Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events

ISSN: 1940-7963 (Print) 1940-7971 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rprt20

Perils of speed dating: an Australian success story

in Chinese outbound tourism

David Lindsay, Anton P. Kriz, Raechel Johns & Byron W. Keating

To cite this article: David Lindsay, Anton P. Kriz, Raechel Johns & Byron W. Keating (2018):
Perils of speed dating: an Australian success story in Chinese outbound tourism, Journal of Policy
Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, DOI: 10.1080/19407963.2018.1506200

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2018.1506200

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JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS
https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2018.1506200

Perils of speed dating: an Australian success story in Chinese

outbound tourism
David Lindsaya, Anton P. Krizb, Raechel Johns a
and Byron W. Keating b

a
Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia; bResearch School of
Management, College of Business and Economics, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This paper provides insights and lessons about how Western Received 6 November 2016
tourism operators can build and maintain business-to-business Accepted 10 December 2017
relationships with Chinese tourism providers. The case analyses
KEYWORDS
how Tangalooma Island Resort Pty Ltd approached the challenge Cultural intelligence;
of developing business networks and how they have sustained industrial marketing and
this activity for over a decade to become a major destination for purchasing; actor bonds;
Chinese visitors to Australia. While there is no shortage of outbound; China; dyad
research on the Chinese notion of guanxi, this study uses a novel
multi-dimensional cultural intelligence perspective to synthesise
Chinese and Australian views on the drivers of long-term
commercial success. The frameworks and insights provided make
a valuable and timely contribution to our understanding of how
Western firms can approach China tourism opportunities, and
importantly, provide lessons on the nuances of effective
relationship development between Western and Chinese
individuals and firms. This critical single case study highlights the
importance of business negotiation and need for deepening
cultural logic with appropriate pacing by key protagonists in the
Western firm. Nurturing and growing interpersonal cultural skills is
fundamental and helps build inter-firm bonds, resource ties and
activity links. This is discussed using the actors–activities–
resources model promoted within the context of industrial
marketing and purchasing. Future research could extend the
findings through additional case studies, or further empirical
validation.

Introduction
Establishing and maintaining business-to-business (B2B) relationships is a key challenge
for foreign businesses wishing to take advantage of China’s rapid economic rise and maxi-
mise the potential of bilateral trade arrangements including the recently signed Australia–
China free trade agreement. But where do Western firms start? While numerous scholars
note the importance of relationships within Chinese business dealings (see, for example,
Collins & Kriz, 2013; Keating & Kriz, 2008; Kriz, Gummerson, & Quazi, 2013; Lim &
Pan, 2005) there is scant advice and exploration for Western firms of what it really
takes to establish and build strong, long-term relationships and break into the China

CONTACT David Lindsay david.lindsay@canberra.edu.au

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

market. Developing such a deep understanding of what it takes for Western firms to pene-
trate Chinese markets (in this case markets for Chinese tourists) is the main purpose of
this paper.
Australia was one of the first countries globally to gain approved destination status
(ADS) with the People’s Republic of China. Allowing tourists access was a major tempor-
ary competitive Australian advantage but now over 170 countries enjoy similar status. In
the early days of ADS it was ‘frontier terrain’ with few Chinese travel agents having visited
Australia. Reliance on wholesalers and tour operators was key with only major Australian
metropolitan areas seeing much activity. Deng Xiaoping and his Australian counterparts
kick-started momentum that has since traversed education, mining and a myriad of other
industries. Opening economies is a challenge, and in this instance, there is the added com-
plexity of understanding business practices of two psychically different neighbours (Vac-
carini, 2015).
One well-known variation is China’s long-term relationship-orientation whereas
Western business practice focus more on transactions (Styles & Ambler, 2003). The
Chinese tradition and alternative is to focus on relationships and getting to know
people (Geddie, DeFranco, & Geddie, 2005). Some argue the Industrial Revolution
helped set this fork in the road, where Western firms and institutions have increasingly
put faith in laws and systems trust (Kriz, 2010). Chinese firms have a tradition of
‘fencing’ as they deal with more informal institutions around social and business relations.
Wong (1997) highlights the importance of Western firms learning the art of fencing
through a process of judicious adaption, where the aim is to eventually gain ‘insider’ status.
To better understand how Western firms move from being outsiders to insiders, we
have identified two key questions that guide our study of Western–Chinese business
relationships: (1) How do interpersonal relationships influence inter-firm relationships
in China?; and (2) How does someone from a non-Chinese background improve business
outcomes when targeting the Chinese outbound tourism market? These research ques-
tions provide a foundation for Western firms seeking to better understand how their
Chinese counterparts approach commercial opportunities, and importantly, how they
can foster stronger, deeper and more sustainable relationships. This study illuminates
the Chinese view of commercial relationships and highlights key differences in the
Western understanding of how firms and individuals bond.
To provide a context for resolving these questions, we undertook an in-depth case
study of Tangalooma Resort in Queensland, Australia. Tangalooma was identified in
background investigations as a critical case (Flyvbjerg, 2006) that epitomised what
was possible in China with an appropriate strategy and sustained execution. At the
time of ADS approval, Tangalooma was a uniquely Australian product not allied to
any recognised tourism product. Importantly the resort was being promoted by an
individual with neither extant Chinese background nor linguistic capability. Today
Tangalooma’s dedicated sales and marketing team is headed by the same individual
and boasts success in both raw numbers of Chinese tourists as well as yield per custo-
mer. Despite the resort being located on an island off Brisbane (75 minutes by ferry), it
attracts far more inbound Chinese tourists than the combined total Chinese inbound
traffic into the Northern Territory and Tasmania (as of 2017). The case defies most
expectations and provides an important atypical example of how to achieve success
against the odds in the China market.
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 3

Literature review
Primer on Chinese relationships
Much has been written about the need to better understand the unique relational orien-
tation of Chinese business people (Redding, 1993; Trompenaars & Hamden-Turner,
2012; Tung, Worm, & Fang, 2008). Guanxi is a central tenet of China’s focus on relation-
ship-orientation. Built around connections, reciprocal relationships and ritual, guanxi has
received increased attention in the West. These traditions have a long history (Luo, Huang,
& Wang, 2012) that have evolved over millennia (Drew & Kriz, 2012). Westerners can be
easily confused by the complexity of such concepts. Guanxi, for example, can be seen as
positive or negative and ethical or unethical (Zhang & Zhang, 2006). Questioning the posi-
tive and negative aspects of Chinese relational practices seems a regular pastime. Tian
(2007, p. 53) noted, ‘It is crucial to distinguish ethically acceptable guanxi practice from
ethically unacceptable practice.’ Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist philosophies are credited
with shaping the values and practices of Chinese interpersonal relationships over the last
2,500 years. Some argue Chinese interpersonal relationships are not the product of these
philosophies, but pre-date, and even possibly influence, the development of these belief
systems (Drew & Kriz, 2014).
The Chinese word guanxi was introduced to the Western business vernacular from the
late 1970s (Gold, 1985; Jacobs, 1979; Pye, 1982; Upshur, 1984) to describe how Chinese
business relationships were influenced by political and social forces. However, guanxi is
still not well understood by Westerners. There seems an important gap in understanding
related to translating a concept that relies on context, practice and its ‘lived’ meaning,
hence its use to explain related English concepts such as connections, social connections,
social networks, special relationships, social relationships, personal relationships, value-
laden relationships, interpersonal connections, interpersonal relationships, social capital,
networking and cooperative relationships (Kriz, 2003).

Network view of relationships

Viewing business-to-business (B2B) networks as combinations of connections and
relationships provides the foundation for analysing key market differences (Fang &
Kriz, 2000). Drawing on the work of the European-based industrial marketing and pur-
chasing (IMP) group, relationships can be viewed as the basic unit of analysis within a
broader ‘markets-as-networks’ approach in the B2B environment. Against this backdrop,
the inter-connectedness of organisations within a market or network can be understood in
terms of the type, nature and frequency of interaction, the level of interpersonal relation-
ships, and ties among network members (Purchase & Ward, 2003).
The nature of these inter-connections is key to understanding the quality of commercial
relationships. Relationship ‘content’ which can be more easily observed and measured
through a value or substance level is a way of observing and articulating what determines
B2B success in a bi-cultural service environment. While networks may evolve over time
and are emergent in nature (Harrison, 2014), the IMP approach assumes that economic
resources are not heterogeneous and that value is created within a buyer–seller dyad
through an actor–activity–resource (AAR) model that can be divided into three substance
layers:
4 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

(1) Activity links

(2) Actor bonds
(3) Resource ties

Activity links are about ‘doing’ and include actions that network actors do together
through the interaction process (Hakansson & Johanson, 1992). An example could
include a joint commercial activity through the implementation of similar IT infrastruc-
ture. Over the long-term, activity links through such partnering would develop efficiencies
and synergies through the interaction process. Actor bonds occur when two actors interact
with each other through the processes of reciprocity, commitment and trust (Purchase &
Ward, 2003). The interaction process allows actors to create perceptions of each other
including an understanding of the other actors’ capabilities and limitations (Hakansson
& Snehota, 1995). Resource ties are commodities that actors use during activities to
produce their goods and/or services and are tied together through the process of inputs
and outputs (Hakansson & Johanson, 1992). Within the services industry such as
tourism, the main resource is usually intellectual capital and the knowledge and skill
base of individual employees.
Pivotal in the AAR model are the actors who orchestrate how activities are conducted
and resources expended. Network relationships are non-centralised and non-hierarchical
in nature (Harrison, 2014). These bonds are broken up in Figure 1 into firm actor bonds as
described by Hakansson and Snehota (1995) and individual agent bonds (IAB) as ident-
ified by Fang and Kriz (2000). Organisational agent bonds (OAB) have been used in this
study more specifically as a category in Figure 1 to distinguish between actors and agents.
Using agent-based models, for example, tourism bodies can be non-profit, government,
and for-profit; hence these actors have been referred to more appropriately here as organ-
isational and individual agents (Nicholls, Amelung, & Student, 2017). What is known is
that bonds in China are more complex than in many other markets, with business

Figure 1. A universal schema for describing interactions of industrial networks. Source: Adapted from
Hakansson and Snehota (1995) and Fang and Kriz (2000).
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 5

relationships differing appreciably to those in Western cultures in one fundamental

dimension: interpersonal versus inter-organisational (Fang & Kriz, 2000). Favourable reci-
procated connections that lead to deep trust or xinren is of critical importance when deter-
mining business success (Kriz & Keating, 2009). Differentiation between firm and
individual bonds within the actor label are depicted in Figure 1. The dashed arrows
between firm and individual level bonds reflect the complexity and still questionable
nature of these bonds. Kriz (2009) has highlighted how trust with individuals is not the
same as trust in firms. There is relatively scant literature on social and psychological
factors and interpersonal roles impacting firm relationships (Sweeney & Webb, 2007).
OAB and IAB are separated for this reason with the dashed arrow in Figure 1 indicating
the relationships remain unknown. Cultural intelligence (CQ), as identified below, is
focused on the individual level agent with psychic or cultural distance accounting for
both individual and organisational level.
Figure 2 focuses in on the individual and firm agent bond element of the modified AAR
model. Discriminating between IAB and OAB within the context of resources and activi-
ties makes sense in the Australian and Chinese settings. Figure 2 highlights the linkage
between all four attributes of a single company. When companies are in one country
like Australia, doing business with others from a similar culture, there will be challenges
as the traditional AAR model highlights. These relate to the relative contribution and com-
position of each AAR model input. Furthermore, the effect and reach of a specific B2B
relationship in articulating networking boundaries remain largely unexplored. It does
not take into account the size of the firm or the nature of the industry with testing of
the IMP model remaining largely conjectural (McCabe & Stern, 2009). Nevertheless,
this does not diminish IMP’s AAR framework for exploring complex interrelationships.
Figure 2 depicts the increased complexity of bringing two distinct cultures like Australia
and China together. The first set of circles represents the Australian company trying to do
business with their Chinese counterpart. The second set represents the Chinese counter-
part. Each has arrows depicting an attempt to build firm and individual bonds as well as
resource ties and activity links. The Australian firm is illustrated to the left with recog-
nition that such services firms are seeking out opportunities for tourism trade from
their counterpart to the right.
Though the model has not yet been applied within the context of tourism supply chains,
the AAR model has been shown to be an increasingly effective lens for understanding

Figure 2. Building dyadic exchanges around firm and individual bonds.

Note: Activity links (AL), resource ties (RT), individual agent bonds (IAB), organisational agent bonds (OAB).
6 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

relationships in various cross-cultural business settings. For example, Lutz and Ritter
(2009) used it to understand interdependencies among European buyers and Chinese fur-
niture manufacturers; Poniman, Purchase, and Sneddon (2012) used it to investigate Halal
food supply chains in China; Hu and Stanton (2011) show that the AAR model aids in
understanding cultural sensitivity, and others demonstrate that the AAR model can be
used to effectively model Chinese business relationship dynamics with some modest
adjustment (Zolkiewski, Brennan, Khan, & Wilson, 2013).

Cultural intelligence
Fletcher and Bohn (1998) highlight the psychic distance between Australia and China – a
cultural distance proxy in their case for measuring an individual (in this case manager) or
firm perception of doing business in a prospective foreign environment (China was
denoted as 53 out of 54 countries). Interestingly, the individual, business and market
seem to be used interchangeably in such studies. CQ, unreservedly focused on individuals,
offers a way of identifying people with capacity to bridge divides between cultural distance.
CQ encourages individuals to suspend judgement while they consciously process cross-
cultural information. It goes beyond cultural awareness to provide a multi-factor analysis
of meta-cognition, cognition, behaviour and motivation to predict a range of outcomes in
inter-cultural contexts (Ang, Van Dyne, & Tan, 2011). Some of these include cultural
adaption and inter-cultural negotiation and effectiveness (Imai & Gelfand, 2010;
Templer, Tay, & Chandrasekar, 2006).
While the impact of CQ on forming Western–Chinese outbound tourism relationships
has not been studied, evidence is emerging that CQ does play a role in attracting and satis-
fying tourists within other source markets. For example, one study indicated that the CQ
of managers had a significant influence on attracting foreign tourists to Iran (Teimouri,
Hoojaghan, Jenab, & Khoury, 2015). CQ was also found to have a positive effect on the
perception of front desk hotel services in Slovenia (Korez-vide, Tansek, & Milfelner,
2016) and led to enhanced outcomes for Spanish- and Creole-speaking employees in
North America (Chen, Okumus, Hua, & Nusair, 2011). However, to date, the application
of CQ within the B2B tourism context and the role it plays within a Chinese–Western
setting, particularly in gaining entry and maintaining a market over time, has attracted
scant scholarly attention. Johnson (2014) noted that improved cultural literacy provides
agency to negotiate cultures and that in the context of tourism, a guide’s job is to interpret
and negotiate in what is often a complex and constant cultural flux. This involves cogni-
tive, behavioural and affective dimensions and is part of the CQ toolbox. Blasco, Feldt, and
Jakobsen (2012) stated that the CQ concept is problematic where there are no observable
exemplars. In a business situation, motivation for learning is often performance orien-
tated, hence the slow transformative process required for cultural literacy; CQ is arguably
a result of learning through immersion rather than formalised training.

Method
This study adopts an interpretive perspective to analyse and understand business relation-
ships within a Western–Chinese context. In particular, we follow German philosophical
traditions of Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) and
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 7

adopt a phenomenological approach to undertake an in-depth case study, where meaning

is subjective and social actors construct their own perspective on reality (Jennings, 2010).
Our approach focuses on the way people interpret the actions of others, how they make
sense of events and how they build meaning of the world around them (Bouma, 1996).
Views and experiences of the participants who have actually ‘been there’ and ‘lived the
experience’ are gathered for investigation (Goulding, 2005).
Our study followed the explication path of Groenewald (2004), starting with identifying
‘how’ and ‘why’ questions relating to contemporary phenomena within these real-life con-
texts. Explication, as Hycner (1985) proposed, brackets, delineates, clusters, summarises
and extracts themes from data. Appropriately, like the Chinese Tao of yin-yang, explica-
tion is more about the whole rather than reducing aspects to parts and more simplistic
analysis. An initial list of interview questions based on an expanded CQ scale was used
to investigate the requirements for successful commercial engagement in a cross-cultural
setting (Van Dyne et al., 2012). Meaningful characteristics of interpersonal B2B relation-
ships and organisational processes were elicited by way of probing during the interviews.
This data was coded more holistically using a range of field note techniques including
observational, theoretical and methodological notes, and analytical memos.
Eleven interviews were conducted with ten interviewees (four based in Australia and six
in China). Convergent interviewing was deemed most suitable for this research because of
its funnelling, probing and layering nature. It is highly suitable for exploratory and induc-
tive research that collects qualitative information about attitudes and beliefs (Dick, 1990).
Such techniques incorporate a series of interviews with expert practitioners that allow the
researcher to refine questions after each interview to converge on an issue in a topic area
(Rao & Perry, 2003). Questions dealt with operational links which needed to be traced over
time, rather than questions relating to frequencies or incidences which are more aligned
with a quantitative research approach.
Key issues raised previously were refined into questions to surface agreement or dis-
agreement in subsequent interviews. Continuous refinement of content and the inherent
process involved ceases when the stability of data is reached, agreement among interviews
is achieved, and disagreement is explained (Rao & Perry, 2003). Otherwise known as data
saturation, it is when the collection of new data does not shed any further light on issues
under investigation (Glaser & Strauss, 1967).

Selection of case
Tangalooma Island Resort was selected as a case study because it was considered by indus-
try experts to be a good example of how an Australian inbound operator with limited over-
seas exposure had succeeded in attracting Chinese tourists. This case presented an
interesting exception to a China tourist domain largely dominated by either mainland
or overseas Chinese. A white Anglo-Saxon Australian successfully targeting the world’s
biggest travel market with no language capabilities, other than English, presented an inter-
esting case.
DTR (refer to Table 1 for interviewee descriptors) is the Marketing Director of the
organisation and was interviewed on two occasions. He has built a small and select
multi-lingual sales and marketing team with considerable industry experience. Notably,
product knowledge was considered by DTR to be of secondary importance for selection
8 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

Table 1. Interviewee identifying details.

# Organisational agent location Code Position of individual agent
1 Tangalooma Resort, Brisbane Office DTR Director
2 Tangalooma Resort, Brisbane Office MMC Marketing Manager China
3 Foreign Provider, Shanghai BDM Business Development Manager – Outsourced in China
4 Tangalooma, Brisbane Office SMC Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator
5 Tangalooma, Moreton Island GSM Guest Services Manager
6 Foreign Provider, Shanghai DMC Director of Marketing – Outsourced in China
7 National Tourism Office, Shanghai MCD Manager for China Desk
8 Guangzhou Distributor GMG General Manager for Australia
9 Hangzhou Internet Provider VPG Vice President and General Manager
10 Shanghai Distributor GMS General Manager for – Australia

of recruits as it could be quickly mastered as opposed to cultural and language capacity.

Details of those interviewed are provided in Table 1. For ease of identification, the
codes representing the key interviewees are included. A distinction has been made
between individual and organisational details, in line with the AAR descriptors. As
becomes clearer in interviews and discussion, DTR was the focal actor or agent in this
case study. There was no expectation of this at the outset.
A single ‘critical’ case for displaying unique strategic characteristics is accepted in the
literature as an appropriate way of illustrating important phenomena (Flyvbjerg, 2006).
The single case here reviews multiple interviews across what is known as two extreme psy-
chically distant environments (Australia–China). As identified, this single case also has a
focal actor or agent that seems to take ‘centre stage’. Disciplines like psychology and
neuroscience have noted for some time the value of single cases and even single individuals
as insight exemplars (Zaytseva & Bao, 2015). While quantitative hypothetico-deductive
methods are considered to contain sufficient rigour they do not ‘close in’ on real-life situ-
ations (Flyvbjerg, 2006). Within the context of explication, and closing in on reality and
being there, heavy emphasis on direct quotes is used in the following section to elicit
ideas, clusters and themes.

Investigation and explication

RQ1: How do interpersonal relationships influence inter-firm relationships in China?

Toward responding to the first question, basic questions were asked relating to client
profiles and customer product knowledge. It was considered important to drill down to
find out about their customer base and business requirements. DTR claimed that one of
the biggest mistakes Westerners make when dealing with China was directness. He
believed the Chinese are not as direct. He also admitted to a rather open and almost
naïve induction to China.
We targeted only three cities in the early days- Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. Tanga-
looma was probably one of the first operators to start in Chongqing, Chengdu and Xian.
We had absolutely no idea what we were doing. (DTR)

Quotes in Table 2 from the range of interviewees suggest that there is not an instruc-
tional guide on how to do business with what for local Australians is a relatively unex-
plored China.
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 9

Table 2. Comments relating to the importance of understanding the clients’ needs and/or focusing on
their business.
# Interviewee Comment
1 DTR I probably spend close to two months a year travelling through seven or eight cities simply in getting to
know agents
2 DMC It should be about them not us: the customer and their needs
3 DTR A lot of Westerners go out there and tell them (the Chinese) how good they are; well the Chinese are the
opposite, they would sit there and be very humble
4 MCD I think from a tourism perspective its about telling a story from a Chinese perspective
5 DTR We learned as we went along. We’d watch what other people did, drop off things that didn’t work and
keep what did work
6 VPG All the information on our databases is added by our customers
7 DTR The important thing is not to over promise and under deliver; err on the opposite
8 GMS Customer feedback is very important

DTR’s comments also relate to how knowledge is accumulated to deal with the unique-
ness of the Chinese market. Nevertheless, it was also considered important to explore new
inbound markets to ensure that there was no over-reliance on any one market.
You become fat and lazy by over relying on one market. (DTR)

The resort did not want to get a reputation of being dominated by Chinese tourists
which could alienate others. A policy of fragmenting the different inbound and domestic
market requirements provided an ‘insurance policy’ in case of adverse political decisions
and unforeseen international health scares.
We decided the best way to educate our sales network in China was to provide familiarisa-
tions (educational trips where agents experience firsthand what the destination is like).
Without question they are the most effective way to sell and promote your product. (DTR)

Twenty years ago, you had agents wanting to stay at the resort (near Brisbane), drive to
Cairns for lunch and come back and stay the night at the resort– a 2000km drive in one
day. (DTR)

Tangalooma initiated a sales and marketing strategy in China which relied more on
their own resources and built their own internal expertise. At first Tangalooma was
involved with Tourism Australia and Tourism Queensland in travel missions. However,
it was not seen as the only way to optimise business. A broader range of interviewee com-
ments is provided in Table 3.
DTR once again highlighted his level of naivety in the early days noting his unconven-
tional step of travelling throughout China without an interpreter. Admitting he probably

Table 3. Attitude toward travel product distribution efficacy in China.

# Interviewee Comment
1 DTR I knew in a very short time that 60 out of 80 travel companies were never going to the resort because we
were seen as too expensive
2 BDM 95% of agents will go through the big wholesalers in China
3 MMC You need to understand the distribution channels
4 DMC Actually it is quite complicated … one company can have different brand names and can operate as a
wholesaler and retailer
5 MCD An outbound operator has access to a logo saying they are a partner with TA which is an Australian
Government agency. In the mind of Chinese people, a partnership or endorsement from the
government carries a lot of weight.
6 GMG We have a very long relationship with TA. We started to work with them before ADS opened in China.
10 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

at first knew only two Chinese words, he did have some method for his initial sales meet-
ings. DTR put a travel plan together in those early days with a list of company names,
locations and key contacts (where known). This often meant calling clients from a taxi
and then asking the client to direct the taxi driver to the intended address. He stated
that local agents appreciated his efforts in making initial contact. These early meetings
lasted around 30 minutes with five or six scheduled each day (allowing for traffic conges-
tion). These face-to-face efforts did not go unrewarded.
They effectively gave face because they didn’t want to sit there and state that there is no
chance of getting their business. (DTR)

By implication the time and effort spent in securing the initial meeting meant DTR, or
more pertinently Tangalooma’s cash, was being expended without expectation of immedi-
ate return. DTR in reflection realised this openness without overt expectation probably
appealed to the Chinese; his naïve approach was non-threatening. What can be noted is
that each agent visit meant the first stage of a connection and potential bonding (in
many ways the ‘fencing’ had begun). This innocence, as DTR also noted, facilitated a
sense of responsibility from the Chinese for his welfare.
I think a lot of Chinese agents took pity on me and thought who the hell is this white fellow
walking round with no translator? He’s got no idea where he is going, so they sort of took
ownership of me because they loved the fact I was consistently in the market and so they
became very familiar with me and we got a good rapport going. (DTR)

Jumping in and swimming has been identified by Kriz, Gummesson, and Quazi as a
good way of learning guanxi. Relationship development without immediate or apparent
reward was further encapsulated with a narrative around price negotiation. Chinese
clients would push down on price but could be accommodated if shown that the price
was commercially unviable. Being firm but polite was perceived as a good strategy.
I’d shake their hand and say we can’t do business but let’s catch up for dinner … I can’t meet
that price, you’re going to make money - I’m not … so let’s forget about it. By the end of the
dinner on at least half of the occasions you have changed the client’s mindset. (DTR)

The above quote highlights a further willingness without too much expectation. It also
illustrates how DTR was bonding one-on-one through more informal courtesies (dinners).
These were great opportunities for DTR to be given some tuition around Chinese words.
Importantly he would in turn teach the correct pronunciation for ‘Tangalooma’ and
‘pelican’ with Chinese agents having difficulty in pronouncing the letter ‘l’. These
lessons had other benefits with humorous interplay. Importantly DTR discovered that
hai tun dao in Mandarin means dolphin island. DTR admitted a tactical approach here.
He would pronounce hai tun dao in such a way at subsequent meetings that it often
required correction. A similar situation occurred with the pronunciation of ti hu niao
which means pelican or seabird. This also had the effect, as DTR noted, of unwittingly
reinforcing resort attractions in the mind of the local Chinese travel agents.
Dolphin feeding, sand tobogganing and bird feeding were repeated five times (in Chinese). It
was a sales method not a trick. (DTR)

This quote offers another insight into the practice of giving and receiving. Support of
counterparts was gained by intentionally making mistakes to match those of his hosts.
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 11

While it could be regarded as a clever sales ploy, a rapport or bonding process was further
developing. Over time and through familiarity, a feeling of trust developed, as DTR
suggests in the quote below. DTR noted that despite tactical jostling (or fencing) you
also need to be genuine.
The Chinese will smell you a mile away if your heart’s not in it. (DTR)

This is an interesting precautionary note to others around stratagem and aspects like
mimicking trust. Inherent satisfaction gained from a culturally diverse experience
seemed to inspire DTR. Literature around internationalisation discusses the benefits of
exposure to international markets and how this builds further commitment (Casillas,
Moreno, Acedo, Gallego, & Ramos, 2009). The intrinsic interests of motivational CQ
conform well to such sentiments. Extrinsic interests relating to the tangible and personal
benefits gained from such an experience (Ryan & Deci, 2000) were almost secondary albeit
they underpin DTR’s exchanges. The above quote supports the proposition that an innate
ability to appreciate the situation is preferable to having an obligation to satisfy base-level
extrinsic rewards reflected in short-term exchanges for immediate returns.
Patience and perseverance, as DTR explained, are requisites for a long-term business
relationship in China. Having your ‘heart’in cultural exchanges and a ‘passion’, as
suggested by DTR, is a necessary ingredient. DTR has subsequently been called an ‘egg’
(yellow on the inside, white on the outside) as opposed to a ‘banana’ (yellow on the
outside, white on the inside). This analogy suggests DTR has gained considerable trust
and traction. He seems particularly perceptive and intuitive now in relation to negotiations
around Western–Chinese relationship dynamics. Low prior knowledge has not stopped
DTR from seeking new knowledge that has been integrated and absorbed, and as will
be identified, passed on more broadly (Casillas et al., 2009).
Maybe people do not know how to use (laughs) the relationship … or how to say, [sic]
manipulate the relationship. (MMC)

DTR totally disagrees with the proposition that guanxi is becoming less important in
China due to the pervasive influence of Western business practices or some form of
global convergence due to technological change and innovation.
You need to follow up, cultivate the personal relationship which will lead onto a business
relationship. (DTR)

We have a good product to sell but the relationship or guanxi is exceptionally important.
(DTR)

Uptake and acceptance of digital media and internet platforms for travel-related pro-
ducts in China, as DTR highlights, enhances rather than detracts from guanxi. The
dynamics of a business relationship can change quickly, and importantly, the scope and
speed of such networks are only getting bigger and faster.
The power of technology is amplifying the whole relationship guanxi concept to a point
where every single person in China has a massive network of friends and connections and
being able to tap into that is going to be critically important for Australian business. (MCD)

Technology is now part of our daily lives. But this does not mean that feelings and emotions do
not exist. B2C is important but to negotiate those settings there must be B2B networks. (VPG)
12 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

DTR has been a focal agent for the case and discussion thus far. This notion of relation-
ship building is encapsulated in the following quote from a Chinese national interviewed
in Shanghai (MCD) who had experience in tourism and mining. This respondent
reinforced DTR’s Western view of understanding the culture and making local friends.
MCD highlighted that those succeeding in China have one thing in common – a ‘fantastic’
individually nurtured and developed network. The quote below also reinforces that digital
enablers are speeding up this process.
Successful foreign entrepreneurs realise the power of having networks as it provides them
with insights and various connections. They spend money, resources and time in building
a network which over time will pay off … in China people’s relationships are tighter …
there’s a lot of social interaction through face to face contact and through social media.
With increasing digital and mobile usage on every person’s touchphone it’s becoming
bigger and bigger. (MCD)

However, MCD did add a cautionary note for Western novices – once the B2B relation-
ship has been established, there is an ongoing relationship maintenance requirement.
Client servicing becomes pivotal to any business as both MCD and DTR highlighted.
To this end, there are two key players within the organisation who assist DTR in his
China servicing capacity. They are the marketing manager (MMC) and the business devel-
opment manager for China (BDM).
DTR sets up most of our initial contacts in China. My job is to maintain and attend to day to
day operations or sales matters such as reprogramming of tour itineraries and the introduc-
tion of new packages. (MMC)

DTR has had a connection with those agents for many years, my job is to maintain those
relationships and get to know the key persons in each agency. (BDM)

MMC and BDM are both multi-lingual Chinese nationals. BDM, unlike MMC, is based
in Shanghai and represents Tangalooma in public relations, digital and social media ser-
vices, event planning and organisation and collateral productions (inclusive of translation,
copywriting and brochure design and printing). The outsourcing of such activities in
China to a separate company offers an additional huge depository of specialist knowledge.
The managing director (MD) of that company used to be employed by Tourism Australia
and was responsible for setting up the premium Aussie specialist program (a select group
of specialist China agents supporting the Australian tourism product). DMC who is a
major foreign provider for Shanghai noted the importance of such connections.
… the MD is the person who owns a lot of the relationships with the travel distributors
because he’s been in Shanghai for about 15 years now. The outbound tour agencies are
pretty new and another kind of relationship. He is the one who is establishing, developing
and maintaining all these relationships. (DMC)

This does not mean that sales responsibilities should simply be delegated to the hiring
of experienced Chinese nationals or outsourcing expertise from other organisations. DTR
regularly visits product managers and general managers of outbound travel divisions
based in mainland China. This is essential because they drive the product through all
facets of development from itinerary inclusion, costings, and sales distribution and in
so doing provide recommendations to their respective bosses. As DTR explained, every
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 13

organisation is different in that there may be one or many people worth getting to know
and nurturing.
It’s not straightforward … .at a very high level you may have a managing director, CEO or
general manager who you have a very strong relationship with. So, there are relationships
all through those companies on different levels. (DTR)

GMS, the provider from Shanghai, added:

Online business through social media and We Chat is increasing all the time. We also have
people doing groups where itineraries are fully constructed and an FIT department. We have
an Australia New Zealand department which accounts for about 20% of our outbound
market. (GMS)

Regardless, as DTR identified you still need to negotiate with those people on a face-to-
face basis (not via telephone) and visit them regularly. Great importance is placed on his
Chinese staff. He believes that one of the biggest mistakes of the Western world when it
comes to negotiations with the Chinese is arrogance and racial chauvinism given that Aus-
tralians are not aware of many of the Chinese nuances.
DMC as Group Director of the Shanghai-based PR/Marketing Consultancy firm (Tai-
wanese born – Australian educated) has worked both in China and Australia in the
tourism industry. As such she had unique insights into the cultural differences between
Chinese and Western practitioners. She notes, like Kriz and Keating (2010), that trust is
built on sincerity, understanding and reciprocal performance.
There are many cultural differences. Many people do not understand what the deliverables
are. My role is to ensure what has been promised is delivered. (DMC)

DMC also emphasised the competitive nature of the market and reiterated what DTR
stated about the unique selling points of Tangalooma which associated the resort with
dolphin watching. DTR and DMC noted that shrewd operators look at their product
through their customers’ eyes and not their own.
DMC believes that the secret to DTR’s continued success is linked to temporal elements
of relationships. She noted DTR started over 15 years ago without expecting an immediate
return. The notion of relationship building over time was emphasised in many interviews.
In China there are a lot of dinners you go to without really talking business. You’re only there
to make friends. I would say there are numerous dinners before the real business starts to be
discussed. It is actually quite a long process. (DMC)

MCD of the National Tourism Office added:

It takes time for people to get to know each other to get on the best commercial terms. There-
fore, you need patience. Patience in the Chinese market is very important. (MCD)

The initiation of business ties is predicated on an individual basis and from an IMP per-
spective it appears firm or organisational agent and actor bonds are interwoven with IAB.
DTR seems to have learnt these lessons from feeling his way through. DMC noted that
fulfilling promises adds to both individual and organisational ends. This brings the discus-
sion to the second of the research questions.
RQ2: How does someone from a non-Chinese background improve business outcomes when
targeting the Chinese outbound tourism market?
14 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

The findings and explication around RQ1 and relationship development have already
given underlying indications of what has led to the success of DTR and his organisation.
As identified in explication theory it is important to look at the whole rather than simply
unpacking parts. It is important to delve a little more deeply into the success of DTR to
better understand key aspects of his China tourism journey. The most important factor
that was emphasised by DTR when dealing with the Chinese market was not to overpro-
mise. The emphasis and reliance of DTR on his staff for fostering such outcomes was a key.
This links to RQ1 and the importance of interpersonal then inter-organisational bonds.
DTR was adamant that it would be a major mistake to do otherwise. His genuine approach
showed cultural empathy not just for clients but equally for his inner circle.
It drives them (my staff) nuts when I say, I want your opinion (underlined to indicate empha-
sis in conversation). You need to really listen to your staff and don’t just give them lip service.
I guarantee you the vast majority of people in Australian companies do not listen to their
Chinese staff. (DTR second interview)

Such comments were authenticated by other Tangalooma head office staff members of
Chinese origin.
We have meetings together. DTR will ask a few questions and we give feedback. Yes, I feel my
opinion is valued and ideas taken on board. (SMC)

Coupled with the notion of a free flow of internal ideas is the importance of customer
feedback and the organisation’s ability to act on such feedback. Thirteen guides are
employed on the resort to ostensibly ‘meet and greet’ guests and advise on what they
can and cannot do. DTR highlighted the team of guides is critical because they have a
‘radar’ for identifying tourists with higher incomes and the tour group’s most influential
visitor (formal or informal). Changes to booking requirements are possible (influencing
this visitor’s holiday experience) once this is established. As GSM suggested:
We look at what they are wearing, how they talk to each other and how they react from what
we are telling them. You can then get an idea how much they will spend and who are likely to
complain [laughs]. (GSM)

DTR went on to suggest in this more subtle analysis:

[A local guide] thinks it’s the guy doing all the talking and screaming; however that guy is
protecting and giving face to his boss who is not happy about something. (DTR)

The lessons of how such cultural expertise develops seem more obvious from this
exchange. There is additional learning through mimicry and reflection which is being inte-
grated (Casillas et al., 2009; Inzlicht, Gutsell, & Legault, 2012). Mimicry has been linked to
reducing racial prejudice. This does not seem in any way a problem for DTR. Arguably,
however, such shared knowledge would help overcome potential taboos for any other
Westerners in the organisation. Word of mouth (WOM) was acknowledged as an impor-
tant marketing tool for Tangalooma. Referral bookings were identified also as very impor-
tant to the marketing mix and the way business is conducted in China. Pervasive use of
social media to user experiences makes customer feedback important, but as illustrated
by GSM, deeper personal insights are also continually gathered.
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 15

I believe in more personal … interpersonal things. My guides talk to each guest and ask them
what they think about the resort especially on their way back (on the ferry). How they feel
about us. (GSM)

RQ1 and RQ2 have some important juxtapositions that reinforce our holistic approach
to this investigation. Obvious from RQ1 and RQ2 are the multiple touch points in the
organisation which are emulated and mimicked from many of the examples offered by
DTR and the other individual agents in the study. Knowledge and trust are not simply
built outside-in but also within. The researchers noted a natural capacity of DTR to
share anecdotes and stories. The ethos and approach of DTR in the field is the same
used at home. The company structure is flat and while individuals have designated
roles in the organisation, a general sense of cooperation and communication pervades,
with everyone’s opinion valued. An openness to learning is promoted. This culture of
respect permeates the firm and is prominent within. One could draw parallels between
DTR’s apparent growing CQ that links to a higher level of emotional and social intelli-
gence. This provides an appropriate segue into the discussion which is linked inextricably
to the theoretical framework outlined in the literature review.

Discussion and conclusions

This case provides considerable insight into how guanxi and trust are applied in a service
context between Australian and Chinese organisations. Further exploration is necessary
with other organisations to provide a more generalised understanding of Australia–
China B2B negotiations. Despite these limitations there are important insights apparent
for similar tourism-related service relationships between Chinese and Western organis-
ations. Hiring appropriate personnel who are willing to learn through internationalisation
and in-country exposure is likely to have similar benefits. DTR is rare among peers, but as
he has identified, his learning is grounded in cultural immersion and lessons from staff
more than any formal training or CQ specific education.
Emanating from this discussion we have provided some normative guidance. Like most
Western companies approaching the Chinese market for the first time, Tangalooma
focused on the three major eastern seaboard cities with direct flight access to Australia,
and with populations considered to be more affluent tourists, likely to be aware of a
Western holiday experience. Tangalooma focused on these higher yielding tourists
through segmenting the market via its guanxi network partners. Using Chinese in-
country and Australian-based China experts appeared as an order-winner in this case.
More recently this has also meant monitoring and managing relevant social media and
online booking activity.
DTR seemed to have learnt as much from immersion and ‘jumping in’ as from external
sources. He was open to learning and experiences and was able to navigate through
sensing changing experiences. As time progressed he seemed to add appropriately to
his staff and resources to manage tourism throughput and demand. The mutual develop-
ments and understanding have been clustered into six key lessons, identified in Table 4.
These lessons provide a description of the art-of-doing business between a Westerner
and their counterparts in China. DTR has followed through on promises and commit-
ments. These seem basic lessons but in a transactional and systems trust society, like
16 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

Table 4 . Lessons learned from this case study analysis.

Lesson 1 Tangalooma’s success in China has been built through incremental relationship development and a rare future-
oriented approach
Lesson 2 Immediate financial benefits were seen by Tangalooma as a bonus with enjoying the journey equally important
to the destination
Lesson 3 Tangalooma through its leadership focused on interpersonal relationships first which morphed into
organisational agent bonds
Lesson 4 Tangalooma encouraged feedback from cultural partners inside and outside and ensured tacit knowledge was
shared to become more explicit
Lesson 5 Tangalooma and its organisational partners identified that following through builds personal but also stronger
organisational relationships
Lesson 6 Tangalooma through learning-by-doing gained tactical lessons but also a heightened awareness of Chinese
motives and underlying behaviours

Australia, it is possible that many similar businesses are sticking with their own Western
self-referenced ethnographic approach. Importantly the shared understandings developed
by DTR are also being embedded in Tangalooma’s organisational way of doing things.
Explication and its complex whole fit appropriately here. Guanxi and trust in a Confucian
society have a strong emphasis on opaque and contextual network development which is
not as neatly defined as the six lessons suggest.
It was evident from the analysis that DTR had developed an understanding of CQ
although he identified no formal training. DTR through cultural immersion picked up
skills around China that seem now to be proving successful in other markets. Building
a company structure, which maximised benefits from the use of Chinese nationals,
seemed to evolve. It appears that CQ lessons from the field had highlighted to DTR,
that although he may not be Chinese, this did not preclude him from surrounding
himself with such expertise. Developing CQ skills in other Australians may be a challenge.
DTR knew that training ethnic Chinese about a product like Tangalooma is not such a
challenge. However, as he admitted, finding the right Chinese is difficult and does take
time. He was able to fast track this through referrals and existing Chinese contacts and
networks.
Table 5 depicts the four major constructs of CQ (meta-cognition, cognition, behaviour
and motivation) and the necessary attributes for Westerners to deal more effectively with
their Chinese business counterparts.
The interviews with DTR highlighted a real capacity to reflect and move beyond single-
loop analysis (going from ‘what’ to ‘why’ questions) (Tosey, Visser, & Saunders, 2012).
Behaviours from the field certainly added to cognitive and in turn, these more meta-

Table 5. Empirical findings of the CQ theoretical framework.

Meta-cognition Cognition Behaviour Motivation
. Self-awareness . Long -term consistent effort . Respect . Passion ‘The Chinese will
. Mutual value required . Ability to deliver: smell you a mile away if
proposition must . Appreciation of Chinese nationals don’t overpromise you are not passionate’
be there for all working within your organisation. . Language skills are . Persist ‘Don’t give up!’
parties Their opinion and input is not required but . The development of the
. Look at things invaluable especially in a demonstrate humility relationship comes first:
from another nuanced cultural context and respect the ‘transaction’ comes a
cultural . Gain regular feedback distant second
perspective from clients: WOM is
. Be patient very important
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 17

cognitive outcomes. The more involved DTR became the more he seemed to thrive.
Importantly this motivational exuberance seemed to be shared through acculturation of
others. He has since used this as a trigger for at least recognising when cultural
empathy and passion is lacking in others. This brings us to the conclusions relating to
the two questions analysed within this critical case.

Interpersonal relationships precede inter-firm relationships

While the ‘actor’ or in this case ‘individual agent’ is considered as the pivotal component in
relationship building, an organisation or its individual representative needs to make a
start. The two other components of IMP – activities and resources – are important but
the catalyst appears to be the individual agent. Such a holistic approach is not atypical
of the Chinese way of thinking. Notwithstanding, without the organisational agent
there is no reason to even enter the domain. Like yin-yang it is very much both-and. In
many ways, the two components now form a cube. Many organisations in Australia are
known to have been unable to close this gap. The LHS and RHS of Figure 2 relate to
the intra-firm importance of each dyadic partner before engaging with each other. Con-
nection between activity links and resource ties also strengthens as exchanges incremen-
tally advance, orchestrated by both organisational and IAB. Choosing Chinese nationals in
the support structure arguably has helped close this gap considerably.
As depicted in Figure 3, in the Case of DTR and Tangalooma, IAB takes precedence
over OAB because the original activities of DTR were quite individualistic and personal.
In this critical case, the cube in Figure 3 is strengthening (as depicted by the dotted
arrows from Figure 2 now becoming more solid). These bonds run deeper as depicted
by the bolder lines. Individual agent interaction of DTR and his partners including
calling for assistance, following up meals irrespective of financial outcomes, jovial jibes
and then follow-through were all parts of what seem effective ‘fencing’. The naïve
‘jumping in’ was not lost on his Chinese counterparts. Two organisations lack historical
sensory, social and psychological interplay that revolves around this bonding between
two individuals (in this case DTR and his Chinese counterparts). These bonds are symbio-
tic as they assume greater or lesser importance given time, situation and circumstance.
Conversely initial individual contact through the depiction of inward and outward
arrows is often made through a company referral system – for example Australian-
based tour operators seeking business in China. DTR seems to have built some additional

Figure 3. Strengthening agent bonds from individual to organisational.

Note: Activity links (AL), resource ties (RT), individual agent bonds (IAB), organisational agent bonds (OAB).
18 D. LINDSAY ET AL.

nous for making such choices. Others can glean quite a bit from this critical success story.
One of the key lessons from the Tangalooma is that these lessons took time, money and
resourcing. Closing the gap to form a cube, as depicted in Figure 3, started with DTR’s
relative innocence but also carried some risk. Bridging the dyadic domain between an Aus-
tralian protagonist and his Chinese counterpart was probably too slow for many. DTR was
also carefully promulgating the learnings to his trusted circle of internal Chinese staff. This
model looks seemingly easy but is hard to perform.
There appears an important longitudinal theme underpinning Tangalooma’s steady
relationship development. What DTR has been doing while bonding both individually
and organisationally is very much ‘pacing’ himself but temporally also finding an appro-
priate ‘rhythm’ and ‘scope’. This conforms to an interesting finding identified in strategic
management around speed, rhythm and geographic scope of opening subsidiaries for
MNCs (Vermeulen & Barkema, 2002). The study highlights that MNCs that go too fast
increase their chances of failure. Spread too far too quickly and resources will equally
be challenged. DTR’s China geographic dispersion has been carefully managed. The
study also notes that incremental development with more steady rhythm avoids extremes.
This makes organisational systems more vulnerable. Smaller enterprises do not have the
‘deep pockets’ of their MNC counterparts, so it is quite unique and a credit to Tangalooma
that they seemed to follow Vermeulen and Barkema’s (2002) recommended pathway in
developing their relationships in China.

CQ in practice helps accomplish commercial goals

DTR may have a higher propensity for CQ than others but his willingness to be open to
learning also seems critical. IAB are commensurate with CQ thinking with the concept
linked strongly to individual training and outcomes. The Tangalooma and DTR case
demonstrate that even a laowai or outsider can build such bonds (Kriz & Keating,
2009). This helps support findings around deep trust or xinren that surmised that
deeper trusted relationships between Westerners and Chinese are possible (Kriz &
Keating, 2010). The CQ of DTR was in a state of continual development. Over time
these incremental activities in the field enabled strengthening relationships with his
Chinese counterparts. Conversely, his Chinese counterparts learned from the cultural
immersion. CQ does not apply directly to resource ties or activity links but by implication
both would potentially organisationally advance alongside such CQ improvements.
An understanding of the CQ bridging mechanism is thought to be most conducive to
the successful conduct of B2B negotiations. As shown in Figure 4, in becoming more CQ
aware DTR was able to make better staffing decisions and to learn from those more experi-
enced in China than himself. A strong juxtaposition is apparent between strengthening
bonds and CQ development. Such awareness is not innate nor is it simply learned from
a training manual. Casillas et al. (2009) identify that the speed of internationalisation is
embedded in a system linking behavioural knowledge to prior and new knowledge that
ultimately requires knowledge integration. DTR followed this pattern using behaviour
cues to enhance cognitive learning which was stimulated by lessons on the ground in
China plus continuous inputs from his Chinese contacts and employees.
What was not reported in the case was DTR’s links to other Australians who have had
or witnessed Australian success in China. Paradoxically it was these people that nominated
 JOURNAL OF POLICY RESEARCH IN TOURISM, LEISURE AND EVENTS 19

Figure 4. Individual actor bonds and CQ.

Note: Individual actor bonds (IAB).

DTR and Tangalooma as a critical case for this study. DTR noted in the second interview
that these individuals are sharing stories – good, bad and ugly. Importantly, Chinese edu-
cative programs can be enhanced through the lessons gained from this atypical single case.
Tangalooma Resort has succeeded thus far from its continued commitment and hard-
earned strategic insights. Openness to cultural experiences creates a solid platform that
others can learn from with DTR openly acknowledging his willingness to share. This
paper has provided some interesting insights regarding the successful conduct of business
in China. The paper also represents a timely contribution to an under-researched topic.
Limitations of the research relate to the inability to generalise. Future research can
build on this study by exploring whether the above principles are equally reflective of
activities in tier two, three and four level cities.
B2B relationships are predicated on an understanding of the other negotiating party
and their specific needs. Some refer to dancing and marriages as appropriate metaphors
for analysing business relationships (Wilkinson, Young, Welch, & Welch, 1998). Austra-
lia–Chinese bilateral dealings do take time and rhythm and pacing is essential and fit well
with such metaphors. Despite the internet and the rise of Alibaba, business outcomes with
China still seem predicated on a relationship-orientation more so than a transaction-
orientation. Haste or rash judgements seem anathema to how DTR and Tangalooma suc-
ceeded. Speed dating in the title now appears even more relevant. Pacing, rhythm and
scope are important with slow and steady ‘dating’ appearing optimal irrespective of the
speed of China’s growth.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID
Raechel Johns http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8648-4226
Byron W. Keating http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4864-7789

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