Corporate Culture Practices of German Corporations in the Host Country Indonesia

This study addresses the corporate cultural practices of German companies in the host country Indonesia from the perspective of Indonesian employees, managers and German expatriates. The focus is on the intercultural challenges that arise in the practice of daily cooperation between Indonesian and German organizational members. Using qualitative methods, the study examines how these challenges are viewed and managed by organizational members, what cultural differences are evident in them and how these differences can be explained, and finally, what strategies can be used to overcome the challenges in everyday business. This ethnographic study is based on interviews with Indonesian and German organizational members, analysis of internal company journals and newsletters, and observations collected by the author as a "professional stranger" at Indonesian sites of German multinational companies. The study concludes that four cultural issues are fundamental factors in the corporate culture of German companies in the host country Indonesia: first, the implementation of a culture of integrity; second, issues of leadership in a hierarchy-driven social environment; third, the daily use of language and the flow of information in a multilingual professional environment; and finally, the creation and maintenance of harmonious, family-like working relationships. About the author Aang Koswara is lecturer at Public Relations Studies, Faculty of Communication Science, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia and Postdoctoral Fellow at Institute for Intercultural Communication, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany. His research focus is on intercultural communication and cooperation, corporate culture, multicultural public relations, and corporate social responsibility.