Doing business in Europe is increasingly becoming an everyday reality for many companies, not only large corporations, but also small and medium-sized enterprises. European Business Environment offers students a practical introduction to how to create, manage and develop business opportunities in the European Union.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to doing business in the EU, this textbook focuses on the European dimensions of economics, marketing and law. With case studies presented throughout the book, the relationship between business and the political institutions, policies and regulations of the European Union are explored.

This is an essential introductory textbook for students at both undergraduate and graduate levels in a wide range of degree and professional programmes, including Economics, MBA, Law and Marketing. It is of particular relevance to students interested in the European context of these disciplines and can be used as a core textbook for courses in European Integration or Business and International Environment in Europe and other parts of the world.

This edited work attempts to ?make sense? of recent developments in the field of Human Resource Management in the People's Republic of China. It attempts to see how the paradoxes and contradictions engendered by contemporary Chinese society are being resolved in the enterprises and workplaces of the Middle Kingdom. The book starts with an overview of the literature, then follows with a selection of micro-oriented, concerned with topics like recruitment and retention, then macro-oriented empirical studies, a number of the latter dealing with strategic as well as performance issues, with last, those comparing sets of societal cultural values. It attempts a synthesis of what has emerged from recent research on the ?harmonious society?.

These contributions from authors based in universities in eight countries, in Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA, cover a wide range of research on HRM, from the micro- to the macro-. Six of them teach and/or research at campuses on the Mainland. Their empirical, field-based research covers the last half-decade and presents a robust picture of both what practitioners have adopted and how researchers have tried to ?make sense? of what they have investigated.

This book was based on a special issue of Intl Journal of Human Resource Management.

This book highlights the role that national culture plays in shaping the emergent relationship between IT and organizations. It also shows the mechanisms through which national culture influences IT use. Although a number of studies have investigated relationships between IT and organizations, relatively few studies have conducted international comparisons on the theme, and even fewer have focussed on national culture in their analytical framework.

Until recently, double-digit economic growth was not unusual among Asian countries and, in fact, had come to be expected of them. From western India to northeastern China, markets were booming and incredible numbers of foreign investors were racing into the Asian markets. Scholars have written laudatory books and articles, politicians want to ensure that trade with Asian countries continues on a rising trajectory, and business leaders have become the new promoters of Asian prosperity. This book attempts to inject a note of caution and reality, while giving Asian countries well-deserved credit for improving their economic status.

Technological, managerial, and institutional deficiencies need to be addressed in Asian countries if the progress of the past two decades is to be restored and preserved. Although Asian nations, particularly Japan, have invested heavily in R&D, their success mainly derives from process improvements and not from new product innovations. Technology and science are the foundations of modern economic civilization, and Asia's assets fall behind Western countries in both areas. The centrality of family-based organizations in some Asian economies and the dependence on horizontal/vertical networks in others also limits the ability of Asian firms to become global operations. The lack of adequate institutions such as an independent judiciary and a responsive polity, and the absence of organizations to bridge the gap between between familism and the government, results in an uncertain societal framework in much of Asia. If robust economic growth is to return, Asian economies must rectify the weaknesses Arogyaswamy exposes in this provocative and timely book.

The Development of International Business offers an extensive understanding of contemporary international business through detailed, engaging discussion of the development of the multinational enterprise (MNE) over the past half-century. By providing an analytically informed basis for understanding MNEs, two parallel strands of analysis in International Business (IB) are reviewed: the `theoretical' and the `practical'. Firstly, Robert Pearce identifies how the practical restructuring of the MNE as an organisational form has responded to changes in the wider global economy and how this evolution has interacted with the enrichment of theory on the topic. Secondly, by tracing the persisting dynamics of the MNE's structure and strategic positioning, he demonstrates the use of these systems and how they can help to understand and organise the future evolution of not only MNEs but of international business as a whole. Highly accessible with an informed overview of the entire IB subject area, The Development of International Business is an essential text for students and academics of business, management, economics and development. More generally, business leaders, economists and politicians will value the exceptional insight into the progression of international business and its future.

This book is a useful resource for government policy analysts, academics, students of higher education and business practitioners interested in African economies and the key economic issues these economies are facing in 2020. In the face of weak governance and growth globally, there is still a window of opportunity for countries in Africa to build on not only their traditional industrial capabilities, but also pave the way for positive developments in international trade and in the way governments tackle poverty and inequality. By focusing on four areas: (1) agriculture and livestock, (2) consumption, poverty and inequality, (3) financial services, employment and corporate governance, and (4) economic integration, international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), this book presents a series of empirical studies that examine important contemporary economic issues facing Africa. The book incorporates a range of methodological approaches, with some chapters providing case study analyses while others embrace more traditional forms of econometric testing.

China is poised to gain global importance as a growth engine for the world economy on a par with Europe and the USA. Japanese multinational enterprises are increasingly active in relocating to China their R&D and capital- and knowledge-intensive production for both export-platform and target market reasons. It is at the juncture of the growing impact of China-related activities of Japanese corporations on the transformation of Japanese management philosophies, on the one hand, and the transformation of the Japanese economy more generally, on the other, that this book is situated. As Japanese corporations re-align activities to increasingly accommodate the growing importance of China as a business location, inter-regional expansion will integrate more deeply the Chinese economy within their global strategies, business structures and decision-taking. By presenting current research and thinking on the significance of corporate Japan's growing engagement with China, the book explores the following imminent questions: What is China's future position in the global corporate activities of Japanese firms? How has China's investment profile changed and how and with what purpose do Japanese firms enforce their Chinese presence? The book sheds light on the implications for European businesses and policy-makers of the consequences of deepening integration of these two economic powerhouses. This book was published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.

Major scandals, disasters and crises have turned shareholder capitalism, so recently trumpeted as among contemporary society's most successful achievements, into one of its most worrying problem children. In this highly readable account Bryn Jones rehearses in detail the negative consequences of the growing economic and political power of the modern corporation. He then reviews a wide range of alternative ways of organizing a market economy, examples of which are found in a variety of modern economies.' - Colin Crouch, University of Warwick Business School, UK and Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, GermanyCan business corporations be made more responsible for their actions? Abuses of corporate power, its responsibilities and scandals, pervade political, academic and public debates. In this important book, Bryn Jones locates the sources of this 'corporate over-reach' in key features of the share-traded corporations which dominate global economies and national societies. Focussing on the disembedding of businesses from their social roots, he assesses alternative types of business system and prospects for shifting from 'social responsibility' to social accountability. Split into three parts, this book brings together a multitude of ideas and evidence from different fields to address: context and history, the social embedding and disembedding of business systems, and the pursuit and pitfalls of responsible capitalism. It concludes by recommending potential models for reform in the UK. Undergraduate and postgraduate students in politics, sociology, public policy and management programs will find this book both accessible and useful for its summaries of diverse literatures on business-society relations. The points of discussion will also be valuable for media commentators on business and politics, policy makers in the areas of business-society relations and campaigners and political activists.

The volume focuses on the issue of globalization of research and development (R&D) in China. China has become the number one choice of R&D for multination corporations (MNCs), according to a recent survey. Many of the largest MNCs in the world, such as Microsoft, GE, GM, HP, Motorola, and Lucent, among hundred of others, have established R&D facilities. The phenomenon has become a hot issue among policy debates in many countries regarding job outsourcing, national and regional competitiveness, and China. This book examines the issue of foreign R&D, particularly, those from MNCs in China: the drivers, missions, locations, management challenges, policies, and implications for China's innovation system. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Asia Pacific Business Review.

"Franchising Globally is first of its kind to examine franchising both from an entrepreneurial and from an international perspective. The book includes theoretical discussions and practical examples of international franchising as well as both micro and macro studies of franchising environments in different parts of the world"--Provided by publisher.

The challenges that firms managing global work face are many. In addition to geographical and time zone differences, global firms face cultural differences. This book highlights the importance of organizing knowledge processes to overcome challenges involved in global work. It provides frameworks and tools that enable the reader to consider how to strike a balance between these knowledge processes. The book is a must read of practitioners, academics or students concerned with managing knowledge processes in globally distributed work

The book explores how the influence by the corporate sector in the economic interactions globally leads to the international governance framework pertaining to CSR, that is primarily based on soft law attributes. Such international soft law regime uniquely influences the way the legal regime around CSR has shaped up in India. Through innovative methodology, the analysis of regulatory space and instruments and the structural framework construe the relationship between state and corporate sectors. It is necessary to investigate the two-fold relationship of state and corporate actors. The book takes up a regulatory, institutional and socio-political investigations through studying the case of CSR in India in the backdrop of the transformations taking place in national arena, its international inspirations and resulting regulatory model that evolve. How the existing regulatory space is affected? What are the implications on the regulatory instruments? The pursuit of the answers would also involve investigation of questions as to how the state-corporate relationship constructed, construed and conducted post state's ratification of CSR. What are the reasons of such changes? What implications do the role of politics and corporate strategies have on the renewed interest in CSR? The book deals with these aforementioned aspects. This scholarly work synthesizes political, economic and legal aspects of the role of the state and corporate sector with narrowly defined focus of CSR which has the ability to provide a comprehensive broad-brushed account of the larger framework.

Among the success stories of economic development through hi-tech industries, the emergence of India as a major center in the world for software production and exports stands out. This is a fascinating story of economic development in a poor and technologically underdeveloped economy that surged to prominence within a relatively short period of less than two decades. The industry has sustained annual growth rates in excess of 35% for over 15 years since the early 1990s, when the country embarked upon an ambitious economic reforms program. However, within the country, the growth of this industry has been highly uneven, with the southern and the western regions leading the rest of the country. This trend has drawn attention to the role of regional policies in the development of this industry. Investigating these issues in depth will help us understand how the state can play a role in propelling an economy forward. The book also compares the different ways in which three states in southern India have established their software industries, illuminating the multiple pathways that are available to developing regions for industrial development, as well as how they affect the type and structure of the industry that evolve. In this first comprehensive study of the role of regional policies in the development of software industry in India, Rajendra Kumar explains the success of these states in terms of four critical factors: availability of adequate skilled labor and specialized infrastructure, pro-employer labor and policy reforms, ethnic linkages of immigrant professionals abroad who returned to establish firms in their native states, and their existing technological capabilities at the beginning of reforms. Contrary to common explanations in the literature, the state did not play a significant role in providing specialized R&D or finance to the industry. He also presents a new "Competitive Flexibility" model and shows that increasing globalization presents tremendous opportunities for developing regions to become globally competitive in a hi-tech field. This is an important book for all scholars and policy makers interested in economic development through high-technology-based industries.

What does a Thai or a Latin American mean when he or she says, The report will be done in a few days? What does an American or a Japanese mean when he or she says, Meeting this schedule will be difficult? The cultural and social dimensions of international business became a topic of concern in the 1970s, and there has been a virtual explosion of literature on the subject since 1980. This bibliography provides over 1300 annotated entries on material covering all aspects of the culture of international business. Although the volume includes a few classic works published before 1980, it focuses on the literature published from 1980 to 1991, and is the most up-to-date and comprehensive bibliography on the subject. The volume opens with chapters covering the literature on Cross-Cultural Communication, Cross-Cultural Training, The Expatriate Experience, and Negotiations. The fifth chapter is devoted to Multicultural Studies. The next chapters are devoted to specific geographical areas, including Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Japan, China and Related Areas, and the Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia. The work also includes subject and author indexes. The volume will be a major aid to researchers, teachers, and human resource managers.

This book provides a detailed study of the Thai rubber industry and its utilisation of renewable resources, focussing on the use of open source software in building supply chain models. By describing elements that the supply chain is composed of and relating this to Thailand's rubber industry, the authors then outline the construction of a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model and use open source software to model renewable resources in this particular supply chain. Emphasis is placed on the way that modelling can aid the important decision-making required in the exploitation of natural resources. By taking a hands-on approach and offering a valuable guide for readers, this book not only appeals to academics in the fields of industrial engineering, operations, logistics and supply chain management, but also to practitioners, policy-makers and associations involved in the rubber industry.

This is the fourth volume in a series designed to be of interest to all those involved in the business, economic or financial affairs of the Pacific Basin.

As multinational firms struggle to compete in a global economy, their operating and accounting decisions are being made in an environment that's characterized by fluctuating exchange rates, innovative and flexible organizational structures, and a dynamic and diverse control strategy. As a result, managerial accounting techniques have to adapt to this unique environment by devising new ways to solve decision problems. This book explores the major issues that accountants in multinational corporations, and their outside consulting firms, must deal with if they are to understand how the corporation is performing financially, and if they are to effectively advise top management.

To describe the specific environment of multinational management accounting and the particular accounting techniques required for efficient operation, Ahmed Belkaoui divides his study into four topical sections. The first offers an introductory overview of the new international business environment and the extent of financial engineering. Section two focuses on managing exchange rate risks, and covers such issues as the management of foreign exchange risk, the management of economic exposure, and the management of transaction exposure. Organization and controlling are detailed in section three, with separate chapters exploring the organizational structures and control of multinational operations and performance evaluation techniques. The final section examines management accounting issues, including international financial analysis, international capital budgeting, pricing strategies, the lease-or-buy decision, and advanced capital budgeting. This work will be an essential resource for accounting professionals working in multinational organizations and the international business environment, as well as for students in accounting and international business courses. Public, academic, and business libraries will all find it to be a valuable addition to their collections.

The fifth volume of the Academy of International Business Series concentrates on three crucial areas of International Business: organizational issues across multinational enterprises, international market entry strategy and emerging markets. It examines theory and practice in parent-subsidiary relationships, in host country and MNE interactions, and in the organizational response of international business to dynamics in the global economy.

An effective coach can help the business leader make sense of the challenges and complexities of modern international business, unlocking the potential of both leader and organization. This important new Handbook offers the first comprehensive and detailed introduction to the theory and practice of international business coaching, drawing on the very latest academic research, as well as real-world examples of international best practice.

This book provides practitioners and students with an innovative theoretical framework, which extends existing coaching models to place coaching within cultural, organizational and group-team contexts. Contributors from around the world explore different perspectives and practices and offer practical tools to apply the theories and models to the real-life business context.

The Routledge Companion to International Business Coaching is essential reading for all trainee business coaches, all students of coaching theory and method, and for all business leaders looking to understand better the role of the modern business coach.

Although Asia has been the world engine of economic growth since World War II, growth rates have differed sharply among the countries of the region. Still, all Asian countries have experienced some degree of growth limitation. Japan is facing the crucial issue of a quickly aging and shrinking population, a situation that South Korea is bound to face in the near future too. China, which still enjoys relatively high growth rates, is dealing with an exhaustion of its export-led growth model based on low wages, as well as huge and unprecedented environmental problems. In addition, food supply is still a concern for most Asian countries in spite of huge increases in productivity in the agricultural sector, the main reason being that global demand for food products has been increasing at an even higher speed. This edited collection focuses on the policies - at the macroeconomic level - and strategies - at the micro-meso economic levels - that need to be deployed in order to overcome the limits to growth in a post-global financial crisis and export-led growth context. It will be of interest to all scholars of economics, management and the political sciences who work on the economies of East Asia, and also to all those who work on the theme of 'transition economies'.

This book is concerned with the role of financial intermediation in economic development and growth in the context of Malaysia. Using an analytical framework, the author investigates the Malaysian economy from 1960 onwards to examine how far financial development has progressed in the course of economic development, and whether it has been instrumental in promoting economic growth. A significant improvement in the Malaysian financial system, coupled with rapid economic growth and a rich history of financial sector reforms, makes Malaysia an interesting case study for this subject. The author shows that some government interventions seem to have impacted negatively on economic growth, whereas repressionist financial policies such as interest rate controls, high reserve requirements and directed credit programmes seem to have contributed positively to financial development. The analysis concludes that financial development leads to higher output growth via promoting private saving and private investment. Shedding light on the evolutionary role of financial system and the interacting mechanisms between financial development and economic growth, this book will be of interest to those interested in economic and financial development, financial liberalization, saving behaviour and investment analysis and Asian Studies.

Bankers in Japan and China are masters of accounting, not risk management, and American-style rescue packages won't solve their banking crises. Cleaning up balance sheets and purging non-performing loans won't work either, say Arayama and Mourdoukoutas. The problem goes deeper. It stems from high growth environments and tight government regulation. The result has been to limit competition in Japan and eliminate it in China. And that led to the control of management behavior, which weakened incentives for Japanese and Chinese bank decision-makers to manage, hands-on, their traditional and nontraditional banking risks. Adding to the problem is rationed credit, reflecting MITI and MOF priorities in Japan and those set by the central planning authorities in China. Japanese bankers have been turned into experts on the abacus, the ancient calculator, but they have little experience with or understanding of the other more important aspects of the banking enterprise. Arayama and Mourdoukoutas lay it all out in a challenging, provocative, readable study and analysis. It is an essential resource for academicians and policymakers in business, government, and international finance and investment.

Arayama and Mourdoukoutas make it clear that Japanese and Chinese bankers must learn how to behave as for-profit institutions, where managers are accountable to the owners and other stakeholders. Second, they must be freed from government directives (in China) and guidance (in Japan) that control their day-to-day operations, and which restrict freedom to develop new products and businesses. Third, Japanese and Chinese bank managers must learn to act as true bankers. They must learn how to manage credit risk and function as public trading corporations. They must also learn how to deal with transparency and full disclosure rules and regulations, just as their Western counterparts must and do. In other words, say the authors, bank managers must escape the abacus mentality and learn how to use their brains rather than their fingers... and that may take much longer than anxious Western observers would have expected.

This book provides the invaluable intercultural knowledge to help you make a deal, sell your product, or find a joint venture, no matter where your business takes you. Business people who work internationally or work with people who are international need to know how to act before they can get the business-and keep it. Proper business communication includes everything from emails to eye contact, and the rules of what is "right" in other countries can be daunting to navigate. Global Business Etiquette: A Guide to International Communication and Customs, Second Edition provides critical information that businesspeople-both for men and women-need to understand the dynamics of cross-cultural communication, avoid embarrassing and costly gaffes, and succeed in business outside of the United States. Topics covered in this indispensible resource include conversation topics that are considered appropriate for different situations; how to make a positive good impression; dress and travel; attitudes toward religion, education, status, and social class; and cultural variations in public behavior. Information is provided about the United States at the end of each chapter about the ten countries that Americans do the most business with to benefit international readers.