USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center
Abstract
It is generally accepted that the colossal Chinese market offers great opportunities for dynamic entrepreneurial businesses, as well as individuals, but it also means that there are more potential obstacles to be aware of and to overcome than in smaller countries. This study will show how successful businesses in the Chinese market are directly influenced by China’s unique culture, religious beliefs, codes of behavior and political policies. It will also show ignorance or unawareness of these influences can lead to a loss of business or even total failure.
Indeed, a lack of understanding of these influences has been the downfall for some otherwise successful global international companies.
To analyze this phenomenon, this research will investigate the extent to which Chinese culture and practices such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism define the nature of business relationships. Similarly, it will reveal the undeniable influence of the Maoist-inherited Chinese political system on the destiny of businesses in China. Along with secondary academic resources on business practices in China, this essay includes news, reports, questionnaires, and real-life cases. In carefully examining companies like Uber, Coca Cola, Tencent, Didi, BestBuy Google, and eBay, this research suggests that there is a close correlation between adapting to Chinese cultural values and political systems and the fate of a business