Richard Gesteland: Cross-cultural Business Behaviour



Chapter One

Richard Gesteland: Cross-cultural Business Behaviour

“Iron rules” of international business

Sellers adapt to buyers

• especially in “one-off”/short-term transactions

• long-term relationships, e.g.,joint-ventures, acquisitions, strategic alliances, etc. require more reciprocity

Visitors adapt to hosts

• “When in Rome...” also important to “be yourself”

1 Deal-Focus & Relationship-Focus

DF: task-oriented (“pushy, aggressive, offensively blunt”)

RF: people-oriented (“dilatory, vague, inscrutable”)

2 Informal & Formal

Informal: egalitarian

Formal: hierarchical

3 Rigid-Time & Fluid Time

Rigid: time-oriented

Fluid: people-oriented

4 Expressive & Reserved

Expressive: Southern?

Reserved: Northern?

page 1

Chapter 2

DF: Nordic and Germanic Europe/ “Anglos” -- Great Britain/North America/Australia/New Zealand/South Africa

MDF: Latin Europe, Eastern Europe, Mediterranean Region, Hong Kong,Singapore

dealing with strangers -- telemarketing

the importance of previous relationships

the “cold call”

meeting RF cultures: trade shows/trade missions

trusted intermediaries

high-status persons-- the importance of contacts

embassy’s cultural section

chambers of commerce

freight forwarders, ocean and airfreight carriers, international and accounting firms

useful connections -- China: Guanxi

page 2

Chapter 3

“MEISHI”: exchanging business cards

gender: “male bonding” in Asia -- the “gender headache”

golf: a neutral ground

person more than company: PR cultures treat time differently

patience: DR cultures need to understand it

face-to-face: literal and oral cultures (cf.Mole)

contract and relationship: DF vs RF

page 3

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