What Are the Cultural Factors/Dimensions Which You Should Take into Consideration When You Do Business in Spain?
Spain’s culture is founded on a variety of influences of history that is built on culture. Ancient societies such as Greeks, Phoenicians, and even Carthaginians have some influences on this culture.
Relationship oriented is one of Spanish culture which one take into consideration while doing business in Spain (Psomas, Evangelos & Carmen Jaca, 2016). Personal relationship plays a great role in the business culture of Spanish. Third-party should be well known as Spaniards, prefer working with individuals they trust and they well. It is also advisable that individuals doing business should meet face-to-face since they create a good rapport between them. Most Spaniards eagerly know you and aids in asking many questions about your personal life and family. Sometimes it’s better to keep a steady contact with business associates with Spanish since this shows that you have an interest and great thoughtfulness with their business relationship. One is supposed to be transparent and also talkative since this enhances to deepen your relationship.
Regional differences also play a great vital role in Spanish culture. This is because the uniqueness of the regions influences the locale’s behavior. Language variety is an indicator of this diversity. Castilian is the official tongue in Spain (Caballo,.et al). Today, Spain has seventeen regions which have their flags, law, and even capital. Each region’s responsibilities vary, and some aids in collecting their taxes while those others differ from Madrid just in their name. Spaniards are always very proud and aware of their region’s heritage. They are distinguishing in their behavior because of their regional differences, and therefore they should be considered when undertaking businesses in Spain.
Religion is another vital feature that aids in shaping cultural morals, mostly in the day-to-day conduct of people in the community. Today, ninety-nine percent of most of the Spaniards are Catholic Romans (Caballo,.et al). But the surveys conducted prove that the dominance of the church of catholic is diminishing. From 1965 to 1983, the survey says that Spaniards’ percentage following the catholic roman religion fell from eighty-three to thirty-one. Also, catholic moral standards such as marriages of priests, contraceptives, prohibition, and divorces are not supported by a huge majority. The roles of the church should not be underestimated even though its influence is diminishing. Everybody in Spain aids in following churches’ customs and half of them with a club and the other half with a candle.
What Are the Differences in Conducting Business in Spain And The U.S.?
Business meetings in Spain are different in the united (König,. et al.). Spaniards have been considered to be very busy people because cancelation or postponement of deadlines is not rare. In Spain, first impressions are vital, and every talk starts with a handshake and giving each other courtesy titles such as Mr. or Mrs. During a business meeting its always vital to adequately think or talk about information concerning your company, and also not to brag a lot about the accomplishment of the business. Gifts are normally given according to the Spanish culture at the end of every effective negotiation, not yet an obligation.
In business, Spain is the least risk-takers in Europe (Dinh,. et al.). Companies in Spain often encounters with I.P. issues. Public authorities and their government, which is slow, infrequently aid in helping. In Europe, the government takes an average of 25 days in paying their bills, unlike in Spain, which takes an average of 66 days in payment of their bill, meaning that their government is very slow. Such procedures are slowly making it very hard for startups to pay monthly expenses and make it harder to scale up. Language is also a real barrier for entrepreneurs who are foreigners (König,. et al.). Over 60 percent of the Spanish population has difficulties in speaking and even writing English. The remaining 40 percent left, just 28 percent can manage in holding a conversation, and only a few Spanish people can speak English well. Bilingual people who are majority can only be found in Madrid and Barcelona while the rest of the Spanish people primarily remain Spanish.
Business Casual is another difference in holding the business in Spain and the U.S. Normally, Spanish culture is always much relaxed than in the united states (Dinh .et al). In Madrid, individuals dress more fashionable but tremendously casually. It’s inspirational to see a community that believes that individuals can still perform their duties and jobs even if they are wearing jeans. Basically, in Madrid, teachers wear sneakers and jeans every day. This means there is no dress code at most Madrid businesses, while in the United States, they are very strict on stress code.
In conclusion, from a business point of view, Spanish culture is different from that of Americans. Getting adapted to the Spanish culture is normally critical to maintain or start a solid relationship. If a strategic approach is undertaken, there will be a successful collaboration between Spanish firms and international firms.
References
Caballo, Vicente E., et al. “Psychometric properties of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale in a large cross-cultural Spanish and Portuguese speaking sample.” Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry 41.2 (2019): 122-130.
https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1516-44462019000200005&script=sci_arttext
Dinh, Eric, et al. “CANADA, SPAIN, AND THE USA: ETHICS & CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN CUSTOMER SERVICE.” Allied Academies International Conference. Academy for Studies in International Business. Proceedings. Vol. 17. No. 1. Jordan Whitney Enterprises, Inc, 2017. http://search.proquest.com/openview/c4756372fb75a7ac5c9ecba8343bf869/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=38770
König, Cornelius J., et al. “A comparison of business meeting practices in Germany and Spain.” Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO) 51.3 (2020): 353-362. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11612-020-00531-z
Psomas, Evangelos L., and Carmen Jaca. “The impact of total quality management on service company performance: evidence from Spain.” International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management (2016).
https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1516-44462019000200005&script=sci_arttext