Generally speaking, Chinese business culture does not act as an obstacle to enter the Chinese market. In the collectivist society, we can find that group decision-making is epitomized by the government. In other words, collectivistic cultures have a great emphasize on groups. For example, Chinese people share the same identity and look after each other in exchange for loyalty and harmony. 33 In this case, Chinese consumers always choose certain products because they have previously been satisfied by them. Furthermore, Chinese consumers consider it waste the time and effort to choose other brands. The key for understanding Chinese social behavioural patterns is Confucianism. Liu Shu xian (2000) has stated some meanings of some key Confucian values in modern society such as the Knowledge for Oneself and Benevolence, Righteousness, Ritual Propriety, Wisdom and Honesty.(33) Thus, this Confucian approach should be considered as the cornerstone of all business issues and thinking. In China, prestige and status are important factors for people negotiation. Chinese are also very conscious of age and social status. Everyone has a particular place in the family unit and business organization. At the same time, saving face is very crucial in Chinese society. People could try to do everything to save face. In another word, they do not criticize publicly or put people on-the-spot. Because personal relationship deeply embeds into every Chinese’s ethic, FDI from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore may utilize the cultural ties to solve the institutional barriers.
As a summary, it is useful to be introduced or recommended by consumer who already has a good impression with the products. In order to establish business successfully on the Chinese market, the theories explained about cultural differences, Chinese traditional culture and customer behavior are all aspects that multinational corporations should be taken into account. Hence, in order to test these theories, it is feasible to analyze our case study by examining the marketing tools (the 4Ps). The following part presents the characteristics of Chinese furniture industry
