摘要
憑借龐大的人口和日益開放的國際商業交易的方法，中國一直被譽為西方的商業機遇的土地。“企業成功的關鍵是什么？“ 為了解決這個問題，通過調查與中國貿易的關鍵成功因素，根據新西蘭組織與中國的交易調查結果。揭示了微觀經營的重點（例如談判策略，商務禮儀）。簡單的問題包括需要了解在中國投放的廣告，對中國語言有相當的知識。重要性和知識得分之間的相關性表明，文化方面的問題被那些熟悉貿易關系的中介機構視為不太重要的。規模較大的公司也比小企業更明白談判策略的重要性。
 
引言
中國擁有世界近五分之一的人口和增長速度最快的經濟，代表了一個西方企業不能忽視的市場（Ambler 1995；嚴，1994）。在過去的十年里，在中國商務外商投資已經從500萬美元增長到4億美元以上（Wong和馬赫，1997）。事實上，北美的通用汽車公司，在上海最近剛宣布了投資13億美元的的龐大計劃用于制造生產汽車（美國有線電視新聞網國際，1997）。盡管一些外國投資者擁有巨大的成功，但許多西方企業投資資本進入中國企業卻遭受的挫折，甚至失敗。這可以歸結于西方企業的管理風格對中國市場的應用失敗（Ng and Tidwell ，1995）。因此，“沒有其他市場（比中國市場）更為誘人的或困難的”（康利，1996，p. 16）。
 
 
Abstract 摘要
With its large population and increasingly open approach to foreign business dealings, China has been heralded as a land of opportunity for Western business. “What are the keys to business success?” Addresses this issue by Investigating key success factors for trade with China. Presents results from a survey of New Zealand organisations trading with China. Top-ranking issues reveal a micro-business focus (e.g. negotiation strategy, business etiquette). Low-ranking issues include the need to understand advertising in China, and to have an intensive knowledge of the Chinese language. Correlations between importance and knowledge scores suggest that cultural issues are perceived as less important by those with a high degree of knowledge concerning trade relation intermediaries. Larger firms are also found to rate an understanding of negotiation strategy as more important than small firms.
Article Type:Research paper
Keyword(s):International marketing; International trade; Marketing strategy; Success; China; New Zealand.

Introduction 簡介
China, with nearly one-fifth of the world’s population and one of the fastest rates of economic growth, represents a market that Western businesses can no longer ignore (Ambler 1995; Yan, 1994). In the last ten years foreign investment in China has increased from $5 million to over $400 million (Wong and Maher, 1997). In fact, the North American company General Motors, recently announced plans for a $1.3 billion manufact- uring complex in Shanghai, China ($US) to produce automobiles (CNN International, 1997). Yet despite the obvious success of a number of foreign investors, many Western business firms which have invested their capital into Chinese businesses have suffered drawbacks or even failure. This lack of success has been attributed to the application of Western business management styles to the Chinese market (e.g. Ng and Tidwell, 1995). Consequently, “no other market is considered more appetising or difficult” (Conley, 1996, p. 16).#p#分頁標題#e#

Eastern and Western business practices differ in many ways. It has been suggested that doing business in China is like looking at a mirror image. What are considered “normal” Western business practices are conducted in an inverse way and, as if reflected in a mirror it is “often difficult to distinguish the shadows from reality” (Ambler, 1995, p. 24). Because people are used to applying their own cultural values to judge those from a different culture, cultural conflicts and misunderstandings occur regularly when business East meets business West. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the critical success factors necessary for successful business relationships in China.

Much advice is given in the literature for Western business managers who may be contemplating undertaking business in the East. Of the factors identified as being critical to the success of Western businesses in China, most are related to one of the following topics: cultural issues, business etiquette, language proficiency, politics, Chinese history, negotiation strategy, advertising and logistics.

Cultural issues 文化問題
A variety of researchers argue that an understanding of Chinese culture is fundamental to achieving business success in China (Ambler, 1995; Hsieh, 1994; Myers, 1987; Xing, 1995; Zhao, 1991). As stated by Osland (1990, p. 4) “The single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture”. Yet the observation has been made that Westerners generally lack understanding of Eastern culture (Hsieh, 1994). Chinese cultural values are largely formed from interpersonal relationships and social orientations and are influenced by Confucian ethics and philosophies (cf. Yau, 1988 for an overview). For example, the Chinese tend to focus on the goals of the collective rather than individual goals. This group orientation has influenced the way commerce is structured. In urban areas, employment is based on a “work-uni” (danwei) to which each person is allocated when they graduate from school. The work group holds power over member’s jobs, housing, social status, health care, marriages, family planning, children’s education, retirement benefits and other areas (Osland, 1990). Chinese do not want to stand out from the crowd. Thus it has been suggested that Western business practices, such as personnel incentives, do not work (Myers, 1987). It is also important that Westerners intending to do business in China seek to gain membership into appropriate groups and do not ask individuals to act independently of the group (Engholm, 1991).
 
Business etiquette 商務禮儀

Another potential key success factor, etiquette, dictates how people of differing or similar status, relate to one another. Engholm (1991) suggests that Westerners should be aware that the non-observance of propriety in China can cause discord and discomfort, as it perceived as a threat to the collective, and this can have negative ramifications for business dealings. Hence, observing rules of business practice and protocol has been offered as a source of comparative advantage over competition who ignore them (Engholm, 1991). This means participating in traditional greeting rituals, dining and drinking etiquette, gift giving and ceremonial events (Osland, 1990). Equally, Western executives working in China should be aware that off-duty behaviour is as much a part of etiquette and protocol as being in a formal business meeting (Yau, 1988).#p#分頁標題#e#

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