Book Review

Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China

The Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China is similar to One Billion Customers in that it is a business handbook on how to succeed in China. However, in comparison to One Billion Customers, the Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China relies much less on stereotypes and it is a more scholarly read. There are eight entries, including one fictional case study, that describe in detail the intricacies of doing business in China. The entries explain what methods work in the developing economy of China and some of the methods that will ultimately fail. The entries cover Chinese negotiation style to the proper entry mode into doing business in China.

The Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China begins with the description of the evolution of China’s market economy and the tremendous growth since 1979. In that same chapter, the authors describe the opportunities and risks for multinational companies doing business in China. There is a chapter dedicated to short-term results indicating how well a business will do over the long haul. The chapter that is a fictional case study offers advice from four experts on how to increase and maintain profits in China. All of the chapters include an executive summary and the opening chapter offers twenty questions to evaluate your China strategy and operations.

The purpose of the Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China is to inform practitioners (managers, professionals, and multinational companies) on effective Chinese business practices. In fact, the back cover states that the Harvard Business Review series targets managers and professionals so they have the necessary information to remain competitive in their endeavors. I agree with this objective because I believe managers and professionals will gain valuable insight for their respective companies if they choose to read this book.

The strengths of the Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China lie in the authors’ experiences and their writing abilities. The authors made their writing accessible and were explicit in their instructions on how to succeed in the Chinese business environment. Additionally, the authors present many statistics and graphs to support their recommendations and observations and this made me feel confident in their words. The chapter on Chinese negotiation style was my favorite because it outlined in detail the Chinese way of negotiation. This chapter includes a comparison of western negotiation style and the keys to successful negotiation between a westerner and a person of Chinese descent. Last, I really appreciated the insight into joint ventures that several of the authors put forth.

One weakness in the book deserves attention. Three of the chapters come from the nineties and in fact, one chapter is from as far back as 1994. I think this undermines the validity of the book to some degree because some of the information is out of date. For example, the chapter from 1994 states that KFC is returning to the market on a small scale in Hong Kong after the decline of its early business success. However, according to the most recent information, KFC is doing well in Hong Kong with fifty-two restaurants there.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China and I would recommend this book to my friends and colleagues. However, I would make sure to point out the weakness mentioned in the prior paragraph. Like One Billion Customers, I found this book to be more relevant to the study tour than The World is Flat.