Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Central European economies have been moving rapidly toward a common set of goals: political democracy, market-oriented economies and integration into the European and international business community. For businesses, Central Europe offers a unique window of opportunity and, in particular, two comparative advantages: a low-cost qualified workforce and stronger growth rates than mature Western European economies. This opportunity, seized by local entrepreneurs and foreign enterprises alike, is a significant competitive threat to companies not present in the region, or who have not found alternative strategies for increased growth and competitiveness. This book addresses economic transitions in Central Europe and analyzes the problems of Central European integration in the European Union.

Advances in International Management (AIM) is a research annual devoted to advancing the cross-border study of organizations and management practices from a global, regional, or comparative perspective, with emphasis on interdisciplinary inquiry that integrates ideas from multiple academic disciplines.It publishes conceptual and empirical papers that deal with international topics from any area within the management field, including strategy, organization theory and behavior, human resource management, business ethics, entrepreneurship, technology management and others. The organizations studied can be domestic or multinational and the level of analysis can be macro or micro. To be accepted for publication a paper must make a significant contribution to advancing knowledge about international management through some combination of new theoretical insights, managerial application, methodology or data. AIM has a particular interest in publishing the following types of manuscripts: Comprehensive, state-of-the-art literature reviews that integrate diverse research streams and identify promising directions for future investigations Analytical essays that offer new conceptual models or theoretical perspectives and use these frameworks as a foundation for developing research propositions Empirical articles that report results from exploratory or hypothesis-testing studies based on quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies Methodological papers that refine existing methodologies or develop new ones for investigating particular issues or topics central to international management research.

What are the trends affecting the marketing of services? How is the current tendency towards customer orientation, globalization, deregulation and technological change determining the ways in which leading service firms conduct their marketing activities? Why is cross-sector fertilization particularly useful for services, and what type of strategic response is most likely to shape business success of service firms in the future? These are some of the questions addressed in this collective volume by academics and practitioners working with and within the service sector.

Drawing on their own business experience as well as upon theoretical developments and concepts on marketing, strategic analysis, economics and organization theory, the authors present a fresh approach to questions of marketing strategies for services in global markets. They argue that in their marketing strategies, outstanding service firms increasingly emphasize results and performance, service technology, network structure and culture, lobbying, and global thinking in approaching markets and co-operation arrangements.

Given the strength of the adjustment shock affecting service producers and its certain continuation, this book - full of insights and unconventional thinking - is an important contribution to the literature of services management. It will be useful reading for all who wish to understand why old patterns in the marketing of services are breaking down, as well as what lies around the corner.

Conventional analytical tool kits often do not work in China due to its strong idiosyncrasies and opaque system. Using rigorous economic analysis, backed by solid data and accounts of real life experiences, this book twists conventional wisdom to drive the thinking about China 'outside the box'. Many books on China are long on volume but short on thoughts. This book is the opposite. It dispels China's economic myths and probes deep into the hidden forces that drive China's economic future.

The global business area has witnessed a remarkable radical change. The recent spectacular rise of emerging economy multinationals sets numerous questions requiring explanation and understanding. Successes and Challenges of Emerging Economy Multinationals investigates a broad variety of cases presenting clear evidence of fast successful internationalization of emerging economy multinationals originating not only from big economic players such as China, India and Russia but also from other successfully internationalizing emerging countries, namely South Africa and Poland. In terms of size, the firms vary from huge multinational firms such as Huawei, Tata and Gazprom, to really small high technology firms. The in-depth analysis conducted in this book leads to the indication of numerous novel directions for further theoretical expansion and new empirical research.

This book encapsulates the 'New Normal Policy' which has changed the regional policy between China and the African continent. This volume emphasises China's role in Africa as a collaborator in an attempt to fulfil the Beijing consensus in emerging countries. The contextual research encompasses how one can comprehend the influence of the Chinese model in Africa and her diplomatic relations with the continent. China and Africa: A New Paradigm of Global Business endeavours to define whether or not the Washington model has become weathered, and the Beijing consensus more relevant in this specific continent.

The Handbook of Mediation gathers leading experts across fields related to peace, justice, human rights, and conflict resolution to explore ways that mediation can be applied to a range of spectrums, including new age settings, relationships, organizations, institutions, communities, environmental conflicts, and intercultural and international conflicts. The text is informed by cogent theory, state-of-the-art research, and best practices to provide the reader with a well-rounded understanding of mediation practice in contemporary times. Based on four signature themes-contexts; skills and competencies; applications; and recommendations-the handbook provides theoretical, applicable, and practical insight into a variety of key approaches to mediation. Authors consider modern conflict on a local and global scale, emphasizing the importance of identifying effective strategies, foundations, and methods to shape the nature of a mediation mindfully and effectively. With a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, the text complements the development of the reader's competencies and understanding of mediation in order to contribute to the advancement of the mediation field. With a conversational tone that will welcome readers, this comprehensive book is essential reading for students and professionals wanting to learn a wide range of potential interventions for conflict.

This book highlights the phenomenon of business cooperation from different theoretical approaches, and studies the most important aspects of the organizational design of cooperation. Part one studies the economic approach, organizational points of view, strategic points of view and the game theory approach. Part two studies a number of questions related to the analysis of the organization design and cooperation, and the principal cases in which cooperation has the greatest relevance: technology and international cooperation.

The world's governments are overwhelmed with climate change, war and unrest, the global financial crisis and poverty but there is a promising invention in Global Action Networks (GANs). GANs mobilize resources, bridge divides and promote the long-term deep change and innovation work that is needed to address the global challenges.

This important and timely book is at the forefront of the increasing interest in regional competitiveness in the face of ever stronger global forces. Distinguished contributors discuss issues including the impact and implications of European expansion as well as developments in the Asia-Pacific region. They also examine the driving forces, backgrounds, obstacles and opportunities for regions to become powerful global players. This highly topical book contains a wealth of empirical material and is underpinned by a thorough investigation of the theory and methodology of policy strategies for the positioning of regions in the new global economy. It will be a major source of reference for scholars, policymakers, economic planners and institutions alike in the field of regional science.

Who are the entrepreneurs who have achieved success, wealth, and recognition in their African homelands, and how did they do it? Entrepreneur Dave Fick interviewed several hundred women and men who were willing to assume risks, often spectacular ones, for personal economic gain--but who did it legally, ethically, and who are now giving back to their nations and societies at least as much as they received. They speak openly of their hardships and failures, what they did right and what they did wrong, and their accounts are remarkable. We gain insight into the way business must be done under harsh political and economic circumstances, but we also learn unusual techniques and strategies that others in more favorable milieus can use to accomplish similar feats.

With commentaries from notable scholars and other businesspeople and with Fick's own first-hand onsite observations, the book is a self-educating colloquium, a collection of personal meetings, accounts, letters, emails and telephone calls between Fick, his counterparts in Africa, and others around the world. It is also an attempt to encourage a dialogue that will accelerate the exchange and spread of knowledge and ideas, and a way to help the people of Africa build a peaceful and better society for themselves and the world.

With the onset of a knowledge economy, modern nations are hard at work using ever more sophisticated information systems to power a "technology revolution" that is transforming our lives. This book is based on the work of the TechCast Project, conducted over the past decade at the George Washington University. Pooling the knowledge of 100 high-tech CEOs, scientists, engineers, academics, consultants, futurists, and other experts from around the world, the resulting book is the best forecast data ever assembled, covering the entire span of scientific and technological innovation.

This report, first published in 1985, written by a distinguished group of legal and public policy experts, documents the growing trade in hazardous industries and toxic products. Hazard export threatens the health and environment of workers and ordinary citizens the world over. It is carried out by transnational corporations, in order to locate their most dangerous industrial activities outside the US, in countries where regulatory controls may be less strict. The issues represented here include occupational safety, environmental protection, international relations and problems of legal control. Attention is focused on the political and economic impact of hazard export on the US, Europe and developing countries, and the book's critical analysis is addressed directly to the institutional level best suited to constructive action. This title will be of interest to students of business studies.

This book presents the findings of the Japanese Multinational Enterprise Study Group concerning the worldwide transfer of Japanese Management and Production systems. Over a twenty year period, research has concentrated on the conditions surrounding technology transfer from Japanese automobile and electronics companies to their subsidiaries and affiliated plants in North and South America, East Asia, Europe, China, and Central and Eastern Europe. The book presents the "hybrid evaluation method" as a means of measuring the degree of application and adaptation of the Japanese parent systems at the local subsidiary plants. The book proposes that this evaluation method is an international model for the assessment of the transferability of the management and production system of any multinational enterprise.

The privatization revolution, profit or revenue sharing, and employee participation in enterprise decision making are some of the major characteristics of modern capitalism. Such features can be observed in almost all countries, including Western developed, Third World, and primarily ex-socialist countries. The diffusion of stock ownership, the promotion of economic and industrial democracy, and the globalization of production and finance present new challenges and opportunities and reflect important structural economic and political changes. This book examines all these issues and provides valuable information and suggestions for labor-management relations and international business cooperation.

This book offers qualitative studies of collaboration processes conducted in globalizing companies based in Denmark and with subsidiaries in Asia. It addresses the specific contexts of collaboration and studies how people with different cultural backgrounds work together, both face-to-face and in the virtual workplace.

The global offshore outsourcing market for IT and business services exceeded $55 billion in 2008 and some estimates suggest an annual growth rate of 20% over the next five years. Furthermore, over 200 firms from the Forbes 2000 companies and 50 per cent of the Fortune Global 500 had offshored IT and business process activities through captive centres, making a total of about $9bn of business. The phenomenon of offshoring and offshore-outsourcing is certainly expanding. It has become increasingly important to understand the phenomenon, not least as a basis for suggesting what directions it will take, its impacts, how it has been conducted, and how its management can be better facilitated. This book offers a broad perspective on various issues relating to the sourcing of systems and business processes in a national and global context. The authors examine both the client's and the vendor's involvement in sourcing relationships by putting the emphasis on the capabilities that each side should develop prior to entering a relationship but also that they should develop as a result of their interactions with each other.

The Multinational Enterprise and the Emergence of the Global Factory brings together research papers authored by Peter J. Buckley, focusing on three of the most important empirical and theoretical issues in the global economy: the rise of the 'global factory'; the growth of FDI from emerging economies; recent developments in the theory of IB.

This book focuses on the planning, marketing, and management of Asian tourism destinations, and evaluates current developments within Southeast-Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. As more Asian destinations enter the global tourism arena and more Asian travellers look to explore destinations in Asia and beyond, an understanding of how Asian destinations practice tourism is crucial to the future sustainable development of global tourism. This book provides an invaluable stock of research and knowledge based on the Asian practice and experience in destination planning, marketing, and management, offering insights into the latest development and trends in the region.

This book analyzes the strategy and structure of successful Japanese manufacturing corporations. In spite of the depression during the 1990s, Japanese firms in high technology products have kept strong competitive power in the world market, revealing the strength of Japanese management systems. The authors analyze 10 years worth of data for 200 manufacturing companies.

Mobile communications are about to enter the third stage in their development, widely known as 3G. This will bring always-on Internet access to mobile devices. This book investigates the history of mobile communications and explores the technological background to 3G in a user-friendly manner. It examines the licensing process throughout the world, and draws conclusions about the prospects for 3G through a comprehensive analysis of the issues that have been raised so far.

This volume deals with "anxieties" in international business and their managerial ramifications. A key actor in the international business environment is the multinational enterprise (MNE) and one can make the case that the organization and politics of the MNE is a potential pool of anxiety. Anxieties are also manifest from the perspectives of countries and localities impacted by MNC activities and investment. All contributions highlight the complexities of the international business environment or the managerial implication of such complexity.

Every few years an idea comes along that changes the way we look at the world of business. Heartland is a book that encapsulates such an idea.

Old models of competitiveness are nearing exhaustion. Few firms are genuinely global, almost all are still tied to their home market. Most firms are increasingly alike, competing on the same grounds and with the same technology. Talented employees are in short supply and ever more fickle. Margins are under gathering pressure and global revenue growth is suffering its first serious check in ten years. The battle to differentiate has never been greater and the ideas for how to do so never in shorter supply. The need for a new model to take firms to the next stage of evolution is now acute.

This book proposes a new model that can transform the national firm into a global powerhouse, a competitive Heartland.

This book provides a comprehensive, step-by-step plan that simplifies the myriad complexities surrounding the formation and incorporation of branch offices and subsidiary companies within such havens as the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Greece, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico and Switzerland. In addition, it presents detailed information on each tax haven's economic, legal, political, cultural and geographical aspects, which must be considered if such an enterprise is to operate successfully.;In this compact and informative volume, Adam Starchild reveals the secrets of tax haven business planning for the corporate executive. He details the theory and practice of haven dealings and the incorporation of holding and operating companies. He spells out the advantages and disadvantages of the multitude of haven uses that are available to all companies having any international facets to their business - whether it be manufacturing, importing components, exporting, or services.

This book reports on foreign investments in transitional economies and the corporate governance of international strategic alliances in China. It throws new light on the relationship between ownership, corporate governance, international technology transfer, organizational learning and the performance of such alliances. The book reviews the problems encountered by these international strategic alliances, provides significant empirical evidence of foreign investment decisions and profiles corporate governance and organizational learning in strategic alliances. Based on research into 1000 firms in China, it draws important conclusions for theory and practice.