Impacts Of Culture Differences On Sino-Western Business Negotiations

With the constant development of the economic globalization, business contacts among nations get increasingly close. In particular, since China's accession to WTO, the economic cooperation between China and the West becomes more and more frequent. International business negotiation is one of the vital parts of business activities. All kinds of cross-cultural business negotiation play an important role in the social life as well as the economic life. Negotiators from different cultural backgrounds have different values and thinking patterns, thus forming the various communication styles. Consequently, it is necessary to learn the cultures among all the countries and to get familiar with the cultural difference in the business activities.This thesis focuses its research on the impacts of culture differences on Sino-Western business negotiation. Due to the striking cultural differences between China and the West, members of these two cultures take different negotiating styles, which may bring communication obstacles and unnecessary misunderstandings during the Sino-Western business negotiation process. Thus, getting a clear picture of cultural difference between China and the West and its impacts on negotiation is a guarantee for successful cross-cultural business negotiation.The thesis presents a comprehensive review of theories on culture, and business negotiation. These theories aim at providing a solid theoretical foundation for a further study. Through case analysis and comparative analysis, the research presents eight kinds of cultural differences including goals and approaches of negotiation, composition of the negotiating team, communication style, decision-making systems, view of time, risk-taking propensity, conflict resolution and form of agreement. Finally, the author points out the limitations of the study and puts forward some recommendations for effective negotiation.