The globalization of the economy, with increased cross-border alliances, ventures and global relocations, as well as the advent of e-commerce, has brought about major changes in the field of international customer relations and intercultural diversity management. This has led to an increased appreciation by companies that managing cultural differences properly can be a key factor in getting things done effectively across borders. With increased contact of personnel and customers from diverse cultural backgrounds, there is a growing demand for businesses to understand and manage the diverse values, perceptions, business worldviews and behaviour of corporations, staff, and its customers. Intercultural communication and management is an interdisciplinary human resources field concerned with facilitating communication, management and effective interaction of personnel and customers across borders.

Many companies have made massive losses through the mismanagement of international projects. Such losses are even clearer when one considers that statistically over three quarters of international acquisitions and alliances fail due to cultural differences. While intercultural management is a "soft" issue difficult to quantify financially, given the potential losses that have been made in the past, it is immensely important for companies to consider cultural issues properly when dealing in any major international venture, alliance or other cross-border project.