comparative value priorities of chinese and new zealand

Culture and Business Relationships and Transactions
Continuing expansion of cross-border business is generally labelled globalisation.
Cross-border business has intensified at an increasing rate since the domestication of
pack animals and the growth of transportation technology, such as wheeled carts,
enabled heavy loads to be moved over great distances. Cultural exchanges have
developed as rapidly as trade (Keohane and Nye, 2000). Trade along the Silk Road,
several thousand years old, is evidence of early globalisation. The extent of
globalisation is leading to three contemporary changes: increased density of
international networks, increased speed of institutional change, and increased
transnational participation by increasing numbers of people. As interdependence
amongst nations has increased, interpersonal relationships amongst those engaged in
business in different societal cultures have become more important.
Hofstede (1994) discusses cultural myopia, meaning ignoring the reality that culture
affects the design and quality of products and ignoring the influence of culture on
processes of providing services. In opposition there is a constant argument concerning
globalisation since the 1950s that technology and modernity are leading to a worldwide
convergence of consumer needs and desires, which should have enabled global
companies to develop standard brands using universal marketing and advertising
programs. However, during the 1990s doubt began to be expressed in the marketing
literature about the convergence of products and services, and researchers referred to
culture dimension indices to explain persistent cultural differences. For example, in an
analysis of national consumer behaviour data over time, Dutch marketing researcher de
Mooij (2005) showed that buying and consumption patterns in affluent countries in the
1980s and 1990s diverged as much as they converged. The interpretation is that
affluence implies more possibilities to choose amongst products and services, and
consumer choices reflect psychological and social needs that are culture-bound.
Culture is an all-pervasive influence on individual and group behaviour, governance of
business and public-sector organisations, finance and accounting procedures,
negotiations, the meaning of contracts, and myriad other factors. Significant influences
on business behaviour are personal and cultural values and the behaviour of leaders.
Knowledge of the characteristics of a culture relating to these two influences can
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