Confrontational or not? What is the speed of communication and the preferences in that field of parties involved? How important is the context of the communication? What is the structure of the communication in terms of the order of its elements? Is communication build on principles or rather statements or facts? Can you sit wherever and whenever you want? What is the preferred distance between people? What language do you choose for your communication (for what reason and with what possible consequences)?

Rules

How important are rules, protocol and procedures? Do rules need to be followed or may they be used according to the situation at hand? If circumstances change, do you stick to the original idea or agreement or do you adapt accordingly? Does change create anxiety or a need to nail down as soon as possible the elements you cannot be sure of? What are the implicit rules of the national cultures in question but also of the organisations in question or even the economic sector or the profession?

Decision-making

Based on consensus, top-down, open for involvement from the work-floor? Implementation of an agreement: focus on the result that needs to be obtained or rather on the effort required (whether you live up to the agreement or not)?

Environment

Are raw materials a simple resource or are they protected by legislation? Do you take weather conditions and disasters into consideration in your co-operation or not at all?

All of the points above and more may affect the advice on working with a foreign partner or not. The advice may be relative simple (e.g. behaviour during a duty trip) or complex (e.g. establishing a joint venture). The range of topics and the possible complexity clearly indicate the in-house consultancy capability on internationalisation. At the same time lots of money may be lost by not taking such considerations at heart; billions of euros per year in the EU alone as a result of failed cross-border co-operation due to cultural differences.

Cultural Aspects Continued