Examining the Preferences of Influence Tactics in Chinese Societies: A Comparison of Chinese Managers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China

Abstract

A few years ago, a group of Singaporean expatriates were signed to work in a coastal city in China. Being offspring of Chinese, they spoke perfect Mandarin and could easily mix with any Chinese on the street. Therefore, they were confident that they would not have any difficulties working with their counterparts in China. Their Chinese counterparts felt alike. However, a year later, the two parties had experienced so many difficulties working together that the frustrated Singaporeans were ready to pull out entirely. The joint venture was on the verge of collapse. At that point, the two parties finally sat down and examined the reasons for their frustration. They realized that cultural differences, together with differing expectations based on disparate experiences of political and management systems, were the major causes of the ongoing problems. Fortunately, the timely realization of the differences enabled them to review their assumptions and adjust their working attitudes toward each other according to the new understanding. Before long, the two parties had solved their problems. With improved communication, the joint venture has not only survived, but also prospered. The above incident happened between managers from the Mainland and Chinesespeaking managers from Singapore, where Chinese account for 70 percent of the population. Such incidents happen even more frequently with Chinese-speaking expatriates from Hong Kong or Taiwan, where Chinese dominate the populations. In fact, most Western multinationals that assign overseas Chinese expatriates to Mainland China do so in the belief that they will experience less cultural distance than their Western counterparts, and that a common language will facilitate communication. However, anecdotal evidence (such as the incident described above) show that Chinese expatriates in China can encounter just as many adjustment problems as Western expatriates. At times, the ‘‘culture shock’’ may be more severe—