Intercultural pragmatics of spanish managers in relation to the chinese, cultural values and communicative practices
| Autor | Cristián F. Cárdenas |
| Cargo del Autor | Autonomus University of Barcelona, Spain |
| Páginas | 2204-2230 |
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CAPÍTULO 103
INTERCULTURAL PRAGMATICS OF
SPANISH MANAGERS IN RELATION TO THE
CHINESE, CULTURAL VALUES AND
COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICES647
CRISTIÁN F. CÁRDENAS
Autonomus University of Barcelona, Spain
ABSTRACT
There is a growing tendency for Spanish companies to set up in China. Differences
in business culture and in strategic business communication management can nega-
tively affect their negotiations, reducing the likelihood of successful outcomes. To
analyse these differences, research has been carried out into the factors which prevent
satisfactory agreements from being reached by Spanish and Chinese business profes-
sionals at the negotiating table - observing whether or not their interactions only pay
attention to cultural differences, thereby limiting the relationships to stereotypes,
and fail to take into account communication practices and uses. In order to evaluate
their commercial relationships, specific guidelines and analytical tools have been
used. Qualitative research methods have been applied which take the particula cha-
racteristics of Chinese culture into account, selecting certain cases of individual con-
sultants and official Spanish mediating bodies which are involved in developing
direct investment activities/opportunities in China. Communication methods in
both cultures have been explored to determine whether, in the context of the inter-
cultural pragmatics of Spanish business professionals, there are certain communicati-
ve practices and uses which oblige them to make indirect inferences with respect to
their Chinese counterparts. Through examining specific business negotiations bet-
ween managers, relevant cultural differences have been identified, as well as the simi-
larities which facilitate improved communication. Communication narratives have
been used, that is, communication models elaborated in such a way that they encode
the contents, offering specific solutions for each case: a) internal models, that is, how
647 Este capítulo es parte de los avances del proyecto de tesis doctoral del programa de
doctorado: Comunicación estratégica, Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas de la Universidad
Autónoma de Barcelona. Nombre del director de tesis: Dr. Nicolás Llorite García. Nombre del
autor: Cristián Fabián Cárdenas C. Título del proyecto: Pragmática intercultural de los actores
empresariales españoles en su relación con los chinos, prácticas y valores.
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Spanish business professionals and entrepreneurs conduct themselves within their
own territory, Spain, and; b) external models, how these same actors communicate at
the negotiating table in China. During the first two years of this research, direct
contact was made with liaison agencies and Spanish intermediaries, such as ICEX
(the official body responsible for Spanish exports and foreign investments) and the
Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, reinforcing the mechanisms for the
exchange of experiences in the field of study itself, paying attention to how negotia-
ting tables actually work in China, and enabling the groups observed and intervie-
wed to be placed in their actual context. In order to conclude and define communi-
cation models that will contribute to the development of pragmatic intercultural
solutions/models, three issues have been identified that characterize the commercial
relationship at present:
1. Cultural disassociation from both Chinese and Spanish business professionals.
2. Business communication strategies which promote the construction of unitary
realities in order to further commercial objectives.
3. The lack of a tangible network of communicative practices and uses which allow a
balance of objective content on the one hand, and a flow of agreed upon messages on
the other.
KEY WORDS:
Intercultural pragmatics, Cross cultural communication, Intercultural business,
Management.
INTRODUCTION
This article is emerged out of research work aimed at identifying rele-
vant and differential cultural aspects that Spanish entrepreneurship
faces in its relationship with Chinese counterparts that was carried out
between 2018 and 2020. This was undertaken principally in order to
identify similarities that could smooth out cultural conditioning fac-
tors, and thereby contribute to the Spanish business community´s
management of its communication in China. The first question to be
addressed is: How do Spanish actors communicate in their relation-
ship with the Chinese in a business context, and how
does Chinese culture shape social patterns?.
In the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the
entire world during/throughout 2020, it has been argued in the West
that China may be responsible for exploiting this catastrophe econom-
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