`In Another Country' or the Relativization of Management Learning

Abstract

While there are powerful reasons for expecting management style and practice to be the same around the world, the weight of evidence of the last 15 or so years suggests that this is not the case, that there are a range of differences. These differences are explored at some length with regard to five major industrial countries. It is also suggested that there has been a tendency to view business relationships between countries/cultures in terms of international encounter, and this paper argues instead for a more sustained approach that emphasizes in-context understanding.