Middlemen for High Context Country
Middlemen are used by companies to negotiate in countries that are 'Indirect Exporting' communication cultures. These middlemen are located in the same national market as the company who is exporting their product. The middlemen are responsible for all exporting business of the company. A high-context culture is one in which communication takes place indirectly therefore: "the meaning is embedded in the context of the message and must be understood. In negotiations, both confrontational and information-sharing behavior can be influenced" by the high- or low-context cultural value." (Henkow and Otteland, 2006) Cultures greatly affect the strategies used by negotiators and one example of this is "whether they confront directly or indirectly, and the way they use information and influence." (Henkow and Otteland, 2006)
One example of this is provided in the work of Henkow and Otteland entitled: "Destination India: A Minor Field Study on how Swedish Companies Can Facilitate their Establishment in India." who states: "The unwillingness of confronting directly in a negotiation often comes from the collective societies. 'The Swede is open and transparent, but the Indian counterpart thinks that he is hiding something. Indians never put all the cards on the table, while the Swedes do.'" Therefore, due to these differences in cultural styles of communication it is often very difficult for negotiations to take place between those who are unaware of the cultural communication principles and standards. Communication is a critically important aspect of a company's exporting strategies therefore an effective negotiator that speaks in the same communication style as the country culture to which the company is exporting is extremely important.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Henkow, Pernilla and Otteland, Cecilla (2006) Destination India: A Minor Field Study on how Swedish Companies Can Facilitate their Establishment in India. School of Business -- Stockholm University Spring 2006. Online available at: www.diva-portal.org/diva/getDocument-urn_nbn_se_su_diva-6458-1__fulltext.pdf
