Review of HBR: Doing Business in China

The Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China is comprised of a series articles analyzing economic, cultural, and historic differences that affect the way business dealings are handled in China. The compilation is not too long and would make a good read for any westerner looking to conduct business with the Chinese. Each of the eight articles starts with an executive summary that I found somewhat unnecessary as the articles themselves are not extremely long and none of them were overly complex.

Having read these articles after returning from China and completing all of the work associated with the trip, I found much of the information redundant; but there were a few points that struck me as particularly applicable and worth noting here. One of the articles focused on negotiation and the differences between the western techniques and those used in China. Westerners tend to expect things to happen swiftly and directly while the Chinese will be more cautious and are used to more subtle maneuvering. These differences can be linked to cultural differences that have emerged over the long history of the Chinese people. TANGENT: As the article explored these differences, I found myself thinking of some of the intellectual property issues discussed in the preceding article and on the global political scene. The intellectual property regulations that we seek to implement through the WTO (among other organizations) don’t take into account these cultural differences and I wonder if they aren’t looked at in the same way as western negotiations – domineering and unrefined. Perhaps western politicians should read a few more books about conducting business in China before sitting down to author treaties, regulations, etc. The focus on short-term results is also an interesting point. While China, on a national level, is very long-term oriented, the current environment of double-digit growth has created a decided interest in succeeding NOW. Dealing with a Chinese company means grasping where and when they expect success in order to be working on the same page. While this seems like an obvious consideration prior to entering into dealings with anyone, it may be something that is easily taken for granted and regretted later. Understanding the goals of the Chinese may not be as easy as it sounds as they are less likely to come out and divulge their tactics and expectations. As with negotiations, taking the time to build the relationship and trust is integral to having a successful relationship for any extended period of time. The final high-point of the articles was the importance of understanding the market before trying to enter into it. There are many factors that influence the Chinese consumer and they are not always the same as those of the western consumer. Spending the time and energy to understand the various factors that influence the Chinese buyer can be the cornerstone to success in the Chinese marketplace.

The only real weakness to this “book” is that it is not truly a “book.” It is only a collection of articles and thereby does not fully explore each of the topics it covers. The information is certainly good, and being a relatively quick read, I would definitely recommend it to a businessperson headed towards business in China. It can provide a decent overview of some of the key differences in working with China, but I would recommend following it up with the other two books I read (One Billion Customers and The World is Flat) to really get more of a feel of how things are and where they’re headed. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read it first, but the authors are clearly knowledgeable in their areas and provide some good insight that can potentially provide great benefit.