It is important to understand that national cultures also shape the governance and decision-making process and the way they come to an agreement. Therefore, mapping the players and the process is crucial.
Who are the players?
While you know that in the US extra players beyond those representing the companies influence the deal, abroad it is often less obvious. In China for example, even with „private“ companies there there certainly will be a local party official involved. All these constituencies bring their own interests to the table as well as varying abilities to block or foster negotiations.
Who decides what?
Knowing who is playing is not enough, it is important to know what role they play and who owns the decisions. Failing to do that it can turn out very costly.
What are the informal influences that can make or break a deal?
It is vital to understand which people must sign the contract to finalize the deal. More than that, often there are webs of influence operating that turn out to be more influential than the actual parties making the deal. We must not underestimate the power of informal influences by assuming that foreign legals systems will enforce formal contracts just as they are expected to do at home. Dispute resolution can look very different in different countries.
Therefore, it is crucial to discard home-market presumptions and to develop a clear map of the players who are likely to influence the formal and informal decision process.
Then one has to adapt the approach accordingly. An organizational process can look very different in different cultures and thus ask for different negotiation strategies.
Top Down
The decision will be taken unilaterally. The most effective way is to talk to the boss directly or, if not possible, to connect with people outside the process who have close ties to or influence over the boss.
Consensus
This organizational process is especially common in Asia. Often the consensus cultures focus on relationships rather than deal and the parties involved will often want to take substantial amount of time. It is important to adjust your won expectations (and your organization’s) of how long the deal will take. This negotiation process is however likely to have more staying power.
Coalition building
Sometimes negotiations don’t need the agreement of every player but rather a „winning coalition“. The opposite is a „blocking coalition“. Navigating such coalitions requires an understanding of the likely interests and opinions of the players who will be needed as allies in a winning coalition.
To sum up, assessing the person across the negotiation table is crucial but not enough. It is important to figure ou the intricacies of the larger organization behind her. In order to do that you need to map the governance and decision making process. Then you must design your strategy and tactics so that you’re reaching the right people, with the right arguments, in a way that allows you maximum impact on the process to yield a sustainable deal.
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