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Naturally this news has gotten a lot of coverage in the Netherlands. One of the reasons mentioned for the amount of pushback is the "bullying" attitude of Meta

Naturally this news has gotten a lot of coverage in the Netherlands. One of the reasons mentioned for the amount of pushback is the "bullying" attitude of Meta in the negotiations and the aggressiveness of its lobbying. (See e.g. https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2022/03/30/de-laatste-boerin-vertrekt-maar-facebook-komt-niet-naar-zeewolde-a4105865 https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2022/03/30/de-laatste-boerin-vertr...) This may point to a culture clash, a misreading of Dutch values. Dutch business is widely known for its matter-of-factness not to say bluntness, Dutch politics is known for "polderen", the grinding process of seeking compromises between all parties involved. It seems like Meta may have confused the two.

nigerian1981 5y ago
You would have thought Meta would have had employed plenty of Dutch resources with local knowledge.
- DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
  Disclaimer: I'm European and have worked in American tech mega-corps. And I grew up in a similar situation: my dad was an eng for a couple of American mega-corps so I'm familiar with how things work over two generations, first and second-hand. While I've never worked at Meta/Facebook I did interview twice but didn't get an offer. Incidentally, I've still never had a Facebook account in my life, ever. (I was too unpopular and friendless in uni for anyone to ask me to sign-up) ------- > You would have thought Meta would have had employed plenty of Dutch resources with local knowledge. Without doubt, the necessary US-based director-level people at Meta almost certainly did do that, as well as pulling-in expertise from the world of geopolitical consulting. And then immediately after reviewing all that input they didn't want to hear, the Meta folks very likely thought-up a quick plan that they knew for certain would outsmart those silly over-regulating and anti-business, Europeans... which clearly didn't, and hence we find ourselves in the situation we have today. Do not underestimate the ego and (not mincing my words) arrogance of people who make it to the top: as soon as you start using "I'm C-level/D-level at Meta, I'm hot shit" in your thought-processes you're in for a nasty grounding incident, much to our amusement. ----- Post-disclaimer: It's not about being American, it's about not letting your personal career success go to your head. The reason we don't see non-American companies acting like this is because eventually all companies grow big enough to re-identify (if not relocate...) as an American company (...or they get acquired by an American company), because that's the single biggest market in the world, and you can't conquer the world without owning the North American market in whatever business you do, imo.
- kieckerjan 5y ago
  They did. One of their lobbyists Vince van Son is the son of Dutch emigrants, and another one, Edo Haveman, even worked for members of parliament before. Maybe the problem is that Dutch "resources" are easily Americanized. The American and Dutch ways of doing business are not that different in style, just in scale. I suspect many Dutch entrepreneurs secretly think that if they just act a little more American, they can cut through the red tape and get things done. That may work on some levels, but not in Dutch politics.
- KaiserPro 5y ago
  They might, but they don't have many dutch people working for them, and they certainly can't handle dutch directness.

nigerian1981 5y ago

You would have thought Meta would have had employed plenty of Dutch resources with local knowledge.

DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
Disclaimer: I'm European and have worked in American tech mega-corps. And I grew up in a similar situation: my dad was an eng for a couple of American mega-corps so I'm familiar with how things work over two generations, first and second-hand. While I've never worked at Meta/Facebook I did interview twice but didn't get an offer. Incidentally, I've still never had a Facebook account in my life, ever. (I was too unpopular and friendless in uni for anyone to ask me to sign-up) ------- > You would have thought Meta would have had employed plenty of Dutch resources with local knowledge. Without doubt, the necessary US-based director-level people at Meta almost certainly did do that, as well as pulling-in expertise from the world of geopolitical consulting. And then immediately after reviewing all that input they didn't want to hear, the Meta folks very likely thought-up a quick plan that they knew for certain would outsmart those silly over-regulating and anti-business, Europeans... which clearly didn't, and hence we find ourselves in the situation we have today. Do not underestimate the ego and (not mincing my words) arrogance of people who make it to the top: as soon as you start using "I'm C-level/D-level at Meta, I'm hot shit" in your thought-processes you're in for a nasty grounding incident, much to our amusement. ----- Post-disclaimer: It's not about being American, it's about not letting your personal career success go to your head. The reason we don't see non-American companies acting like this is because eventually all companies grow big enough to re-identify (if not relocate...) as an American company (...or they get acquired by an American company), because that's the single biggest market in the world, and you can't conquer the world without owning the North American market in whatever business you do, imo.
kieckerjan 5y ago
They did. One of their lobbyists Vince van Son is the son of Dutch emigrants, and another one, Edo Haveman, even worked for members of parliament before. Maybe the problem is that Dutch "resources" are easily Americanized. The American and Dutch ways of doing business are not that different in style, just in scale. I suspect many Dutch entrepreneurs secretly think that if they just act a little more American, they can cut through the red tape and get things done. That may work on some levels, but not in Dutch politics.
KaiserPro 5y ago
They might, but they don't have many dutch people working for them, and they certainly can't handle dutch directness.