A Comparative Historical Analysis
By David Hanson
Routledge – 2014 – 222 pages
Routledge – 2014 – 222 pages
How did the conduct of business come to be so different in different countries? Why are some less developed countries in the process of rapid industrialization while so many others remain poor? Analysts often point to national differences in the cultures of business to explain these patterns. What then, accounts for these differences in culture? We can gain some insights into these issues by considering the incentives that are likely to shape the behaviors of upwardly mobile sub-elites. Patterns of elite initiatives in the early years of industrialization have an enduring impact on the subsequent conduct of business.
Understanding the impact of history can provide important insights into contemporary business practices. Viewed from the perspective of developmental history, apparently independent phenomena can often be seen as different aspects of a common pattern. Questions about the relation between our collective past experiences and future performances are also relevant for our understanding of democratic self-governance. Governments are generally engaged in nation building. What works? Why? Where are we collectively headed? This volume suggests some answers. Author David Hanson develops an analysis that focuses on governing elites, the need for security, and the search for status. His analysis rests on considerations of social structure, conflict, and psychology rather than on resources, markets and economics. The result is a book to offer international managers an understanding of history’s critical role in fully understanding the societies in which they operate.
"Hanson examines in depth various pairs of countries, selected based on their mercantile past. What results is an interesting, useful look at how the national managerial culture of India, for example, is so different from that of Brazil. The first two chapters build the theoretical foundations of the book's thesis by critically examining the work of Geert Hofstede, Fons Trompenaars, and others. The bulk of the volume, 10 chapters in all, gets into the specifics of cultural development in the focal countries. The book tilts more to the academic than the practical side in its writing. A good complement to the extant work on national cultures. Summing Up: Recommended." - R. Subramanian, Montclair State University published in CHOICE May 2014
1. On National Differences in Managerial Culture 2. Other Approaches to the Analysis of Culture 3. Leaders in France and China: Agents for Departed Monarchs 4. Germany and Japan: Military Leadership and Development 5. The US and the UK: Merchants and an Aristocracy 6. Italy and Mexico; Networks of Partisans 7. Brazil and India: Different Paths to Similar Goals 8. On the Virtues of Necessity: Belgium and Netherlands 9. Korea and Thailand: Conflict and Inclusion 10. Ghana and Nigeria; Corruption and Inclusion 11. Lord Buddha and Master Kong, the Pope and Martin Luther 12. Discussions, Comparisons and Conclusions
David P. Hanson is Associate Professor of Global Business in the Donahue School of Business, Duquesne University, USA.