cross cultural cues a rich roundtable discussion ... rich roundtable . discussion highlights the...

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE | SPRING • 2016

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A Rich Roundtable Discussion Highlights

the Importance of Cultural Nuances in

Cross-Border Alliances

Cross-Cultural Cues

By Cynthia B. Hanson

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SPRING • 2016 | STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE

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By Cynthia B. Hanson

In the early 1990s, my husband and I ventured into China with a mystery letter hidden in a backpack. The Ti-ananmen Square massacre was still a dark cloud in the minds of

many young Chinese, emerging democracy was under fire, and fulfilling a request from a friend of a

friend to deliver the letter to a sweetheart in Kunming was proving more futile than I had expected.

We had traveled by plane, boat, and train to arrive at a designated time and spot. We had two days to deliv-er the letter before departing for Yunnan Province in western China by bus. Disappointed after two hours of waiting, we headed back to our cheap hotel only to return the following day to the Green Lake Hotel and station ourselves near an “English corner” where young Chinese students practiced their English by parroting the BBC in British accents.

A young woman eventually strode up, introduced her-self, and we strolled down the sidewalk as two men in Mao suits joined us from the shadows, following close-ly on our backs. Ducking into a restaurant, we shook them and settled into conversation and a meal. I began unzipping my backpack, but she signaled me to stop. The crowded restaurant had too many eyes. It wasn’t until we walked back to our hotel that she finally made

her move, directing us to follow her into a dark garden. There, amidst the flowering trees, we passed the letter and made plans to meet again the following day at the bus station for a return envelope. It was the last time we ever saw Ms. Li.

Returning to the United States, I met with an editor who asked about our trip. He divulged that he had been qui-etly working with the US Chinese Consulate to obtain visas for Ms. Li and her toddler daughter, who I even-tually learned had a medical condition that required Western care. This was not a love letter from an Amer-ican man to a Chinese woman. The letter was full of code so the visas could secretly be obtained and quietly issued. In the simple act of faith delivering a letter at the bequest of a friend’s friend, we perhaps had helped save the life of a child.

Understanding Cultural Nuances

Nearly 25 years later, the memory of Ms. Li (not her real name) and her child reemerged as I sat at a two-hour cultural roundtable session (a new program feature) taking notes at the 2016 ASAP Global Alliance Sum-mit, “Partnering Everywhere: Expert Leadership for the Ecosystem,” at the Gaylord National Resort & Con-vention Center, National Harbor, Maryland. Andrew Yeomans, CSAP, director of alliance management, bio-

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pharma business, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, who has spent 23 years in the pharmaceuticals industry, was emphasizing the importance of becoming educat-ed as an alliance manager in the cultural nuances of China. During a break in the animated conversation circulating our table, I shared my experience with the eclectic group of medical device representatives, a ship builder, a software manager, and other industry representatives.

Yeomans’ Chinese partner, Jin Wu, who works for the company in China, quickly responded to my account of our experience. China has undergone dramatic changes over the last quarter century, he said. Nearly every Chinese resident can now obtain a visa and travel to receive Western medical care that is not available in China, he added. No more men in Mao suits, no more secret codes and letters. Blocked inroads have opened, new roads have been painstakingly forged, and the potential for business is enormous—if you respect the culture, understand the government, and properly as-sess the benefits and pitfalls, he summarized.

Moments earlier, Philip Sack, CSAP, president of ASAP’s Asia Collaborative Business Community, had just introduced us to this new, dynamic ASAP Summit session “Alliances Around the World: Cultural Round-tables.” Participants had broken into three groups for intensive learning sessions about a region of their choosing led by three knowledgeable and seasoned alliance managers: China was covered by Andrew Yeomans; India by Subhojit Roye, CSAP of Tradeshift; Latin America by Guarino Gentil Jr., CA-AM of Sero-no, a healthcare division of Merck.

Sack posed a key question for the audience members to digest before they broke into the roundtable sessions: “What is needed culturally for success?” he asked. Ac-tive listening, communication and being a good speaker, and patience, he replied. These standards are essential

for digging inroads, sometimes shovelful by shovelful, in every country to open up revenue channels for any product, he implied.

It has become increasingly important for alliance man-agers to explore cultural intricacies and roadblocks when entering international markets. Similar questions emerged in all three regional sessions, such as: When should a company forge ahead full steam, idle, or aban-don ship in new and sometimes choppy waters? How can alliance managers develop sound legal frameworks and partnering plans with cultural differences in mind? How can alliance managers negotiate an unfamiliar sea of government restrictions, policies, and protocols—or

“What is needed culturally for success? Active listening, communication and being a good speaker, and patience.” Philip Sack, CSAP, president of ASAP’s Asia Collaborative Business Community

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lack thereof, in countries that shortchange oversight and accountability?

Roundtable Goals and ASAP’s Expansive View

The new cultural roundtables are designed to address questions and concerns during peer-to-peer exchang-es as well as instructional learning from facilitators and co-presenters. It’s all part of ASAP’s efforts to in-clude more globally oriented programming that better prepares alliance managers for global markets. Another fascinating session, “Going Global: When the Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts,” led by John-Marc Clark, CA-AM, managing director, strategic systems in-tegrator development for Citrix Systems, Inc., provided a window into Citrix as the “highest revenue-generating partnership in the world” in part because of its alliance with Fujitsu of Japan. Clark’s insights resonated with the audience because of his sensitivity to highly complex cultural issues and respect for cultural differences while building a multi-modal global communications frame-work.

With the expanding influence of the Internet of Things, physical and virtual borders worldwide continue to dis-solve. Cultures are merging and borrowing from each other, sometimes resulting in clashes that dash business

opportunities. Yeomans believes the key attributes one needs to stick to for strategic success in China are to:

Additionally, alliance managers increasingly need to do their homework when partnering in global markets, es-pecially in preparation of the first meeting. He advises:

n Be punctual.

n Be sensitive to cultural aspects, such as special holidays and times of the year.

n Be prepared in advance of meetings, with bilingual language materials.

n Be attentive to their needs in the meeting process.

Yeomans cited statistics from various sources that indi-cate just how fast the Chinese market is maturing. There were 18,500 drugs awaiting approval in China at the end of 2014. It’s the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world, and it’s expected to be approximately $185 billion by 2018. China’s market will be on par with the US market by 2030.

“Look to be in a partnership for the long term, and among other things, consider technological advances in the country, the legal framework, and opportunities and

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n Only make promises you are prepared to keep.

n Be inclusive—the Chinese are not exclusive, they want to understand outside cultures.

n Build new initiatives together.



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challenges of getting into col-laborative mode,” he suggested. “China is a very deep and cul-turally rich part of our planet. China has found a way to come to the table and accommodate itself in existing structures.”

There is a harmonious sense of innovation that occurs in good partnering called “the sweet spot” or guanxi. The guanxi network refers to the thousands and thousands of Chinese companies interlinked in a social and busi-ness web. “To be bolted together, guanxi is the glue. Close connections between government and business improve success,” he added. “It’s akin to Yin and Yang philosophy, where traditional Chinese treatments are complementary to scientifically sourced medicines.”

The co-presenters rotated throughout the room to share regional knowledge, partnering experience, insights, and advice at three different roundtables. Par-ticipants were encouraged to bring their questions and

experiences traveling “around the world,” resulting in fascinating exchanges and insights.

One participant asked a question about traditional Chinese medicine and farming. Another asked a legal question about Chinese knock-off drugs undermining company profits after a company has invested significant-ly in bringing the drug to market in the region. Questions about market access and the Robin Hood approach of distributing to the masses came to the table. A question arose about safety and the milk formula scandal, another about whether Chinese companies value contracts to the same degree as companies in Europe or the United States.

The list of questions was so long and wide—and the corresponding dialogue so valuable—that this story can only touch upon the depth of the session. The cultur-al roundtables provided rich fodder for this and future articles—and seem sure to become a regular program element at future ASAP conferences. Stay tuned for additional insights and highlights from the other two roundtable sessions as the ASAP Media team continues to mine the treasure-trove of actionable content, peer-to-peer sharing, and uncommon insights that came out of the March 2016 Summit. n

“Look to be in a partnership for the long term, and among other things, consider technological advances in the country, the legal framework, and opportunities and challenges of getting into collaborative mode.”Andrew Yeomans, CSAP, director of alliance management, biopharma business, Merck KGaA

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China is the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world with 18,500 drugs awaiting approval.


cross cultural cues a rich roundtable discussion ... rich roundtable . discussion highlights the...

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