1. ¹College of Business and Technology, Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, OK, USA
2. ²R. B. Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

Correspondence: Jon M Shapiro, College of Business and Technology, Northeastern State University, 3100 E. New Orleans Street, Broken Arrow, OK 74014, USA. Tel: +1 918 449 6526; Fax: +1 918 449 6561; E-mail: shapiro@nsuok.edu

Received 2 June 2005; Revised 14 January 2007; Accepted 16 April 2007; Published online 18 October 2007.

Abstract

Cultural sensitivity is assumed to be important in international business, yet little empirical work explores how cultural sensitivity actually develops. In-depth interviews with buyers from the Asian Pacific Rim were conducted, and support was found for a four-stage model of cross-cultural sensitivity in which buyers move through the stages of romantic sojourner, foreign worker, skilled worker, and partner. This paper explores the development and evolution of cultural sensitivity as it interacts with trust and development of international business relationships.