International Management Seen Holistically. Introductory Remarks

Summary

All contemporary organisations function in an international environment, shaped by dynamic globalisation processes.

The interdependence of economic phenomena, the complexity of relations between entities operating globally, as well as the multiplicity of factors which shape strategic choices foster different interpretations and narratives explaining organisational and market dynamics in the contemporary world.

Market entities operate in between intermingling public and private spheres represented by NGOs, representatives of civic society and enterprises. The borders of the traditionally understood public and private spheres are increasingly fuzzy, which means that the activities of organisations—be they for-profit enterprises or not-for-profit entities—are embedded in multiple contexts: economic, political, but also social and cultural.

In this book, we adopt a narrative illustrating all the abovementioned complexities and multiplicities, including the macro-phenomena of the economic environment, different aspects of the strategic choices firms are obliged to make, as well as the dynamics of cultural and social consequences and determinants of organisational activity.

Macro-phenomena of the economic environment specifically include the processes of globalisation and capital concentration. In such a global environment, methods of internationalisation, expansion and modes of entry to new markets and strategies of standardisation or adaptation to local needs are among the key strategic dilemmas of international businesses.

The significance of seeing a global market as a homogenous environment is exemplified in the somewhat utopian idea of global marketing. Not only is it a consequence of the standardisation of products and promotion, but it can also be a tool for shaping cultural values and thus entire societies.

What businesses do has social as well as cultural consequences, but is also shaped by cultural antecedents. This interplay between organisations and the societal context in which they are embedded is addressed by cross-cultural management and corporate social responsibility strategies.

Theories are used to describe and explain phenomena to better understand the surrounding environment and not necessarily to provide ready-to-go recipes. Especially in management, which has at once the characteristics of a science and an art, individual success as well as that of a firm depends on creativity, innovativeness, and the ability to do something differently than others. Therefore, a manager is successful if he or she can use knowledge in a creative way. Such creative competence can develop on the basis of theorising but also the ability to interpret how different phenomena can impact each other.

This book attempts to suggest such subjective interpretations and narratives.