neglob

The global economic landscape has significantly changed over the past 20 years: the economic and business environment is gradually moving to a new multipolar balance, where the old economic triad, US, EU and Japan is no longer the main source of consumption, talents, capital, resources and ideas, and in which countries that until recently we used to call "developing" or "emerging", now produce more than 50% of world GDP (in 1990 was 39%).

And we are not only talking about China and India but also countries such as Brazil, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa, are all experiencing growth rates over 5%.

The result of all this is an increasing economic interdependence, where the national and regional boundaries are becoming less and less important.

The fast growth and the rising integration are fueling employment and income in developing countries, creating a burgeoning middle class made up of millions of potential consumers.

The markets for many products and services in some developing countries are already able to compete, if not exceed, those of industrialized countries; by 2025 emerging economies will generate more than half of the global consumption, taking into account purchase power differences.

Cultural differences deeply affect the outcome of a negotiation and can sometimes create overwhelming barriers during the negotiating process.

Any international negotiation is based on two primary rules:

  1. The seller must adapt to the culture of the buyer.
  2. The guest must comply with local customs and traditions.

A negotiator cannot be prepared to face all the different cultural aspects that she/he might encounter.

We have developed a model based on eleven factors that occur repeatedly during cross-cultural negotiations. Some of the elements that must be considered and managed at the negotiating table are:
personal style, decision-making authority, communication style and time perception, emotion management and risk propensity, tools of persuasion and anchor management, non-economic goals of the counterparty.