The Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas
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The Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas
Steve Kafka, a franchisor for Chicago Style Pizza, is weighing the options of extending a new franchise into the country of the Czech Republic, the country of his family's origin. Though Steve has made several trips into the Czech Republic, speaks the language and knows many people, he must seriously consider all of the opportunities and potential barriers to this new venture. This paper explores the positive and potentially negative cultural differences between the United States and the Czech Republic. Next, potential competitive advantages are examined along with Hofsteade's Primary Cultural Dimensions to reveal clues to the culture in light of the new business. Finally, trade barriers and price income and elasticites are discussed.
Culture Differences
There are several differences in culture between the United States and the Czech Republic, though those differences are not insurmountable. Steve must understand some basic principles of business etiquette that are considered acceptable in the Czech Republic in order to be successful. For a business, word of mouth advertizing is the best way to gain new customers. If a major advertizing blitz is attempted, it may be considered suspicious and might backfire (Czech Republic: Travel information, 2007). As contacts with other local businesses are needed to make the new franchise successful, such as produce and drinks, appointments with those businesses should be made weeks in advance. The Czech's prefer not to have last minute engagements. As an employer, it should be understood that mothers and fathers are expected to recei ...