By Michael Backman and Charlotte Butler. Published by Palgrave. 208 pages.
Most business books, like many of mine, sit on a shelf with a bookmark highlighting that the book wasn't worth reading past page 30. 'Big in Asia' is no different (other than having been read cover to cover for this review).
It opens with a description of a game called "tilt". The objective is for one team ("foreigners") to get to the other side of a board, while the other team ("locals") put obstacles in their way making it incredibly difficult to get to the other side. These obstacles are variously labelled 'red tape', 'government monopoly', 'arbitrary rules', 'guanxi', and 'special tax'. These obstacles are continually replenished. And the umpire may "be in the employ of the locals".
According to the authors, for non-Asian companies doing business in Asia is thus a war-like game. The opposition are Asian companies, partners and governments. They are duplicitous and out to get you. And the 'rules' are structured to their advantage. They are self-interested rather than partnership-oriented. So be wary. Check everything. Trust no one. And then you just might succeed. "Might" because, in Asia, what applies today might be totally different tomorrow.
That said, what do Backman and Butler tell us? For a non-Asian used to transparency, enforceable contracts and mutually beneficial relationships, doing business in Asia is a greater challenge than elsewhere because:
- Lack of transparency makes it difficult to understand and evaluate one's potential partners.
- Lack of information and intelligence makes it difficult to evaluate the potential of a specific market, and, formal statistics are often inaccurate.
- Lack of enforceable contracts makes it difficult to build proper business partnerships.
- Lack of an objective legal framework makes it difficult to plan your business or enforce contracts.
- Finally, a lack of long-term relationships, guanxi, makes it difficult to get advantageous, or even fair, treatment. Never mind actually setting up a business in the first place.
Big in Asia is divided into 25 strategies to overcome these difficulties.
They cover business and market intelligence, Asian family business culture, legal and accounting hurdles, HR management, mergers and acquisitions, government relationships and marketing. The strategies boil down to three principles: (a) do extensive homework on partners, suppliers and staff; (b) make sure you work with the most professional independent (i.e. international) research, law and auditing firms; and (c) be patient in developing long-term relationships with key people and influencers (put building these relations as a priority).
Backman and Butler's scope is too large which leads to huge Asia-wide generalisations; their lessons too obvious for any professional; and the book probably too late. Additionally there are not enough interesting case studies to make the book an interesting read.
As Big in Asia assumes stupidity from companies doing business in Asia, it takes on a lecturing and highly patronising tone. It would have been a better magazine article. Or possibly better as a lecture for International Business 101.
So if you're stupid, ill-prepared, ill-fated, boorish, illogically optimistic, totally insensitive to other cultures, and living in a world of ignorant bliss, or, at best, don't read papers and magazines and are more interested in talking to experienced Asian business people about Manchester United's - or Bayern Munich's, Ajax's, New York's - prospects than picking their brains on doing business here, then this is the book for you.
Gavin Heron is managing director at TBWA Shanghai.