Introduction
This briefing is prepared to assist New Zealand businesspeople to navigate Russia’s business landscape an engage in productive cross-cultural communications. Russia’s culture and communication style differs significantly from New Zealand’s. The key differences this briefing focuses on include higher power distance in Russia, collectivist culture and the importance of relationships, a different attitude towards time, emotionality and directness. It also details what to expect in negotiations.
Meeting and greeting
“People are greeted by their dress and farewelled by their knowledge.”
– Russian proverb.
In Russia, being well dressed and presented is important for making a good first impression (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). Russians pay more attention to clothing and presentations than New Zealanders. Conservative formal attire would usually be expected such as a suite and tie for men and a formal blouse and skirt for women. A greeting is usually carried out by a firm handshake and steady eye contact (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). Russians may also be comfortable with less personal space than New Zealanders. Sharing of business cards is also welcome.
Don’t expect lot of smiles though, as these are not customary in Russia (Sternin, 2013). This is not because Russians are unfriendly or cold, but because a smile does not connote politeness for Russians as it does for Westerners. For Russians there needs to be a genuine reason for smiling, like to show you’re having a really good time. A smile out of politeness is likely to be considered insincere and may show a person’s lack of seriousness (Sternin, 2013).
Russia has a much higher power distance than New Zealand (Hofstede Centre, n.d). This means more importance is placed on organizational hierarchies, decision-making is more centralised and senior staff members have more authority over subordinates (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). In today’s companies, this can be less obvious in today’s organisations as compared to a few decades ago, but still needs to be taken into account when doing business in Russia. Russians place more value on demonstrating status and respect for seniority is expected (Hofstede Centre, n.d). Russian business people prefer dealing with foreign counterparts with the same level of seniority (Maclachlan, 2010), e.g. a director would expect to deal with another director. It also means that first meetings can have a high degree of formality, which can signify respect (Hofstede Centre, n.d). It’s best to refer to your Russian counterparts by a formal title (Maclachlan, 2010). Russians typically use the person’t first name and a patronym (based on the person’s father’s name) for formal address, e.g. “Ivan Alekseyevich”. However, if invited to transition to a first name basis, which is not uncommon these days, it’s acceptable to do so.
Relationships
“Better to have a hundred friends than a hundred Rubles.”
– Russian proverb
Russia is a collectivist country as compared to the individualist New Zealand and Russians tend to be quite people-orientated (Hofstede Centre, n.d). Relationships are therefore very important in doing business in Russia. As the proverb suggests, having good connections can be the biggest competitive advantage in Russia (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). Russians also tend to trust more in personal testimonials or opinions than in official statements (Bergelson, 2003). Russians may come across as somewhat reserved at the start of a relationship, as they need time to get to know the person they’re dealing with (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015).
Prior to engaging in business talks with your Russian counterparts, it’s best to build rapport and establish trust and credibility. This can involve small talks about family and other non-work related subjects (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). Russians are also appreciative when foreigners seem knowledgeable about Russia and it’s culture. While initial meetings may start off quite formally, provided all goes well, they may become quite personal and informal (Dutch Embassy, nd.). There may also be more physical contact such as a friendly hug or a pat on the back. Eating and drinking and informal chats during business talks are common and acceptable. Going out for dinner and drinks afterwards is also welcome. Long-term business partnerships could become more personal and friendly than is customary in Western countries (Dutch Embassy, n.d.).
Time
“If you rush you will just make people laugh.”
– Russian proverb
Russia is a fairly polychronic culture, which means they tend to be flexible in the way they organise time (MacLachlan, 2010). As opposed to monochromic cultures, that that emphasise scheduling, they can be focused on more activities at once with greater fluidity in the way time is perceived and schedules are not strictly followed (Neulip, 2012). Although they would usually expect foreigners to be on time, they may themselves run a little late. Patience, therefore, is important. Being polychronic also means people are more prone to multitasking rather than doing one thing at a time (Bergelson, 2003). They may also answer phone calls during business meetings. This may appear to a New Zealander as bad listening habits, but Bergelson (2003) explains this cultural difference as a different approach to processing information. Negotiations in Russia may be somewhat tie consuming and people are not likely to rush into decisions (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). They have numerous proverbs about pitfalls of doing something too quickly and the benefits of patience.
Emotionality and directness
“If you said A, you must say B”
– Russian proverb.
Russians place a lot of importance on sincerity and openness (Sternin, 2013). “Dusha” or the “soul” is a key value in Russian culture that places emphasis on the inner world (Bergelson, 2003). While in some collectivist cultures there is a great emphasis on preserving social harmony and avoiding conflict (Neulip, 2012), in Russia, it is not so, and the expression of mood and feelings, both good and bad is welcome and is preferential to “insincere” politeness (Bergelson, 2003). This also means you may be expected to give your opinion or make a value judgment. If you come across like you’re holding something back, you’ll likely raise mistrust and suspicion. You are also expected to pay attention to emotions and feelings of others. This is because Russia is a higher-context culture (MacLachlan, 2010) than New Zealand and Russians rely on more non-verbal queues to draw meaning, including emotiveness and stronger gesticulation, although verbal communications remains very important. For New Zealanders coming from a low-context culture this would require paying more attention to non-verbal cues such as body language and tone of their counterparts, while also being mindful of how their one gestures may be interpreted.
Directness is another trait of Russian communication and Russian language. Bergelson (2003) notes that in Western culture, politeness is often expressed through indirect questions and requests, often starting with phrases “could you,” and “would you?” In Russian, on the other hand, a question of request could simply start with “tell me,” “give me,” etc. It’s important for New Zealanders to be aware of this linguistic difference so as not to mistake is for rudeness or a sign of imposing on your free will. Russians are also less likely to say sorry as a sign of politeness (Bergelson, 2003). Apologies in Russian are a sign of accepting responsibility for a fault, rather than good manners. Instead Russians have a wide range of linguistic devices such as emotional verbs, nicknames, diminutives to express warmth and politeness towards each other (Bergelson, 2003). These may not be directly translatable into a conversation in English, however.
Negotiations
“Trust, but verify.”
– Russian proverb
Depending on the situation, business meetings may be conducted in a formal or informal setting (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). Similarly it may or may not follow a specific agenda. The most senior person would usually open them and be responsible for making the decisions. Although Russia ranks highly on Hofstede’s scale of uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede Cetnre, n.d.) showing a disliking for ambiguity and having one of the most complex bureaucracies in the world, this factor may be more applicable to dealing with government officials or when it comes to the actual preparation for an importing, complying with importing laws and writing up of consignments and other documentation and may not be especially relevant for early negotiations. Nevertheless, the proverb above demonstrates that even when a Russian trusts someone, they will make sure to double check.
Russia also scores low on the “Indulgence” cultural dimension and is considered to be a culture of restraint which is characterized by a degree of cynicism and pessimism (Hofstede, n.d.). Bergelson (2003) notes that this manifests as distrust to “objective truths”, and an attitude of little control over the environment. This may give an impression that Russians are being argumentative about things that to a Westerner may seem as obvious. Reach agreement in negotiations can thus become more difficult. On top of that, some Russian people may not like to negotiate on prices and conditions in fear it will undermine their power status (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015), which again relates to the high power-distance discussed above. They may also become theatrically angry due to the emotionality of the culture. Negotiations can also be quite time consuming, given their preference for patience and decisions should not be rushed. Even if agreement is not reached during negotiations and they need to be postponed, the contact is likely to be useful for future business (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015).
Conclusion
This briefing outlines points to keep in mind when interacting with Russian business partners. This includes higher power distance and importance of status symbols, which often results in greater formality, especially at the beginning of meetings. Another very important feature is the collectivist nature of Russian culture and the importance of relationship building. A different attitude towards time should also be considered and the fact that the polychromic Russians may are prone to multi-tasking, rather than sticking to a strict schedules and value patience. Being aware of emotionality and directness of Russian communication is also important to avoid cultural misunderstandings. Revealing feelings, good and bad, is important for coming across as sincere and building trust. It is also important to keep in mind that some managers of Russian companies that frequently deal with international business partners may be well familiar with the Western Business etiquette, while others may stick to a more traditional style (Switzerland Global Enterprise, 2015). It is therefore important to remain flexible and adjust your behaviour to the situation.
References:
Bergelson M.B. (2003). Russian cultural values and workplace communication styles. Communication Studies 2003: Modern Anthology. pp. 97-112. Volgograd, Russia: Peremena
Dutch Embassy in Moscow (n.d). Doing business in the Russian Federation. Retrieved March 14, 2016 from http://rusland.nlambassade.org/binaries/content/assets/postenweb/r/rusland/nederlandse-ambassade-in-moskou/import/producten_en_diensten/economie_en_handel/faqs/doing-business-in-the-russian-federation.pdf
Hofstede Centre, The (n.d.). What about Russia? The Hofstede centre. Retrieved March 14, 2016 from http://geert-hofstede.com/russia.html .
Maclachlan M. (Mar 8, 2010). Challenges of doing business in Russia. Communicaid. Retrieved March 14, 2016 from https://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/challenges-of-doing-business-in-russia/ .
Neuliep, J. W. (2012). Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach. (5 th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
Sternin J. (Nov 29, 2013). Ten reasons why Russians don’t smile much. Russia & India report. Retrieved March 14, 2016 fromhttps://in.rbth.com/arts/2013/11/29/ten_reasons_why_russians_dont_smile_much_31259 .
Switzerland Global Enterprise (2015). Russia business guide. Retrieved March 14, 2016 from http://www.s-ge.com/sites/default/files/private_files/BG_1502_E_Business_Guide_Russland.pdf .
Midnight Media Musings... 