Stereotypes: An obstacle or trigger to business success?

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the role of existing stereotypes in business negotiation processes. How can stereotypes help or prevent us from successful negotiating between two nations? Stereotypes are a core research topic when dealing with business relations and corporate behavior. I will give an overview of how much stereotypical way of thinking can motivate businesspeople to find business partners in other countries and how much they are a barrier in launching deals. Stereotypes are claimed to be mostly negative but most of them are based without any experience while others are constructed as a result of direct interactions. In the paper I am describing decision mechanisms derived from stereotypical knowledge of the business partners. And next, I will focus on the decisions made on various elements in a business process like attitudes to information gained from the partner, payment system or selecting partners, which are influenced by existing stereotypes of each negotiator. The paper also reveals how shared values of different cultures can lead to successful or failed negotiations in terms of Hungarian and German business relations.

 

Key Words: Stereotypes, negotiations, cultures, success, attitude