The China Venture

3.4.3 Experiences of European Companies with Joint Ventures in China
A few years ago, when China was still an unknown area for business, not many Europeans
had ever heard anything about intercultural management, and few thought of attending a
training course. Nowadays, some western companies have quite some knowledge about China
and its culture because of their past experiences. They learned from these experiences and as a
result co-operation with a Chinese partner is much easier today. Most Western employees
who plan to go to China, attend a 3-day seminar or something similar, so that they get at least
some ideas of the Chinese culture, but there is no intensive training to prepare them
adequately.
China and its people are still relatively unknown to many Europeans but the companies have
learned to understand the culture and to adapt to it. For this reason, our interview partners
were able to give us a good idea of important factors to build up a good relationship with the
Chinese partner and to be successful in business.
Good intercultural management may not mean trying to find solutions for existing problems
between the partners, but trying to avoid them.
3.4.3.1 Interviewed Companies
Our intention was to interview companies from different industries to see if intercultural
problems come up only because of the collision of two cultures or if it is also a matter of the
industry. The following companies were interviewed:
• Bühler AG, Uzwil, Switzerland
• BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany
• Daniel Swarovski Corporation AG, Feldmeilen, Switzerland
• D. Swarovski & Co., Wattens, Austria
• Georg Fischer AG, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
• Hilti Aktiengesellschaft, Schaan, Fürstentum Liechtenstein
All interviewed companies have had experiences with Joint Ventures in China for several
years. From the interviews, it is clear that intercultural problems do not depend on the
industry a company is in.
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