THE NORDIC COUNTRIES – close but still different
WE WOULD RATHER do business with cultures we believe are like us. Just take a look at the list of Sweden’s most important trading partners. Germany, USA, Great Britain and the Nordic are at the top, just like ten and twenty years ago. But Ingemar Dahlqvist alerts us to not believing that the other Nordic countries are like us just because they are close or easy to visit.
– Denmark is easy and cosy for vacation, but in business the Danes are much tougher. They are well prepared, distinct about their intentions and very goal-oriented. Denmark is a rather closed country based on guilds and a lot of hidden trade barriers. A Danish company chooses A Danish partner rather than a foreign competitor. As a Swede, you must be prepared and know what you want.
DANISH BUREAUCRACY could be experienced as complicated. Denmark has five thousand business lawyers, compared to our three thousand, says Ingemar Dahlqvist who believes Norwegians are easier to do business with.
– The Norwegian business culture is more similar to the Swedish one. However, the Norwegians consider us slow in decision making.
FINLAND HAS A conservative business culture, says Ingemar Dahlqvist, “maybe a little too conservative”.
– You don’t need the small talk or to become especially personal, at least not until you get to know each other. Finland is a country where you don’t need to dress up. Ingemar Dahlqvist recommends that you don’t write detailed business contracts with Finland. Leave the details to verbal agreements.
RUSSIA – turbulent but promising
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Resurrection of Christ Church, St Petersburg. Source: rucksack.se
IN RUSSIA, the business culture is different, says Ingemar Dahlqvist, partly because there is some turbulence right now.
– The recipe for a Swedish company is to establish contacts and good local partners.
After all, the Russians want to think long term, discuss future possible profits and develop business relations. Just make sure to be prepared before doing anything.
DON'T EXAGGERATE the criminal elements just because security guards carry machine guns. In Russia, they have a different view on security, says Ingemar Dahlqvist.
– If you ask Swedish companies active in Russia, they don’t mention the mafia and crime is not high on the problem list. The complex legal system is much worse. The judiciary is not working properly and tax legislation is constantly changing. The main problem is figuring out what rules apply at the moment.
INGEMAR DAHLQVIST advises against judging Russians and other Eastern Europeans on how they dress. He points out that only the US and China has more university students than Russia.
– Don’t judge the Baltics and the countries in Eastern Europe on the same scale. Traditions in these countries are very different in culture, language, religion, history and business.
CHINA – polite, proud and hard to interpret
CHINA HAS A TOUGH business culture, says Ingemar Dahlqvist. When negotiating with Chinese companies, it is sometimes hard to know who is in charge.
– If eight people show up, the quiet man in the back may in fact be the one in charge. They put forward a negotiator without a mandate to figure out your pulse. Subsequently, it is good to do your homework about the company you are meeting and find out who you are dealing with.
Like in many parts of Asia, people in China are very careful when it comes to being polite and obliging. This could lead to misunderstandings when a “yes” in fact is “maybe” while a “maybe” could mean “no”. Chinese in certain regions also have an interesting conception of time that may cause trouble.
Photo: Getty Images
– If you have a meeting at nine o’clock, a big delegation may knock on your hotel room door already at eight thirty. They arrive earlier than agreed to show you how much they appreciate meeting you.
PROTESTS FOLLOWING the Olympic torch around the world show that nationalism and national pride plays a big role in today’s China. The Chinese consider themselves treated unjustly.
– Most Chinese consider China the most prominent country in the world. Be prepared for some official speeches and a lot of phrases when meeting them for the first time. The fact that Sweden was the first country to acknowledge the People’s Republic of China gives us a lot of goodwill for free, but be careful when talking politics.
INGEMAR DAHLQVIST HAS also some experience from Southeast Asia and Malaysia.
– Calm and proper countries where everything is safe, secure and well organised most of the time.
Jonas Rehnberg