With over 300 million native Spanish speakers, Spanish is the second most-spoken first language in the world. Doing business in Spain? It is important to understand the Spanish business culture.

1. ¡Olé! Your Way Into The
Spanish Business World
By Gisel Olivares

2. Overview
• With over 300 million native Spanish
speakers, Spanish is the second most-
spoken first language in the world.
• The first most spoken, as you may
know, is Chinese at approximately 1.2
billion native speakers.
• It is important to know how to speak
Spanish to market to your target
audience properly, as well as
understand the Spanish business
culture.

3. Geography
• Spain has a population of over
47 million people, with the
Mediterranean Sea on the
southern side, and the Atlantic
Ocean on the western side of
the country.
• Neighboring countries such as
France, Portugal, and the north
of Africa, make Spain a perfect
location for interacting with
the world.
• Spain’s main cities include
Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, and
Valencia.

4. Languages
• Over 72% of the population speaks Spanish.
• Written exactly as pronounced, this makes it easy to
learn.
• If you are a native English speaker, you will see that
both languages share a lot of the same vocabulary,
with words coming from Latin and Arabic.
• The other regional languages spoken in Spain are
Basque, Catalan, Galician, and Valencian.
• Peoples’ names and names of places are capitalized in
Spanish as well as names of government entities and
company names.
• Words not capitalized are languages, nationalities,
months of the year, and days of the week.

5. Etiquette and
Customs
• A popular cultural tradition in
Spain is “la siesta.” That’s an
afternoon nap.
• Lunch typically does not begin
before 1:30 PM.
• Outside of the major cities,
shops are usually closed
between 2 PM and 5 PM.
• Although metropolitan cities
such as Barcelona and Madrid
now have a similar full working
day like in the United States,
“siestas” are still quite common
in smaller towns.

6. Spanish
Business Culture
• The average full-time
schedule in the Spanish work
week is a little over 40 hours,
from 9 AM to as late as 8 PM.
• This is because of their long
lunch breaks from 2 – 4 PM or
even as late as 5 PM.
• Larger companies in Spain will
have a schedule like those
here in the U.S. from 9 AM – 5
PM/6 PM with an average
one-hour lunch break.

7. Greetings in
Spain
• In a non-business setting, it is
acceptable to use physical contact
during a conversation with a Spaniard.
• Unlike in the United States, this is not
considered an invasion of personal
space.
• It is common in Spain, for those of the
opposite sex, to greet each other with
an “air kiss” on both cheeks, like the
French.

8. Greetings Continued…
• Men, who are friends, will greet each other by
patting each other on the back while shaking
hands or by hugging.
• If the Spanish person initiates the double kiss,
then go for it!
• Offer a handshake first if you are not sure.
• Also, use “Señor” and “Señora” when greeting
men and women respectively, as you would use
“Mr.” or “Mrs.”

9. Business Meetings
• Spanish business culture is more laid back than in the United States.
• They do not worry much about punctuality, but you should still try to be on time
to meetings.
• Initial meetings are mostly for getting to know each other better on a personal
level.
• Spanish people like to get to know what kind of person you are first and whether
you are dependable and sincere.
• Before moving forward with any business relationship, they need to know that
you are trustworthy.

10. Business
Meetings
Continued…
• Print out any materials you
need in both English and
Spanish because not all
business people in Spain speak
English.
• Business cards are also popular,
so print your info in Spanish on
one side of your card.
• As in the Eiffel Tower
hierarchy of the French,
meetings are mostly to discuss
ideas and deliver directions to
subordinates.

11. • The senior management does the
decision-making and reaches
agreements amongst themselves
as well.
• Bosses are known as “el jefe” or
“el padron.”
• An unassertive employee is more
esteemed than an assertive one.
o Employees are expected to
follow instructions, obey
authority, and resolve work
issues themselves to keep
senior management from
having to step in.
Employer vs
Employee

12. Cultural Taboos
• Avoid having business meetings over
lunch, since it tends to be a time for the
Spanish to relax, not make business deals.
• In Spanish business culture, meetings are
held almost exclusively in the office.
• Deals made are later celebrated at a
restaurant.
• Spanish people tend to not follow a
specific schedule of things to be discussed
in meetings.
• Any arrangements or agreements made
are open-ended and subject to change.
• Therefore, be persistent to make sure that
deals made on their end are met.

13. Taboos
Part II
• Spanish people prefer to stay clear of
being embarrassed and do not like to
receive any type of disapproval.
• This is something they share with Asian
countries.
• Do everything you must do to keep
yourself and others from “losing face.”
• The Spanish like to seem capable and in
command, always, so they will claim
that all is perfectly fine as a “face-
saving” strategy.

14. Taboos Part III
• When it comes to working with Spaniards
from different regions of the country, be
sensitive to those regional differences.
o Avoid confusing a Spaniard from one
region like Basque for a Catalonian.
This is considered an insult.
• Do not brag about your business success
or your professional experiences.
o This may come across as pretentious
to the Spanish.
• Avoid talking about sensitive topics such
as homosexuality, personal details,
religion, the Spanish Civil War, or the
Franco regime among other subjects like
bullfighting, feminism or machismo.

15. Top Areas for
Investment and U.S.
Export
• Looking to export your U.S. business to
Spain? Consider the following sectors to
invest in:
o Aerospace
oAutomotive Industry
o Business Investment Services
o Energy
o Green Technology
o Medical Equipment & Devices
o Outbound Tourism to the U.S.

16. Final Words
• Spain has a strong hierarchy system and
a bureaucratic workplace culture, but
this is changing.
• Despite the slow economy, Spain is still
a great place to invest. Especially if you
are marketing your product solely
online.
• Still interested in doing business in
Spain?
o Research your target market first
and make sure to properly translate
your marketing materials into
Spanish.

17. IVANNOVATION, LLC is a premier translation and localization provider of user
interface, documentation, and marketing materials for the IT, software development,
and manufacturing industries.
Get a free quote for your project.
Phone: 864-735-8425
www.ivannovation.com
This slide deck was adapted from an article on our blog.