Browning Haverford Meets Ningbo Prime Dental Care: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship?

Catherine Dreyer, leader of Browning Haverford’s implementation team for a new joint venture in China, faces a complex problem. How can she convince the Chinese GM that he must change his way of doing business to transform a successful domestic company into part of a multinational? Browning Haverford is a British company focused on personal hygiene products entering into a joint venture with Ningbo Prime Dental Care Corporation. This case illustrates key cross-cultural management and communication elements in Sino-European cooperation and negotiations, and also raises typical challenges posed by inadequate due diligence in the acquisition of or partnership with a Chinese company. The case is about the common pitfalls of quick deal-making and the complexities of the cross-cultural management issues that arise in such a transaction. This case is often used as the basis for a negotiation simulation that challenges students to adapt their communication style and strategy, and to develop their own viable recommendations for addressing a difficult situation. The case and negotiation simulation (see teaching note) can be used for graduate-level study, EMBAs, and executive programs. It provides an excellent teaching tool in a course on doing business in China, doing business with Europe, or cross-cultural negotiation.