Chinese business culture as perceived by brazilian expatriates

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze Chinese culture related to business as perceived by Brazilian expatriates in China. For this purpose, literature concerning the expatriate and cultural differences between Brazil and China was reviewed. The qualitative approach was adopted as the study method, carrying out semi-structured interviews with twelve Brazilian expatriate professionals in China. To analyze the data a content analysis technique was used, specifically the categorical analysis, using the following categories: guanxi, standard cultural behavior, role specialization, save face, and respect for hierarchy. The results highlight the difficulty expatriates have in understanding the Chinese standard of behavior in their professional activities, such as: the relationship ties and trust that the Chinese prioritize to make a deal, known as guanxi; the Chinese characteristic to perform only ‘their’ job function, to be a specialist; the fact they cannot respond to their boss in a direct way because of shame or embarrassment, known as to “save face"; and the hierarchy, highly respected by the Chinese.

Keywords

• expatriados
• cultura
• china
• guanxi
• salvar a face