A study of intercultural management communication Swedish expatriate managers in China

Abstract

China as one of emerging economies has attracted a large number of global companies, including Swedish ones, to engage in the financial investments and create many business collaborations cross-national borders. Swedish managers inevitably go to China for some reasons such as long or short-term assignment in local or Swedish organization located in China or negotiation with Chinese business partners. However, many aspects of culture and communication differ between Scandinavian countries and China, such as communication styles, feedback, and leadership styles. Those from Scandinavian countries lay on one extreme of the axis, while those from China lay one side. Thus, this study is focusing on that how Swedish expatriate managers adjust or adopt him/herself in China regarding the aspect of communication and communicative leadership. It is a study of cross-cultural management involving the interaction of culturally different people in the context of organization. The data was collected by in-depth interviews with nine Swedish managers who had worked in China for at least two years in past decade. The interviews lasted 30 to 60 minutes guided by a semi-structured three-part interview questions concerning not only Swedish and Chinese culture differences and similarities but also Swedish management settlement in China. The result indicates that it clearly show that most Swedish managers enjoyed the time when they stayed in China. More importantly, it became obvious that there are more similarities than differences between two countries. Two major similarities are reflected on both Swedish and Chinese trying to avoid direct conflict and being task-orientated. These two similarities are extremely important in an international organization. Based on these two similarities, the collaboration between two countries undoubtedly will go more smoothly once the common goal is achieved. Even for differences, they are diminishing with increasing globalization and development of technology.