Negotiating with Managers from South Asia: India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh

Owing to the importance of South Asia in the global business world and its unique culture, South Asian negotiation styles are discussed in this chapter in light of the historical roots, cultural dimensions, and contemporary development of this region. Four countries—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka—dominate the South Asian economy. As Pakistan is discussed in another chapter of this book, here, in presenting South Asian negotiation styles, this chapter focuses on India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The content of this chapter provides a snapshot of the cultural roots of these three countries, highlighting their commonalities as former British colonies. A cultural analysis of these countries is presented in the context of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. This analysis reveals some interesting similarities and contrasts. Subsequently, the strengths and weaknesses of each country in the negotiation process are discussed, drawing upon empirical and historical facts. This paves the way for recommending best practices for negotiating with managers from each country. The broad conclusion that can be reached based on the findings presented in this chapter is that, despite cultural diversity, people from South Asian countries share many commonalities. These include strong group orientation, preference for creating and maintaining relationships in order to support negotiations, prolonged negotiations, and implicit, indirect communication style. In light of these common traits, we provide some broad suggestions for strategies to employ when negotiating in the region.