Cultural Factors in International Business Communication

Communication is one of the most important functions to master in order for any business to be successful in today's increasingly competitive markets, particularly for firms doing business internationally. Cultural factors have long been known to influence the communication and success potential of competition profitability is in part determined by its business communication strategies and skills.

However, top managers in companies working internationally sometimes neglect the significance of the invisible barriers cultural differences create in business communication culturally reflected international markets. It is broadly recognized that cultural factors act as invisible barriers in international business communications. Understanding cultural differences is one of the most significant skills for firms to develop in order to have a competitive advantage in international business.

Culture affects many aspects of international business communication. It impacts free trade policies, localization and standardization strategy decisions, advertising, brand effectiveness, business relationships, international business management, international marketing, international negotiation, and consumer behavior. If globalization is an inevitable process, then cross-acculturalization will also be inevitable. On the one hand, the world is becoming more homogeneous, and distinctions between national markets are fading and, for some products, disappearing altogether. This means that business communication is now a world-encompassing discipline. On the other hand, the cultural differences between nations, regions and ethnic groups, far from being extinguished, are becoming stronger

Acquiring the skills necessary to work with both domestic multicultural groups and in international areas is no longer an option but a necessity. There are few settings where cross-cultural communication does not play a significant role in daily interactions with the public and co-workers. Businesses, social service agencies, health care providers, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and a thousand other occupational settings are all under pressure to recognize and appreciate the role that cross-cultural communication plays in achieving their goals.

Whether it is creating smoothly working project teams; sensitively responding to customers, clients, and markets; or just living and working in a world where everyone has something to say, learning how to communicate cross-culturally is a crucial component that can promote those processes. Realizing that individuals from different cultures will express their thoughts in vastly different ways is a good start. So is developing an awareness of why hearing words alone is not sufficient to discern meaning.

Sometimes silence communicates far more than speech. Such things as touching, eye contact and other kinds of “body language” need to be observed and correctly interpreted because nonverbal communication carries important clues about the message the individual is trying to convey. In this rapidly changing world, where cultures and people circulate and interact at dizzying speeds, those people who know how to communicate effectively across cultures, in both personal and professional contexts, will have a crucial advantage over those who do not.