Bridging Cultural Divides for Effective International Business Meetings
Bridging Cultural Divides for Effective International Business Meetings

Summary/Abstract: The present article sets out to examine the main cultural divides that may threaten the success of international business meetings, while at the same time seeking to identify theoretical tools and practical strategies that can be used to surmount differences and ensure a climate of effective cooperation. After a brief definition of two key concepts of intercultural studies that are particularly relevant to our topic (i.e., cultural “awareness” and “competence”), it analyzes, one by one, the most likely areas of “noise” that should be carefully considered by both organizers and attendants of international meetings: communication style, status and protocol, the attitude towards authority/hierarchy/power, the treatment of time and space, the orientation towards deals/tasks or relationships, the assumptions about the purpose and outcomes of a meeting, etc. Our final recommendation to organizers and foreign participants alike is to use their theoretical information and practical skills in a joint effort to prevent or at least minimize the negative effects of culture gaps – and ideally, to turn their differences into assets for the success of the meeting and for the benefit of their business activity.

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