Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Business etiquette and negotiation in China

Two working papers addressing Chinese negotiation and business etiquette were recently posted to the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge newsletter website: "Cultural Notes on Chinese Negotiating Behavior" and "Etiquette and Process Puzzles of Negotiating Business in China: A Questionnaire". Both papers are by HBS professor James K. Sebenius and research associate Cheng (Jason) Qian. The second paper includes a questionnaire with 36 multiple choice questions on doing business in China. The questions themselves offer important issues to consider: establishing first contact; setting priorities; meeting times; greetings; socializing; and contract disputes. (Unfortunately, no answers are provided!).

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