Members of cultures belonging to this group, among them Asian countries such as China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and also Brazil, Egypt, Greece, and others, prefer to build deep and lasting relationships with prospective partners before entering into any serious business engagements. They may expect to continue developing such relationships into true friendships as the business partnership continues.
Both sympathy and trust are essential requirements for them to make deals with others. With this group, it is vital to be prepared to spend considerable time and effort building strong relationships throughout the business exchange. With the exception of the Japanese, who seem equally focused on tasks and relationships, members of this group may appear less task-oriented than others may. They tend to pay little attention to contracts, since most of them believe that the strength of business relationships matters much more than ‘a piece of paper’ does. Keeping in touch with them on a regular basis ensures that commitments will be kept and opens doors for additional business.
Since they mostly focus on long-term engagements and repeat business, decision makers may agree with initial deals that appear unfavorable for them, expecting their new partners to make up for this down the road. They do not pay much attention to corporate-level connections, since few of them believe that business relationships can be successful without strong personal ties. While the more pragmatic members of this group may also engage in business interactions with relative strangers if the prospects are sufficiently attractive, they will most likely focus on short-term benefits and might not shy away from taking unfair advantage of the other party if given a chance.
These characterizations provide clues as to what to expect and where to focus your energy when conducting business with people from other countries. However, be careful not to take them at face value. They apply only to business areas that are not critically dependent on personal relationships. In some industries, such as banking, financial services, or legal counseling, the nature of business interactions makes strong trust between the parties involved vitally important no matter what their cultural background. This requirement may promote different practices in these industries. Regardless of cultural background and type of business, however, spending time and effort to build closer relationships in international interactions is always conducive to business and therefore strongly recommended.
