Intercultural Communication Competence in Business: Communication between Japanese and Americans

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of interviews and questionnaires of 20 American business people who have experience in doing business with Japanese people and discusses how Americans with a high degree of intercultural awareness made compromises or could make compromises in order to conduct business negotiations more efficiently. While acknowledging that one’s intercultural communication competence is context-dependent and there is no panacea for resolving cultural differences, the constructive responses given by the American business people will certainly help deepen Japanese and American mutual understanding. This paper examines intercultural awareness and accommodation from a broader perspective, going beyond the previous fixed unilateral accommodation by Japanese business people. The results of these surveys offer many insights for business people who wish to do business internationally.