This thesis studies some of the major factors affecting relationship development between
Vietnamese and North American business people, including: the different status of
foreigners, the economic needs of the Vietnamese, the unsettled environment, the different
conception of working relationships and the importance of face. The focus of the empirical
research is the relationship development between Vietnamese and North American
negotiators. A review of the Vietnamese culture and the pertinent literature led to the
formulation and thesis of three hypotheses with respect to: the most important issue for the
Vietnamese negotiator, the type of relationship wanted by the Vietnamese negotiator, and
the impact of status differential on the relationship. Two principal research methods were
used to test these hypotheses. First, a questionnaire was distributed to business people
attending business classes at the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Second, a series of interviews was conducted with Vietnamese and North American
business people living and working in Vietnam.
The findings confirm that the Vietnamese emphasize the development of good working
relationships with their negotiating counterparts. It should be noted, however, that the
concept of a good working relationship is conceived differently than in North America. The
second hypothesis is partially supported by the data; the Vietnamese negotiators seem to
attach more importance to the evaluation of the trust of their partners, rather than to
competitive or cooperative objectives. This is because the Vietnamese negotiators want to
make sure they will not be in a situation in which they might lose face. This appears to be
the main relationship objective of the Vietnamese negotiators. No conclusive evidence has been found to endorse the third hypothesis. Although status differential affects the
behavior of Vietnamese negotiators, it does not affect the way they develop relationships
with their North American partners. Possibly, the special status of North American
business people, and the similar basis of all business interactions, have led the
Vietnamese to have specific relationship objectives when negotiating with North
Americans, whatever their status might be. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/4359 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Chanay-Savoyen, Frederic |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 10663963 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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