Discounted prices, discounted respect? The influence of cultural norms on freelance contract relations in England and Taiwan

Abstract

Freelance contract relations are culturally embedded social relations. The article compares England and Taiwan due to their distinct social norms and concepts of trust for those in contractual relationships, and explores the cultural differences manifested in freelance contract relations. Based on 32 interviews with freelancers in Taiwan and 36 interviews in England, the findings suggest that freelancers’ contract negotiation and tolerance of violation are culturally dependent. In Taiwan, contract relations in general tend to be conflated with interpersonal relations associated with affect and reciprocity, but in freelance contracts, the responsibility for maintaining relations and demonstrating trustworthiness seems to fall on freelancers, who feel obliged to extend favours by compromising their own interests. In England, contract relations are associated with moral equality and the need to remain credible by fulfilling agreements; as such, contracting parties have lower expectations of the other to compromise, and deviations from fulfilling mutual obligations are limited compared to Taiwan.