CROSS CLTURAL BUSINESS BEHAVIOR.docVIP

CROSS CULTURAL BUSINESS BEHAVIOR RUSSIA Despite the many challenges of this huge market, many foreign companies are doing good business in Russia today. One is Wolff AG, a German firm exporting kitchenware worth some $ 10,000,000 per year. Speaking with the experience of 35 visits to the market, Managing Director Andreas Hochmeyer emphasizes that 90% of business in Russia is done face-to-face. You build your business on personal relationships. For Hochmeyer, a key step was establishing their own representative office in Moscow staffed by English-speaking local people. They also regularly check the references of new customers through the German embassy. In general, Hochmeyer finds there is really little or no difference today between doing business in Sweden, Germany and Russia. As one might expect, not all foreign companies report such positive experience. Chaos, crime and corruption - along with capricious regulations and bureaucratic red tape - continue to present real barriers to trade. But as the worlds largest (11 time zones) and fifth most populous (150 million people) country, Russia is a tempting market for those who know how to overcome those barriers. Obviously, one step in surmounting the obstacles is to develop an understanding of Russian business behavior. Personal Relationships In underlining the key role played by connections, Andreas Hochmeyer provides good advice. As is the case in other relationship-focused markets around the worid, you need personal relationships to get things done. Its who you know that counts. The Chinese and other East Asians call these vital relationships guanxi, the Latin Americans palanca, the Egyptians wastah. In the Russian language the corresponding word is blat. As Hochmeyer also points out, most business there is done face-to-face. Frequent visits to the market and frequent phone calls are essential. This again is true of the RF business cultures of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America