Guanxi, Astrology and Symmetry: Asian Business and its Impact on Public Relations Practice

With the dominance of Western-based public relations models and theories, non-Western practitioners across the globe instinctively attempt to implement them, often unsuccessfully, regardless of their surrounding environment. This study compares and analyses differences between Asian and Western approaches to business and therefore public relations. While the Western practitioners predominantly practiced symmetrical communication models, the Asian practitioners only idealised these models but depended upon press-agentry/publicity and the public information model. Other models such as the personal influence and cultural interpreter models were heavily used in Asia. A review of business practices revealed that in Asia, the line between business and personal relationships is extremely blurred. Further analysis revealed that cultural dimensions and topois were even more varied between the two regions. While the Western region adulates individualism, the Asian region sees it as an act of selfishness and prefers collectivism and hierarchy to maintain harmony within the community. A strong connection exists between culture and business practices, which in turn directly affect public relations practice, making the use of generic Western-based public relations models complex and unsuitable for the non-Western society. This paper highlights a research opportunity to empirically analyse and understand the Asian business and the implications for models of public relations.