The paper therefore suggests that European players should engage indiscussions and interactions with their prospective partners in India beforetying up for business.

Though Indians may be good technicians and businessmen, but they too need todo their homework before striking a deal with a European partner. They haveto make an effort to understand European culture. Customs, rules andbusiness practices differ from one European country to another.

A foreign expert from Austria feels that India has the comparative advantageof a large pool of educated people. This is something that attracts Europeancompanies. The Austrian Airlines, for example, has already outsourced theirentire accounts department to an Indian company. This happened despitecertain differences that are extant in the business styles of people inIndia and Austria. In Austria, prices of both industrial and retail productsare firm, wheras in India these are always kept open for negotiation.

Analysing the similarities and differences in approach to business betweenItalians and Indians, an Italian banker states that the marketing of Indianproducts in foreign countries as well as of India as a competitive countryfor foreign investment is nearly non-existent compared to the marketingefforts of the European countries abroad. He also feels that a major problemthat attends bilateral business is the fact that many businessmen here takea short term view.

Stating that for European entrepreneurs that first impression as well as thefirst deal are very important, the banker feels that unfortunately only afew companies in India pay attention to the interest of both partners in thebusiness transaction or association. In addition, the track record of importpayments is also very much in favour of European companies and when thereare legal claims of a commercial nature, the court outcome is much speedierin Europe than in India.

These points among many others were discussed by both European and Indianbusinessmen in an attempt to exchange cross cultural experiences under theEU India Economic Cross Cultural Programme presently underway with fourpartners: the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the MaharashtraCentre for Entrepreneurship Development, Formaper (Special Agency of theMilan Chamber of Commerce and WIFI (the Austrian Institute of EconomicDevelopment).