1. Cross-cultural Business
Negotiations
B2CVictoria Herbst, Anissa Lenz,
Evelyn Grossmann,
perspective
Petra Louhimies, Verena Röckl, Carolin Schmid
Intercultural Marketing Management – Stefan Lång – Autumn 2012

2. A typical market place?
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

3. What is ”negotiating”?
 ...reach an agreement of mutual
benefit (Harris and Moran 1987, p. 55)
 ...reaching a joint agreement
(Anjan Dasgupta 2005, p. 2)
 ...accommodate their conflicting
interests into a mutually acceptable
settlement (Guy Faure-Olivier 1993, p. 7)
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

4. Negotiating Strategies
 Problem – solving
– agreement with win – win situation
– focus on needs and preferences
– high information exchange
 fosters long-term relationships
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

5. Negotiating Strategies
 Competitive
– agreement with win-lose situation
– individualistic & persuasion oriented
• Factual-inductive: persuasion via logic (USA)
• Axiomatic-deductive via ideals (Russia)
• Affective-intuitive via emotions (Arabia)
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

6. Negotiating Strategies
 not static
 business trend to problem solving strategy
Consideration of the own person
Consideration of the others
Concession Problem- Competitive
solving
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

7. Non-task interaction
 process of ”getting to know” each
other
 emphasis on
– status distinction,
– impression formation and
– interpersonal attraction
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

8. Task-related interaction
 only concerned with the ”business”
involves exchange of information
regarding needs and preferences of
negotiators
emphasis on negotiating styles
reliance on non-verbal communication
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

9. Influence of corporate culture
 Plays an important role in negotiations
− more relevant in B2B but still a factor in
B2C
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

10. Corporate culture
 Different corporate cultures
− in different cultures
− in different business sectors
− in different companies in the same sector
− in the company itself
Goal: company-internal negotiation style,
which takes cultural differences into
account

11. The car dealership
 Discuss within your teams how
to sell a car (any car) in ”your”
country.
 You will find more information
about the country’s culture on
the information sheet.
 Make a summary on your poster.
 Time to work: 10min.
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

12. Different cultural approaches
USA:
– independent, self-reliant behavior
– competitive arguments
– preparation is highly important
– monochronic: one problem at a time
– respectful, professional distance
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

13. Different cultural approaches
 China:
– focus on group goals
– interdependence
– building relationships
– hierarchical orientation
– politness
– face-saving concern
– preference for harmony and calm
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

14. Conclusion
 Culture goes beyond national culture
 Globalisation
Don't under- or overestimate the effect
of culture
Cross-cultural Sales Negotiations - B2C Stream

15. Conclusion
Every negotiation is a cross-cultural
negotiation
Every negotiation is a cross-cultural
exercise and a learning possibility
 Keep an open mind and listen