The negotiation styles of overseas Chinese: A comparison of Taiwanese and Indonesian Chinese patterns

Cross cultural negotiation has been an active area of study for a decade. A number of cross-cultural negotiation studies have been conducted using subjects from two diametrically different cultures (such as the US and Japan). However, a substantial amount of international trade takes place between geographically close countries, where cultural differences are more subtle, but still make an important difference. Indonesian-Chinese and Taiwanese both have Chinese backgrounds; however, due to their different histories and development - most Indonesian-Chinese are the second or third generation of Chinese immigrants who are born and raised locally. Due to environmental and cultural differences, Indonesian-Chinese and Taiwanese have different styles of negotiation. This study is a questionnaire survey with quantitative analysis. The design of questionnaire based on the "Dual Concern Model" by Pearson (1995), covering the tendencies of negotiations which measures a respondentʹs attitude towards five negotiation category styles: "accommodation," "collaboration," "avoidance," "competition," and "consultation." The results indicate that generally both Taiwanese and Indonesian-Chinese college students are influenced by their cultural areas, scenarios of conflicts, and the beliefs. Among which, the cultural area has direct and indirect influences on all types of negotiation, indicating the existence of large cultural and negotiation differences between Taiwanese and Indonesian-Chinese.