Cross-cultural relationships in New Zealand agribusinesses operating in China: Industry report

Abstract

Chinese do think rather differently from New Zealanders. Their world view and social structure encourage them to be more reliant on network and patronage rather than law, and be non-confrontational and ‘go with the flow’, particularly when it comes to business strategies. A contract is therefore only a starting point rather than the finish line of a business negotiation. When entering a negotiation, New Zealand entrepreneurs will need to present a potential business environment that would enable the Chinese counterpart to be in a good position with promising potential, in order to satisfy their desire to survive, and to convince them of the upward trend that they can take advantage of. New Zealand entrepreneurs also need to identify and avoid those who are there to get a ‘quick success’ and then move on, and work towards forming a long-term guanxi with those who are more interested in a ‘product’ rather than just a ‘project’. To build such a long-term guanxi, the collaborative business structure will need to be put in a way that all parties involved are inter-dependent so that they will all strive for a ‘win-win’ outcome.