Managing Cross-Cultural Conflicts in Sino-Foreign Joint Venture: Insights from SAIC General Motors Corporation

As international cooperation intensifies, cultural conflicts have emerged as a key challenge in the joint ventures. This paper offers an understanding on managing cross-cultural conflicts from the perspective of Sino-foreign joint venture. Using a case study approach in Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and General Motors Corporation in China, analyzing intercultural tensions between Chinese and foreign staff. The findings reveal that conflicts commonly stem from decision making, management process, and reward system. These conflicts are caused by the differences of national cultural background and management philosophy. Effective resolution involves declaration of corporate development goal, enforcement of institution management, and improvement of compensation and reward mechanism. This study contributes to the knowledge of cross-cultural management in joint ventures and provides practical insights for multinational managers to build collaborative culture in the global business contexts.