers. This research also provides trainers and business educators a content framework for a short-term training program, based on the global managers’ perceptions of cross-cultural competence.     

国际商务谈判中的禁忌

在国际商务谈判中,商务人员要了解不同国家地区的习俗和禁忌,主要包括日常交往的禁忌、数字的禁忌、颜色的忌讳、花卉的忌讳和动物图案的忌讳,为商务活动的顺利进行做好铺垫。这是商务谈判活动中,商务谈判人员必须具备的基本素质。