Managing Cross-Cultural Entrepreneurship: Nigerian Entrepreneurs in East Asia

This study examines the cross-cultural management challenges and adaptation strategies of Nigerian entrepreneurs operating businesses in East Asian markets, with a focus on entrepreneurs in China, South Korea, and Japan who navigate significant cultural, linguistic, and regulatory distance in building their enterprises. Nigerian entrepreneurs in East Asia represent a growing but understudied international entrepreneurship community whose experiences offer insights into cross-cultural enterprise management, market entry adaptation, and the role of ethnic community networks in facilitating business establishment in high cultural-distance environments. The study employs a qualitative methodology, conducting in-depth interviews with 18 Nigerian entrepreneurs operating in three East Asian locations: Guangzhou in China, Seoul in South Korea, and Osaka in Japan. Participants were recruited through Nigerian expatriate community associations in each city. Thematic analysis was applied to the interview data. Findings reveal that cultural distance management is the primary ongoing challenge, encompassing communication barriers, relationship-building norms that differ fundamentally from Nigerian business culture, and product and service adaptation requirements for East Asian consumer preferences. Entrepreneurs who invested early in local language acquisition show significantly better business relationship outcomes. Co-ethnic Nigerian community networks in Guangzhou function as a dense support structure for traders, while Seoul and Osaka show more dispersed and individually managed entrepreneurial pathways. Trust-building with local business partners takes significantly longer than with co-ethnic networks. Recommendations include pre-departure cross-cultural business training programmes facilitated by Nigerian embassies for aspiring East Asian business migrants. Keywords: cross-cultural entrepreneurship, Nigerian diaspora, East Asia, international business, cultural adaptation.