Open Access Article Cultural Studies Intercultural Communication

“The Chinese Will Not Change; We Have To Change” Adjustment of the Finns to the Chinese in a Chinese Investment Facilitation Context

Santa Stopniece (1)
1. University of Jyväskylä, Finland
https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v17i2.742

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Issue
Vol. 17 No. 2 (2017)
Submitted
2015 October 12
Published
2017 July 10
Keywords:
    Chinese investments, Finland, cultural adjustment, power, positioning, intercultural communication, rising China
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Abstract

This paper explores the intercultural communication, cultural adjustment strategies and power relations between Finnish and Chinese representatives in the context of Chinese investment facilitation in Finland. The study is mostly based on interviews of individuals who work either for one of Finland’s state agencies tasked with attracting investment or local government. When analyzing aspects of power, the paper’s theoretical basis is the Positioning Theory of Harré (1991). Due to the phenomenon of ‘rising China’, the dominant discursive practice of the Finnish positioning is adaption to a communication and working style seen as typically Chinese. The results show the main aspects of Chinese culture, to which Finns see need of adjusting, are their distinct concepts of time, indirectness and overt hierarchy.

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Authors

Santa Stopniece
santastop@inbox.lv (Primary Contact)
Author Biography

Santa Stopniece

Santa Stopniece is a doctoral student of Intercultural Communication at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. She is originally from Latvia, but is also holding a Finnish citizenship. Her research interests focus on business communication in multicultural workplaces. Santa Stopniece began her doctoral studies with considerable working experience in Latvia and Finland, as well as academic background in Baltic Sea Region Studies. Her dissertation work extends her previous exposure to Chinese investment initiatives in the Baltic Sea region into more detailed examination of the intercultural communication in this context. She is currently based in Suzhou, China with her family.

Stopniece, S. (2017). “The Chinese Will Not Change; We Have To Change” Adjustment of the Finns to the Chinese in a Chinese Investment Facilitation Context. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 17(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v17i2.742
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Stopniece, S. (2017). “The Chinese Will Not Change; We Have To Change” Adjustment of the Finns to the Chinese in a Chinese Investment Facilitation Context. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 17(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v17i2.742

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