Overview

Group 13 interviewed a company within the sector of flower seeds. We interviewed a senior level manager who deals with International clients in the following continents: South America, Asia and Europe. The company has over 800 clients based in 30 different countries. The interview was investigating the impact of culture in different countries within the flower sector.

The questions asked during the interview were aimed at establishing how to deal with different cultures from clients, their corporate culture and how to deal with potential issues that might occur.  From the beginning of the interview it became clear that it is important to adapt to the different cultures of the clients.

It has been decided that there will be a further look at Costa Rican culture compared to Dutch culture. Most of the given examples were about this country and this culture differs massively from Dutch culture. This is shown in Figure 1.

During one of the interviewees business trips to Costa Rica he encountered the following situation: A company in Costa Rica wanted to give back to their employees by offering education and food to women who made their bouquets. As well as helping with education and providing food they trained their employees to become more independent and less dependent on the income of their husbands.

This Company was very involved with producing the product, they searched the whole country to find a perfect climate and asked a lot of questions in order to produce high-quality products. The CEO of this company is extremely wealthy but he still values the relationship with his employees.

When asking our interviewee about inhibitive and prohibitive behaviour he had encountered, he explained to us that he had struggled with customers who insisted that he would smoke a cigarette with him whilst discussing a business deal. Our interviewee explained that smoking cigarettes to land a customer was something that he would never do and had never done. He would feel inhibited to smoke because it is bad for his health which is important to him.

This cultural barrier has been resolved by making sure that the persons offering a smoke are aware of his values (Bottom of iceberg), which is being healthy (Hofstede & Pedersen, 2002).

Another example occurred in Japan, here he was invited to dinner with one of his clients and his friends, it is a Japanese custom to toast with everyone and take a shot of Sáke with everyone whom you toast with. The group consisted of quite a few people so after a few toasts our interviewee asked to stop because he felt tipsy. As it was a business trip he felt inhibited to get drunk, the persons around the table were sympathizing with him.

According to the interviewee, many of the inhibited behaviours were resolved at the next meetings, it was clearer that the interviewee didn’t smoke and there was a non-alcoholic replacement for the sake. He didn’t have to ask for it and his clients did it for him.

Our interviewee is the only person in his company who is communicating with different cultures at this level, therefore there aren’t company wide instructions on how to deal with cultural differences. He relies on his own experience, gut feeling and prior meetings when dealing with cultural differences.

Our interviewee experienced a few cultural barriers as well, he speaks Dutch and English but doesn’t speak a third language like Spanish or Japanese. This makes it  hard to negotiate with non-English speakers. They have acquired a few agents for this reason, an agent is the communication line between the Dutch Company and a company which does not communicate in English. Cultural barriers are prevented as well because most of the time an agent is a citizen of the country he works at. He takes over the on-site obligations whilst the interviewee works from the side-line and gives instructions.

Outcome

Uncertainty avoidance

The Costa Rican company demands a lot of information from the flower seed company and therefore is required to communicate a lot. The demand in information is explained in the dimension Uncertainty avoidance which is very high in Costa Rican culture. They are in need of certainty. These questions are primarily asked to enjoy long-term success, it could be argued that Costa Rican culture is long-term oriented.

A few years ago, the Dutch flower seed company started talking with the Costa Rican customers and by investing so much time and care into the relationship with this customer, they poached away this customer from their competitors in the market.

At this moment in time, they still communicate on a daily basis how the process of growing the flowers could be enhanced.

After a few years, the customer from Costa Rica had told the Dutch flower seed company that they were searching for a new location with a more favourable climate for the flowers to grow in. After carefully looking into different areas where the flowers could be grown, the best option was confirmed and the land was bought.

Power distance

During the interview the Dutch students directly asked how he dealt with the power distance in Costa Rica. His response was very clear, there is almost no power distance. When he came there for a visit, he met one of the most powerful and richest man in Costa Rica. He expected this man to be distant. But the opposite was true, he was very investigated with his staff and helped them when needed. He even offered food and education to the women who worked for him in order to make them more independent. This is an example of the low power distance culture in Costa Rica. And how group orientated they are due to them helping each other to achieve a better end goal, regardless of the difference in power.

Collectivism

Not only is this a prime example of a low power distance but this also shows a high level of collectivism. Even though this boss of the company has a lot of money and influence, he still feels the need to make sure the life of all his employees is improving whilst they are working under his reign. On Hofstede’s insights it is said that countries from Latin America think that it is essential to believe in trust, loyalty, personal relations and networking (Hofstede Insights, 2021). This matches what our interviewee told us about their customer in Costa Rica.

Achievement

This Costa Rican company wants to get good results whilst not undermining the rights and needs of employees, in a different example the interviewee told us he encountered a location which he had to inspect with employees working until midnight to reach a set goal. This won’t happen in the Costa Rican company because there is much greater focus on the quality of life compared to achieving certain goals.

Possible solutions / Best practices

Uncertainty avoidance

The Dutch company is used to communicating less with their customers and has a score of 53 out of 100 whilst Costa Rica has a score of 86 out of 100 on uncertainty avoidance, therefore it has to adjust to the Costa Rican’s demand for communication (Hofstede Insights, 2021). The company found out that this way of working and communicating with customers is extremely helpful for both parties. They both flourished whilst having this tight cooperative venture because the Dutch company had much more clarity for product demand whilst the Costa Rican company managed to produce high-quality products. Our interviewee handled this difference well, he communicated a lot and tried to provide them with as much information as possible

Power distance

Within the Dutch company there still are some signs of Power Distance, even though it’s not always that clear. For example, it is not common for the CEO to have a casual conversation with the people who are working on packaging the flower seeds. However, in the Costa Rican culture it is more common for the owner of the company to help the women who are making the bouquet. Overall the Dutch have a score of 38 out of 100 on power distance and Costa Rica has a score of 35 out of 100 (Hofstede Insights, 2021). The Dutch company could work on making this more common which can result in a better connection between the employees which can create a better environment for them to work in. This difference has been resolved by going with the flow of the business.

Collectivism

When looking at the Dutch and Costa Rican score on individualism and collectivism, it can be seen that there is a huge difference. The Dutch have a score of 80 out of 100 and Costa Rica has a score of 15 out of 100. This can be confusing when Dutch people come to do business in Costa Rica. The best possible solution for the Dutch would be to adapt to the situation and pay their respects to the way of doing business, an open mind would be appreciated.

Achievement

Achievements in the Costa Rican company are both measured in employee well being and net results.

When looking at Hofstede’s insights it is seen that there is a low score in masculinity in Costa Rica. For the Dutch the need for achievement is low as they are a feminine society (Hofstede Insights, 2021). In a feminine society the managers strive for consensus and the managers value equality, solidarity and the quality of how their employees see their every day work. These values are in line with the Costa Rican view of working, which shows that they have a good fit on this dimension (Hofstede Insights, 2021). The best solution here was showing respect and supporting this company in achieving their goals.

Student Authors

Maxime van der Linden (LinkedIn)
Amsterdam school of International Business, Amsterdam University of Applied Science The Netherlands
Block 4, Semester 2, 2021

Justin Stuijt (LinkedIn)
Faculty of Finance and Economics, Amsterdam University of Applied Science, The Netherlands
Block 4, Semester 2, 2021

Max Hinlopen (LinkedIn)
Faculty of Finance and Economics Amsterdam University of Applied Science, The Netherlands
Block 4, Semester 2, 2021