Estonians’ views on Germans’ and Russians’ negotiation behavior: the entrepreneurial perspective

Abstract Our study explores how Estonians perceive Germans’ and Russians’ ne-gotiation behavior in the framework of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Negotiations are a means for entrepreneurial communication and as such they are influenced by the partners’ cultural backgrounds. Estonians were interviewed about their views on Germans’ and Russians’ behavior during negotiations. The results show that some perceptions are consis-tent with Hofstede’s findings, while there are differences as well. Our findings, along with other issues, bring up implications for entrepreneurs and three aspects are discussed. Limited experience and the perception of differences may lead to generation of stereotypes among entrepre-neurs. Therefore, education and thorough investigation would be benefi-cial for acquiring efficient negotiation behavior. Entrepreneurs can sus-tain the integration of the Russian population in Estonia if they are more informed about their partners’ cultural characteristics. Introduction