European Business Cultures

European Business Cultures provides an insight into the social, economic and political perspectives of selected countries in East and West Europe. The text analyses the cultural differences between countries, discusses their origins and assesses the impact they have on the way each conducts business.

Key member states of the EU have been selected for their economic or political importance, or as being representative of a region. Each country is examined under a series of themes: historical background; national attitude towards the EU; national stake in the EU; the implications of ethnic regions; the advantage of EU membership; and the business impact of the EU. Thus the main focus is on cultural differences and cohesion within Europe and how this impinges upon global business relationships. European Business Cultures helps business leaders prepare for the impending wave of cross-border European mergers through the only viable approach: a knowledge of the cultural environment of the merger partner.

• Draws upon cultural patterns and systems rather than relying solely upon the analysis of institutional data
• Specific issues for further reflection are raised to enable students and managers to pursue their thinking beyond the content of the book itself
• Maps and graphs help trace cultural borders and economic developments
• Each chapter has been written by an expert on that country

This book is intended for international managers seeking to better understand their European partners and advanced undergraduate or postgraduate students interested in European business.

• Foreword
• Editor's Preface
• About the contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Part I: The European Union
1. Germany and Europe
   Collin Randlesome, Cranfield University, UK
2. France in Europe
   Michel Péron, La Sorbonne, Paris, France
3. Spain
   Luis Torras, EADA (Escuela de Alta Dirección y Administración), Barcelona, Spain
4. United Kingdom: A pebble in the maelstrom?
   Rehan ul-Haq, University of Birmingham, UK
5. The Netherlands
   Albert Hovius, IBS Groningen, Netherlands
   
• Part II: The Former EFTA countries: The failure of loose federation
6. Switzerland and Europe
   Alexander Bergmann, HEC (Hautes Etudes Commerciales), Lausanne, Switzerland
7. Sweden in Europe
   Christer Nedstrom, City of Stockholm, Sweden
   
• Part III: Central and eastern Europe: From disintegration to unity?
8. Coping with Russia as a bad fir
   Nigel J. Holden, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
9. Ukraine
   Pavlo Sheremeta, International Management Institute, Kiev, Ukraine
10. Hungary: From goulash communism to goulash capitalism
    Robert Kovach, Pepsi Cola Bottling, Warsaw, Poland and János Vecsenyi, Budapest Bank, Hungary
    
• Part IV: Europe seen from abroad: An emerging or stumbling giant?
11. US/EU relations in the last decade: Fortress Europe to the transatlantic business dialogue
    Irene Finel-Honigman, US Department of Commerce
12. India and Europe: A distance embrace
    Prabhu Guptara, UBS Executive Management Centre, Wolfsberg, Switzerland
    
13. Europe through Japanese eyes
    Robert Orr, Nippon Motorola and Stephen Anderson, US Department of Commerce
    
• Statistical appendix

Shallow, uninteresting, and bad history lessons about some European countries, with some added facts, that you may find in any decent lexicon.

This book doesn't live up to either its promise or its title, as the so called "business culture" is sorely missed.

Skip it, as there doesn't exist any reason to read it, and even less to pay for it!