When entering into negotiations, we should always take into account cultural factors such as the educational or religious background of the person sitting across the table, but, says INSEAD professor Horacio Falcao, many people both underestimate and overestimate the cross-cultural aspects.

That’s something of a paradox, says Falcao, Affiliate Professor of Decision Sciences. In terms of underestimating cross-cultural factors, “People come to me normally and ask ‘how do I negotiate with the Chinese? And I would say which Chinese exactly do they want to talk to? Do you want to talk to the Chinese from Beijing or in Shanghai? The one who came from the countryside and moved to the city, or the one who was born and raised in the city?”