By Priyan Khakhar and Jasmina Najjar
Transform how you approach international business negotiations with new findings that provide a novel contribution to the field. Discover how embracing diversity and inclusion through the biculturals on your team can drive your strategic growth and sustainable competitive advantage in the global marketplace, thanks to their unique gap-bridging and boundary-spanning abilities.
International business negotiations can be immensely challenging, but your efforts don’t have to be lost in translation. You can effectively unlock the many hidden powers of the biculturals on your team to navigate the choppy cross-cultural waters and better seal the deal. Biculturals are individuals who have internalised two or more cultures and they shouldn’t be confused with multiculturals, who accept cultural differences in society.1&2 Given the spike in migrants across the globe with people moving countries for brighter prospects, biculturals aren’t rare, so the chances of your already having some on your team are rather decent. In the article “Biculturals in international business negotiations: moving away from a single culture paradigm”, published in the Journal of Organizational Change Management, Priyan Khakhar, Hussain Gulzar Rammal, and Vijay Pereria3 study for the first time the role that biculturals play specifically in international business negotiations, sharing new findings. To uncover these findings, senior managers in Lebanon across diverse public and private sectors (from real estate to marketing consulting, food export and import, and NGOs) were interviewed. Their cultures spanned fusions from Lebanon, the UK, France, Australia, Canada, the USA, Armenia, and even Brazil. What makes this interesting is that, while Lebanon is not necessarily a multicultural society, it has high levels of biculturalism because of the people who left during the 1975-90 civil war but maintained ties with the country4&5 and the rich mix of religions, languages, and cultural influences from the East and West. Even Hofstede6 wanted to treat Lebanon differently from neighbouring countries while developing his famous cultural dimensions, but the data he received had already been merged with other Arab countries. All this not only made Lebanon an ideal place to focus exclusively on biculturals, it makes the findings about biculturals relevant to any country, and applicable to organisations and businesses in any sector. And these takeaways will change how you think about and approach your international business negotiations game with negotiators who have internalised more than one culture.
The General Positive Impact of Biculturals
Regardless of whether you’re a domestic or international firm, having bicultural employees can help your organisational efficiency. How? These team members may bring new perspectives and ideas, in addition to being able to support new hires who are migrants and expatriates in adapting to your business environment. If your firm has an entrepreneurial outlook, hiring biculturals raises your chances of success in cross-cultural settings, enhancing your competitiveness and performance. And if you’re a multinational enterprise (MNE), bicultural employees can assist you in traversing the bumpy roads of the contemporary socio-political global business scene. But what about international negotiations? A prime reason that negotiations fail at times is not understanding the national and unique ethnic cultural differences between the negotiators sitting at the table. To lessen this risk, firms should select negotiators who have a solid understanding of cultural issues.7 Biculturals fit this bill and can act as a bridge for communication between cultures.8 So, what’s the bottom line? Knowing how to manage the knowledge and skills of your bicultural team members is key.
Bridging the Gap in International Business Negotiations
Biculturals play a crucial role in bridging the gap between parties during negotiations and this is how they do it3:
Integrating Cultures for Results: Combining more than one culture and accordingly shifting identities, biculturals naturally adapt to the cultural requirements of the negotiations at hand. This “cultural blending” or “mixing” sparks social integration fuelled by adaptability and the keen ability to identify commonalities. This beneficial superpower helps create understanding and synergy between parties with different cultural backgrounds.
Tapping into the Potential of Multifaceted Adaptability: Imagine being able to effortlessly switch between two or three entirely different ways of thinking, cultural contexts, cultural frames, and perspectives. That’s the cognitive adaptability that biculturals boast. Developing general principles to decipher cultural cues, they can think strategically and, like a chameleon, adjust their approach based on the situation. Biculturals possess advantageous emotional adaptability, too, that’s like amplified cultural intelligence. They understand the hidden language of emotions linked to specific behaviours, allowing them to navigate tricky situations and build rapport across cultural divides. In a tense negotiation, biculturals can sense the emotional undercurrents, diffuse tension, and turn the tide with empathy and understanding. Their cultural intelligence, emotional flexibility, and high network range make them better at decision-making, bridging cultural gaps, and evaluating cultural fit, hence positioning them to play a pivotal role in international business negotiations.
Reducing the Blow of Cultural Shock: Culture shock can cause ripples in any international business negotiation. Trying to close a deal across a cultural chasm wider than the Grand Canyon is no easy task. Misunderstandings lurk, tension escalates, and the deal hangs precariously on a thread. Unlike negotiators who are monocultural (individuals who predominantly adhere to a single culture, tradition, or way of life), who might stumble on unfamiliar terrain, biculturals experience reduced cultural shock, thanks to their behavioural adaptability. They can choose appropriate behavioural strategies based on the cultural context, so they can effectively respond to others’ actions and intentions.
Engaging in Impactful Cultural Frame-Switching: Cultural frame-switching is like having many pairs of coloured glasses for different situations. When you switch between languages or cultures, your perspective changes and you perceive the world from a new angle. Biculturals display a high level of cultural frame-switching, especially since they can use more than one language to communicate effectively. This flexibility makes it easier for them to find common ground and connect with negotiators from different cultural backgrounds. Biculturals with higher cultural frame-switching skills are more likely to succeed in international business negotiations due to their ability to understand, deliver, and communicate effectively with other parties from different cultures, and distinguish between cultural norms, beliefs, values, and verbal and non-verbal behaviours. This makes them more prone to understanding, delivering and communicating with other parties from different cultures in pursuit of a desirable agreement or deal. The result? The creation of opportunity and better results.
Avoiding “Groupthink” and Generating New Ideas: Poor decision-making. Silencing dissenting voices. Lack of creativity and innovation. An unjustified sense of confidence. Ignoring external information. “Groupthink” comes with a tsunami of pitfalls. Luckily, biculturals can help to avoid the dreaded phenomenon and even generate new creative ideas and inject creativity that help overcome stalemates during negotiations. By bringing diverse perspectives and thinking styles to the table, they can facilitate innovative solutions and consensus-building.
Possessing Valuable Tacit Cultural Knowledge: Your organisation can strategically use biculturals’ tacit cultural knowledge to mitigate cross-cultural communication challenges and develop trust between the negotiating sides. This trust forms the basis for long-term relations and successful negotiations. This is further bolstered by biculturals’ tendency to try to connect with members of their in-group in the other party to build a rapport.
Playing the Key Role of Boundary-Spanners: In the intricate dance of international business, biculturals emerge as boundary-spanners, effortlessly moving between internal networks and external knowledge sources. They act as conduits, ensuring effective knowledge acquisition and application, propelling teams to unparalleled success. Think of it like this: an organisation operates within its own well-defined network, holding valuable internal knowledge (the “home turf”). Beyond its walls lie vast external information sources, each with their own cultural nuances (the “unfamiliar territory”). Biculturals possess the remarkable ability to explore both worlds simultaneously. They understand the internal language and dynamics, translating them seamlessly into the external context, and vice versa. This boundary-spanning prowess unlocks a treasure trove of knowledge, fostering innovation and strategic decision-making that transcends cultural barriers.
It’s Not All Rosy, but It’s Still Worth It
It’s worth noting that some authors argue9 that there are limitations to biculturals. These include biculturals experiencing a conflict between their cultural identities; their encountering bias or prejudice from colleagues or clients because of their mixed cultural background, which can impact their credibility and effectiveness in negotiations; or their struggling to fully grasp cultural nuances, integrate into organisational cultures, and communicate. They can also face strain from constantly having to adapt to different cultural expectations, potentially leading to stress and reduced performance in negotiations and organisational roles. But overall, the benefits of biculturals far outweigh the drawbacks, especially since they bring a wealth of unique strengths and advantages to international business negotiations and organisational performance3.
Beyond Borders…
Biculturals can be your secret weapon for international business negotiations, since they are more adept at dealing with diverse cultures, unlocking valuable knowledge, and driving innovation in comparison to monoculturals. This is something worth considering in human resource management and your organisation’s global success plans.
Beyond this, biculturals are an invaluable asset waiting to be unlocked, thanks to their unique mix of knowledge and abilities which empower organisations with a competitive advantage in international markets.3 Their rich social interactions and experiences ignite an entrepreneurial mindset that fosters creative solutions and innovation at your firm. Natural catalysts for the intrapreneurial edge many firms seek, biculturals’ distinct cultural understanding bridges gaps, promotes collaboration, and pushes results. Bringing merger magic to the big picture, biculturals offer their cultural intelligence during mergers, easing integration and lessening cultural divides. Acting as mentors for expats and repatriates, they can smooth transitions and maximise potential by alleviating the upheaval of culture shock.3 Investing in biculturals may open many doors for your organisation. So think beyond borders: think bicultural.
About the Authors
Dr. Priyan Khakhar is faculty lead of the International Business course at Northeastern University London and affiliate faculty with the International Business and Strategy Group at D’Amore-McKim School of Business in Boston, Massachusetts. His vast and eclectic international experience includes working at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris, the American University of Beirut, and the American University of Bulgaria. He has aPersonnel Reviewlso taught within the Strategy and International Business Division at the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester. His research includes impact publications such as in the International Business Review, Journal of Transnational Management, Critical Perspectives on International Business, and the Journal of Change Management to name a few.
Jasmina Najjar is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM), Chartered Marketer (CMktr), Fellow of Advanced HE (FHEA), academic, marketing and corporate communications consultant, and author. Before joining the American University of Sharjah, she taught at the American University of Beirut, impacting course-specific and programme-wide development as a course coordinator and programme coordinator, and was a journalist, editor-in-chief, and senior advertising creative with major pan-Arab accounts.
References
- Engelsberger, A., Cavanagh, J., Bartram, T. and Halvorsen, B. (2021), “Multicultural skills in open innovation: relational leadership enabling knowledge sourcing and sharing”, Personnel Review, Vol. Earlycite.
- Murdock, E. (2016), Multiculturalism, Identity and Difference: Experiences of Culture Contact, Palgrave Macmillan, London.
- Khakhar, P., Rammal, H. G., and Pereira, V. (2023). “Biculturals in international business negotiations: Moving away from the Single Culture Paradigm”. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 36(1), 180–94. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-04-2022-0110
- Ghosn, F. and Khoury, A. (2011), “Lebanon after the Civil War: Peace or the Illusion of Peace”, The Middle East Journal, Vol. 65 No. 3, pp. 381-97.
- Lischer, S. K. (2005), Dangerous Sanctuaries: Refugee Camps, Civil War, and the Dilemmas of Humanitarian Aid, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
- Hofstede, G. (1991), Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill, Berkshire, England.
- Kim, M.-S. and Hubbard, A. S. E. (2007), “Intercultural Communication in the Global Village: How to Understand ‘The Other'”, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 223-35.
- Thomas, D. C. and Brannen, M. Y. (2010), “Bicultural individuals and intercultural effectiveness”, European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management, Vol. 1 No. 4, pp. 315-33.
- Rudmin, F. W. (2003), “Critical history of the acculturation psychology of assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization”, Review of General Psychology, Vol. 7, pp. 3-37.
