1. EXPERTISES
there are ways to be better
prepared than others.
China is one of the favoured
markets in global investments
and is still seen as the ‘core ele-
ment of their overall strategy’1
by most MNCs.The market has
rapidly evolved and is still chan-
ging, requiring a constant
adaptation from the European
company that is investing.
Whereas in the early stages a
local representation office,
joint-venture or WFOE in China
might have proven successful,
today an entry via e-commerce
and the newly establishing free
trade zones can provide new
opportunities.2
The pressure to invest in
China has risen since the eco-
nomic downturn and has now
entered a new phase – it has
become a two-way street with
Chinese companies entering
the European market. Between
2000 and 2014 they invested
12.2bn € in the UK, 6.9bn € in
Germany, 5.9bn € in France
and 5.1bn € in Portugal3. Des-
pite the opportunities this
might bring to many ailing
European companies, it has
caused an outcry with some.
Why? Because change is im-
minent and the fear it causes
shows that there is a lack of
trust. There is a lack of trust
among the public but also from
the decision makers within our
own companies.
How do we handle and
conquer elements within our
own company that may in-
fringe on the overall success
his counts for our
local market and even more
so for investments abroad.
There are more uncertainties
involved and more trust issues
for instance concerning legal
frameworks and enforce-
ments, e.g. for copyrights.
Sometimes big opportunities
are not taken advantage of for
these reasons. Even if we fol-
low the market entry strategy
that a successful company
has taken before us in a
foreign market, success might
not be established in the same
way for our company and our
product. The risk remains but
Trust as key
to a global mind-set
and success abroad
For a company success always comes with investing in an uncertain fu-
ture. We have the responsibility to diminish the risks of investments by
analysing the past and planning the future and still the way to great
success comes with taking risks, failure, adjustment and perseverance.
T
PAR
ANTJE MENG
CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINER,
MENG CULTURE TRAININGS
FINANCE&GESTIONFÉVRIER2016
46
ORGANISATION

2. ORGANISATION
target countries. Often though
they are not promoted to the
top positions in the company
and trust issues can be the rea-
son.
What is the best time and
place for a successful negotia-
tion, how do I present my argu-
ment and how do I bring it
across, are also aspects that
vary among different cultures
and may impede success. The
preliminary aim of these tools
is to keep the communication
running and the partner open
to what you have to say. In the
course of time being better able
to predict reactions and lear-
ning how to address problems
can then establish trust.
There needs to be awareness
that cultural differences have a
relevant impact on the success
of foreign investments. Mis-
trust can be diminished by se-
lection and training of staff.
Positive experience with
change and different cultures,
information about the target
culture and culturally specific
communication styles can help
to establish trust. The top per-
forming German MNCs on the
Chinese market, like Bosh,
BASF, BMW and more, provide
their expatriate staff with
cross-cultural trainings to pre-
pare them for a successful task
abroad. ●
and future? A lack of trust pre-
vents us from engaging with
the unknown and taking risks.
Although we need to be cau-
tious, we know that great suc-
cess only comes with taking
risks. So how do we tackle trust
issues? Trust is the ‘firm belief
in the reliability, truth, ability
or strength’4
and thus an indi-
vidual perception5.
Being able to trust something
that we cannot completely
grasp is one of the key soft skills
of success and a core compe-
tency of a global mind-set.This
soft-skill is an essential and the
‘point de départ’ for any posi-
tive outcome of a negotiation
and is especially difficult to
create in an international or
global context. So how do we
ensure that our company’s re-
sources, our staff is equipped
and prepared for the global
market? Positive experience,
information and communica-
tion are key enablers and help
create trust.
Positive experience
with change and
differences
As a child you learn from
copying and thus adapt quickly
to your surrounding. Diffe-
rences are a given, because the
behavioural map is not yet es-
tablished. Children and young
adults are still in the phase of
testing which behaviour works
best for their lives.There is gui-
dance through the educators
and influences of the environ-
ment which are absorbed both
in an active and passive man-
ner and thus influence the sub-
conscious.
Ideally an employee would
have stayed abroad as a child
with a chance to immerse into
the local culture. The pressure
to adapt to the surrounding
behaviour or culture is taken
more lightly and on a more
subconscious level, as the child
is still used to change in his
development until adulthood.
Therefore the experience is
more likely to be a positive or at
least accepted one.
An adult has been formed
through many years of educa-
tion and with experience has
tested and evaluated what he
has learned. What he does and
how he thinks has proven right
and successful for his life. So it
is natural that he faces change
and differences with a slight
scepticism and needs proof of
relevance before he is willing to
adapt or adopt.
A change of environment
into a different culture and set
of rules will cause instability
and uncertainty for the adult.
Caution and perhaps even mis-
trust are preventive measures
to feel safe until new positive
experiences create trust. On an
assignment there is usually no
time to waste waiting for posi-
tive experiences. On the other
hand, depending on their per-
sonality the adult may be very
sure of themselves with the
potential of causing conflict by
disregarding local cultural dif-
ferences.
Information
Prior information about the
country of investment and its
culture are a prerequisite to be
able to build trust. Business
skills alone might be wasted if
local etiquette and business
procedures are not followed. In
China for example you need to
know about hierarchical struc-
tures and the importance of
whom you are negotiating with
in order to estimate your suc-
cess of the interaction and not
waste time. Misinformation or
not being informed will create
negative experiences and can
lead to mistrust.
Information can help unders-
tand the necessity of diffe-
rences in the other culture and
point to appropriate beha-
viours that are more successful
in the local environment that
might be very different from
our own country. It is equally
important to reflect on our own
culture at the same time. We
usually act from our subcons-
cious but in the intercultural
context we need to learn about
how our actions and reactions
are perceived by the other part.
A good cross-cultural prepara-
tion can help establish trust
and create positive experiences.
In this context it is not impor-
tant how close or opposite two
cultures may be in their cha-
racteristics for business suc-
cess. Whereas there are many
similarities between the French
and Chinese culture, German
and Chinese cultural traits and
behaviours are often in opposi-
tion to each other, but none-
theless there is a successful
business relationship between
both countries.
Communication
Communication competency
is the least underrated skill in
the global context, although it
has more dimensions than just
the knowledge of a foreign lan-
guage. During international
negotiations relevant informa-
tion is often exchanged along
side in the mother tongue,
creating insecurity and mis-
trust among those who do not
understand what is being said.
As it is rather rare to find
someone with a high level of
expertise in his field and at the
same time a profound compe-
tence in one of the more exotic
languages, companies often
recruit locals in or from these
1. http://www.heidrick.com/
Knowledge-Center/Article/
What-new-normal-means-for-China-
multinational-companies
2. http://www.pwc.de/de/
internationale-maerkte/german-
business-groups/assets/german-
investors-in-china.pdf
3. http://www.ccifc.org/single-news-
connexions/n/-c5ca7c40fb/
4. New Oxford American Dictionary
5. Kramer (1999) cited in Maxwell, A.
(2011): Business Angel Decision
Making
Enablers of Trust in a
Cross-Cultural Context
information
postitve
experience
communication
trust
FINANCE&GESTIONFÉVRIER2016
47
EXPERTISES