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An interpretive examination of the development of cultural sensitivity in international business

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Abstract

Cultural sensitivity is assumed to be important in international business, yet little empirical work explores how cultural sensitivity actually develops. In-depth interviews with buyers from the Asian Pacific Rim were conducted, and support was found for a four-stage model of cross-cultural sensitivity in which buyers move through the stages of romantic sojourner, foreign worker, skilled worker, and partner. This paper explores the development and evolution of cultural sensitivity as it interacts with trust and development of international business relationships.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is based on the first author's doctoral thesis under supervision of the second author. We thank the three anonymous JIBS reviewers and the Department Editor, Professor Güliz Ger, for their insightful and constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business and Technology, Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, OK, USA

    Jon M Shapiro

  2. R. B. Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Julie L Ozanne & Bige Saatcioglu

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  1. Jon M Shapiro
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  2. Julie L Ozanne
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  3. Bige Saatcioglu
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Correspondence to Jon M Shapiro.

Additional information

Accepted by Guliz Ger, Departmental Editor and Arie Y Lewin, Editor-in-Chief, 16 April 2007. This paper has been with the authors for two revisions.

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Shapiro, J., Ozanne, J. & Saatcioglu, B. An interpretive examination of the development of cultural sensitivity in international business. J Int Bus Stud 39, 71–87 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400327

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400327

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