Business Over Turkish Coffee

Turkey has a very colorful business culture, where East and West and the old and new exist together, and where some business principles and the factors behind them are not easy to understand. My main reason for writing this book is to enable people from different cultural backgrounds to understand the fundamental business principles in Turkey, and to act on these rather than on their perceptions. By doing this, they can work more effectively without wasting time resolving disputes. Turks can also work with these people in harmony and comfort.

Turkey has a very colorful business culture, where East and West and the old and new exist together, and where some business principles and the factors behind them are not easy to understand. My main reason for writing this book is to enable people from different cultural backgrounds to understand the fundamental business principles in Turkey, and to act on these rather than on their perceptions. By doing this, they can work more effectively without wasting time resolving disputes. Turks can also work with these people in harmony and comfort. I have always worked with people from different cultural backgrounds, and this has enabled me to strengthen my academic work with personal observations and experiences. Working with people from various cultures is like conducting and orchestra: if done well, the result is fantastic; if not, it’s a disaster. I hope that you will find in each article something about the business culture peculiar to Turkey.

Zafer Parlar Zafer Parlar started his career as New Markets Development Manager for Mexx International at its headquarters in the Netherlands. He has travelled and developed trade relations in Central and South America, Southern Europe and the Middle East. In 1995 he returned to Istanbul and held general management positions in the areas of brand Management & retailing. In 2000, he was appointed as General Manager to establish a Nike subsidiary in Turkey. Under his leadership, Nike Turkey grew 70 times in 9 years. Parlar received several local and international awards in both the business and social responsibility areas. In 2005, Zafer Parlar was appointed as the General Manager of Nike South CEMEA, responsible for Nike subsidiaries in Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and South Africa. In 2010, he founded istventures to support international companies with their market entries to Turkey and Turkish companies for their expansion abroad. Zafer Parlar wrote his master thesis on Turkish Business Culture. His continued academic work in the field, combined with his own international business experiences throughout the years and sense of humor made him popular for delivering speeches & conducting workshops for several international companies and universities on “Cross Cultural Analysis of Turkish Business Culture”. He has been among the speakers of The Economist’s “Roundtable Meetings” and The World Economic Forum (WEF). Parlar has been an expat colonist for Turkish Daily News Newspaper. This book combines his real stories and tips for doing business in or with Turkey. After graduating from Ankara College in Ankara, Turkey, Zafer Parlar obtained a degree in Management & Business Administration and a dual Master’s degrees in International Business Relations and Marketing in The Netherlands. Parlar speaks Turkish, English and Dutch.