Handshake. Intercultural communication in the area of relationship marketing (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: 1,3, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Munich, language: English, abstract: In recent decades, research into and practical applications of the influence of cultural standards in management have evolved at an international level. This paper deals with intercultural communication in the field of relationship marketing using the specific example of the handshake as a greeting and parting ritual. The different greeting and parting rituals in Germany (the handshake) and Japan (the bow) will be identified and compared with one another. As well as briefly defining terms, the points of entry and the impact of culture-based communication, particularly in the field of relationship marketing, will be described.

Historical, religious and cultural-anthropological aspects will then be incorporated in a comparative analysis of the handshake/bow. Building on these explanations, the paper will go on to demonstrate how studies on intercultural communication can also be used as a rationale for the influence of cultural standards. This is the only manner, in which the intercultural overlap identified in a comparison between Germany and Japan can be better understood.

The objective of this paper is not to fully review the existing explanations, particularly those contained in the individual theories on intercultural communication postulated by Hofstede, Trompenaars or Hall. Instead, the aim is to apply a methodological implication between communication and culture to plausibly and reasonably raise awareness of intercultural communication in the field of relationship management using the example of the handshake.