Starting a business in a new country as a foreigner is not always easy. This is because of cultural, economic, legal, and political differences. Any company that seeks to venture into a new country is always therefore forced to change either their business practices, organizational structure, or both to ensure sustainability as well as success ( Meyer, 2014) . This applies to even a company like Canadian tire which is interested in doing business in Brazil. Canadian Tire must learn there are differences culturally, economically, and politically, among others which will affect the success of the business.
Export Development Canada (EDC) say that Brazil has a population of over 200 million people and the fifth-largest economy in Latin America. It has been politically stable since 1988 because of the current constitution (EDC, n.d). However, from time to time there are issues of political mistrust sometimes leading to civil resentence by the citizens. A big population in Brazil believe that their leaders are corrupt ( Peng, 2016) . This is not the same in Canada where political stability has been existent way before 1988. Political stability is important for any company. As such Canadian Tire must be able to understand the political situation in Brazil. Constant civil resistance could lead to business closure leading to losses.
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The economic level in Brazil has remained strong since 1990 except in 2008 when there was a global financial crash. The country GDP growth has been on the rise and in 2010 its GDP growth reached about 7.5% (EDC, n.d). It is one of the countries whose GDP is growing at a very fast rate. Brazil today is among the world largest economy. It is ranked position nine, higher than even Canada which is at position 10 (World Economic Forum, 2018). Essentially, Brazil's socio-economic future has never been better: a rise in urban employment; high levels of income; reduction in income inequality. Consequently purchasing power has risen in Brazil. This creates an opportunity for Canadian Tire products. It is, however, vital to indicate that Brazil has one of the highest interest rates which might affect Canadian Tire borrowing.
Brazilians value personal and family relations which in most cases extends into business, unlike Canada. It is important to build personal relationships through social occasions as a way of building trust with Brazilians ( Iizuka et al., 2015) . Without personal relations in Brazil, it is almost impossible to negotiate sale ( Harrison, 2018) . Brazilians value knowing an individual on a personal level before conducting a business. As such it would be prudent for Canadian Tire management to create a strong bond with the community of operation.
Unlike Canada where ranks is a non-issue, Brazilians are very sensitive to ranks. As such, when negotiating or intending for a meet with senior officials in Brazil then it is important to have a representative of similar caliber ( Cahen et al., 2016) . Canadian Tire when starting a business in Brazil must therefore always seek to value chain of management.
Unlike Canadians who value quick decisions and respect to time when doing business, Brazilians have a relaxed attitude to time. Brazilians also conducts business more slowly as compared to Canadians. In fact, sometimes meetings can be delayed and even canceled or postponed without any kind of warning ( Cahen et al., 2016) . Canadian Tire must, therefore, be ready for these type of actions and schedule appropriately in order to be successful. Canadian Tire representatives should also always be punctual but not rush business dealings nor insist on final decisions.
Another social factor that is important to understand when conducting business in Brazil is handshakes and clothing. Handshakes are the welcomed form of greeting when conducting business. However, in informal situations, when trying to create personal relations, both men and women can greet each other by embracing or a peck (Global Affair Canada, n.d). This is different in Canada where kisses on the cheek can be a form of greeting both in formal and informal settings ( Ladhari et al., 2015) . Clothing is expected to be formal when conducting business irrespective of personal relationships.
Finally, to conduct business in Brazil, the Canadian Tire team must understand that personal distance in Brazil might be closer as compared to Canada. Brazilians tend to stand much closer to another person when speaking (EDC, n.d). Sometimes they tend to even interrupt conversations. However, this is not considered rude but a sign of interest. They mostly interrupt conversations when they are interested in the topic and want to contribute.
References
Cahen, F. R., Lahiri, S., & Borini, F. M. (2016). Managerial perceptions of barriers to internationalization: An examination of Brazil's new technology-based firms. Journal of Business Research , 69 (6), 1973-1979.
Export Development Canada. (n.d). Doing Business in Brazil: A Guide for Canadian Exporters and Investors. Retrieved from: https://edc.trade/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/doing-business-in-brazil.pdf
Fregidou-Malama, M., & Hyder, A. S. (2015). Impact of culture on the marketing of health services–Elekta in Brazil. International Business Review , 24 (3), 530-540.
Global Affair Canada. (n.d). Cultural Information. Retrieved from: https://www.international.gc.ca/cil-cai/country_insights-apercus_pays/ci-ic_br.aspx?lang=eng
Harrison, L. E. (2018). The Pan-American dream: do Latin America's cultural values discourage true partnership with the United States and Canada? . Routledge.
Iizuka, E. S., Varela, C. A., & Larroudé, E. R. A. (2015). Social business dilemmas in Brazil: Rede Astacase. Revista de Administração de Empresas , 55 (4), 385-396.
Ladhari, R., Souiden, N., & Choi, Y. H. (2015). Culture change and globalization: The unresolved debate between cross-national and cross-cultural classifications. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ) , 23 (3), 235-245.
Meyer, E. (2014). The culture map: Breaking through the invisible boundaries of global business . Public Affairs.
Peng, M. W. (2016). Global business . Cengage Learning.
World Economic Forum. (2018). The World’s biggest economies in 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/the-worlds-biggest-economies-in-2018/
