Internationalization of the company

Analysis of a nation's culture and its underlying values shows that it influences the image of both countries (France or Germany) and companies perceived as "French" or "German". In some cases, companies may decide to erase their origins (e.g. Essilor in the U.S. under its flagship brand Varilux) or, on the contrary, take advantage of them when France's image is positive, buoyant and rewarding: this is particularly true of the luxury goods, haute couture and gastronomy sectors, much more so, with a few exceptions, than of the high-tech sectors.

In addition to these strategic choices, which are based on what already exists (such and such an image of a particular country or company), it is essential that the various players - governments and companies alike - work on their image, combating stereotypes, for example, so as to build as positive an image as possible. This is what France and French companies need to do better, and more, by implementing influence strategies at both European and international level, both in political bodies (Brussels and the European Union, World Trade Organization – WTO) and in more technical bodies, such as European (CEN, Cenelec) or international (ISO) standardization bodies.

These actions encompass business intelligence, monitoring and lobbying, of course, and all require good negotiation skills: listening to others, being aware of cultural differences and wanting everyone to come out a winner, hence the name "negotiation raisonnée", also known as "win-win".

The principles of principled negotiation are presented, along with a number of negotiation techniques that vary from culture to culture. The Chinese case is studied in greater detail to highlight the pitfalls to be avoided.

The previous issue, [AG 2 235] , deals with human and cultural issues.