The December 2015 issue of the Harvard Business Review published an interesting article called Getting to Si, Ja, Oui, Hai, and Da. Professor of the international business school INSEAD, Erin Meyer, described the conclusions of her research on the specifics of negotiations in different parts of the world.
Every negotiator in a foreign country soon finds out that best practices from his home country don't work. His potential business partners have seemingly unreasonable demands or refuse to fulfill their promises. This happens due to different cultural norms. So how can you limit misunderstandings and reach agreements in international negotiations? There are five general rules to follow.
1. Learn how to express disagreement
While in some cultures it is common and desirable to say you totally disagree with something, it may be unacceptable in other countries. Therefore, it is very important to find out the local norm and adapt to it. When you openly disagree in, for example, Germany or France, it is okay and you can expect an enjoyable debate. However, when a Japanese or Mexican person says that he "a little disagrees" with something, it can be a big problem which may lead to an immediate end of the negotiation.
2. Focus on the appropriate level of expressing emotions
In some cultures, people commonly scream or laugh loudly during negotiations. They may also touch each other. This high degree of expressiveness in terms of emotions is typical for Brazil, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. By contrast, emotions should be left at the door and disagreements expressed factually and calmly in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. Expressing emotions in a business meeting can be seen as a sign of immaturity and being unprofessional.
3. Find out how to gain trust
There are two basic types of trust - cognitive and affective. Cognitive trust comes from confidence in one's accomplishments, skills and reliability (i.e. comes from the head). Affective trust is based on feelings and emotions, empathy (i.e. comes from the heart). The whole situation is even more complicated because there is not only one type of trust applied in every country. You have to understand the level of representation of both types. For example, while Americans keep these two types of trust strictly separated, the Chinese interconnect them and are used to build business relationships on private relationships.
4. Be careful about "yes" and "no"
Try not to ask questions that can be answered only with only a "yes" or "no". A typical example is the question: "Will you accept my offer?". "Yes" In some cultures means "no" and "no" means "let's talk about it further." It can therefore easily be misunderstood. You should ask about the wider context instead, such as: "How much time will you need to make the decision?"
5. Understand verbal and written agreements
In the US or Northern Europe, it is a common practice to keep repeating, writing down and reporting what was agreed upon. In Asia and Africa, however, oral agreements have more weight than in other places. If you demand a written partial agreement, it could be perceived as a sign of mistrust. You should be prepared even for the final contract to be an oral agreement. Within emerging markets, moreover, nothing is definitive and agreements can be changed very quickly.
A clear graphical representation of emotional responses and confrontation used in negotiations in 18 countries according to the research by Erin Meyer is available in this video. On her personal website here you can even compare the styles of negotiation in selected pairs of countries. The entire research with practical recommendations for international negotiations was also published in the book entitled "The Cultural Map".
Book
MEYER, Erin: The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business. New York: PublicAffairs, 2014.
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