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Dos and don’ts in Taiwan
Food is an integral part of a country’s culture – this is even more applicable in Taiwan where it is common to have four to six meals per day.
- “Have you eaten?” is a common way to greet someone. You’re not expected to reply truthfully. A simple yes is sufficient, no matter the reality.
- The exchange of gifts is very popular in a business context (just like everywhere in Asia). Food is a gift that is greatly appreciated, except if you are invited for a meal at your host’s house. In that case, don’t forget to remove your shoes at the doorway (just like in Japan).
- It is very important to excessively compliment the food when one is invited, and try to serve yourself at least a little bit of everything.
- You are permitted to raise your bowl to your mouth. You must refrain however, from taking something out of your mouth (for example a bone) and placing it on your plate. It whether needs to be put on a plate that is assigned for that or directly on the table.
- Never refuse when you are offered tea, and always participate when there is a toast.
- Conversations are important for your partner to get to know you personally so that he can trust you. Food is a subject that you can discuss, as well as sport, art and culture. Taiwan is particularly renowned for being rich in artwork and cinema productions. Political topics are to be avoided.
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Similar Heritage, Different Cultures
East-West cultural differences are not the only things that you need to take into account. Although the Chinese, Taiwanese and Cantonese mostly originate from the same Han roots and many share the same language, religion, ethnic traditions and dynamic culture, there are a number of differences between these groups. For example, the Taiwanese passion for baseball, for which the mainland Chinese people are not very keen, results from the influence of the Japanese colonisation that lasted for half a century.
Chu and Chan (2008) have looked into the differences between Taiwanese, Cantonese and Chinese consumers. Among others, they have discovered that the Taiwanese respond much less to promotions that aren’t based on price, unlike the two other groups. They also noted that the factors that positively influence consumers when faced with the image of a company differed from one group to another. Brand names, product packaging, labelling and how easy the product is to purchase are the factors that the Taiwanese consider the most, while Cantonese put more attention on the availability of the goods and product presentation (display shelves, window displays, etc.).
In a world where few communication barriers remain, culture is more and more subject to various influences. What characterises a nation today may not be the case for future generations.
Sources : CHU, K-M et CHANG, H-C (2008). “Cross-cultural Consumer Behavior of General Merchandise for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, Taiwan”, The Business Review, Cambridge , Vol. 11 , No. 1
TAO, S-P (2003). “Life Style and Consumers in Taiwan and the United States; A cross cultural comparison of Activities, Interests and Opinions (AIOs)”, Thesis, University of Minnesota.
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Cultural differences and the implication on marketing
The cultural gap that separates the East and the West is profound. As consumer behaviour is strongly influenced by culture, international advertisers face big challenges when developing their communication strategy. Some researchers have studied the difference between American and Taiwanese consumers towards advertising. For example, as elsewhere in Asia, Taiwanese society has been strongly influenced by Confucianism, it is thus always dominated by men on the whole. This variable has an impact on the way that advertisers can promote their product. For instance, Tao (2003) explains in his thesis how an advertisement that promotes a cosmetic product focusing on the importance of having young-looking skin to please one’s spouse has a lot more chances of success in Taiwan than in North America. Another of his findings is that the Taiwanese tend to boycott a product mentioned during a TV show that they don’t like, or because they don’t like the advertisement. This is why it is important to be particularly prudent when engaging in media planning.
Sources : CHU, K-M et CHANG, H-C (2008). “Cross-cultural Consumer Behavior of General Merchandise for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, Taiwan”, The Business Review, Cambridge , Vol. 11 , No. 1
TAO, S-P (2003). “Life Style and Consumers in Taiwan and the United States; A cross cultural comparison of Activities, Interests and Opinions (AIOs)”, Thesis, University of Minnesota.
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Bilateral Relations
With trade reaching CAD$5.5 billion in 2008, Taiwan is Canada’s fourth largest trade partner in Asia: Canada imported goods worth almost CAD$4 billion while exports amounted to CAD$1.5 billion.
Taiwanese investment in Canada increased by 25% in 2007 reaching CAD$114 million, while Canadian investment in Taiwan increased by 40% in 2006, reaching CAD$136 million.
Despite having no diplomatic relations, Canadian-Taiwanese relations are dynamic and are not limited to trade relations. For instance, the partnership between the NRC and the National Science Council of Taiwan is one of the most important R&D bilateral relations outside North America. Partnership agreement between Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC) and Taiwanese universities, and that of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Taiwanese Ministry of Agriculture that promote exchange in the field of agricultural science are only a few other examples of Canadian-Taiwanese relations.
Source : http://www.canada.org.tw/taiwan/bilateral_relations_bilaterales/index.aspx?lang=fra
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The Taiwan Miracle
Considered to be very poor in the 1950s, Taiwan is now a symbol of prosperity in Asia. The speed of its growth has lead to it being nicknamed “the economic miracle of Taiwan”.
SMEs are the pillars of its economy as one in seven Taiwanese owns a company. Indeed, they represent 97.6% of all companies and generate 77.12% of all employment.
In the last 40 years, Taiwan’s economic growth has been largely driven by foreign trade. Its exports are mostly (98%) industrial products, while initially it was principally agricultural products. For that matter, this sector now only generates 1.7% of GDP, while service industries contribute more than 73%.
Taiwan is recognized as a world leader in the ICT sector: 99% of server motherboards, 93% of cable modems, 87% of notebooks, 77% of LCD monitors and 70% of personal digital assistants (PDA) are made there (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise). Although most companies work on behalf of big international banners, they are promoting their own brand names more and more. Acer, ASUS, BenQ, Mitac and HTC are some of the most internationally recognized brands.
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ICT sector in Taiwan
Did you know that…?
In Taiwan, a notebook is made every 35 seconds, and a cell phone is made every 28 seconds.