International Trade
Issue No. 60 - August/ /
Partner with parantara in Indonesia
by Nathan Gray
Finding a good agent is critical to navigating your way to business success in Indonesia.
Indonesia is an emerging Asian market which is attracting increasing investment from Australian and other western companies.
While Indonesia and its business environment can be confusing, daunting and challenging, in many cases this is due to a lack of understanding of Indonesian management behaviours that influence business relationships.
To succeed in this emerging Asian market, Australian companies need to develop knowledge and awareness of the Indonesian business culture in much the same way as Australian companies have succeeded in China now that there is a growing understanding of the Chinese business culture and etiquette.
The latest research from UniSA has identified the use of third party agents as one of the important Indonesian management practices that influence business.
Third party agents are referred to in Javanese (an Indonesian dialect in common use among business and government elite) as Parantara or “the bridge”. The agent acts as a conduit between the negotiating parties in face-to-face negotiations, where issues of conflict can be raised without disrupting the harmony of the negotiation.
Maintaining harmonious rela...
