International Business and Management – serie

"Managing Cultural Differences" examines the cultural and organizational complexities which arise during mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances. More than 50 per cent of all corporate alliances fail, and those concluded across cultural divides are even less likely to succeed. These failures can be due to the executives concentrating on the financial strategic aspects of the deal at the expense of cultural, organizational and execution aspects. As a result of a 5-year research, Piero Morosini found that national cultural differences are not necessarily detrimental to cross-border mergers and alliances, but rather if handled effectively can actually enhance corporate performance. "Managing Cultural Differences" demonstrates that superior 'execution skills' can lead to the successful implementation of overseas alliances. It is based on rigorous research methods, backed up with indepth interviews with Senior Executives and real world case studies of leading multinationals. The book explains the strategic relationship between national cultural differences, execution and the performance of global and corporate alliances. The unique findings in this book are a reflection of the author's background that has combined academia and management. Piero Morosini is a Research Fellow at the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Process Center, USA and a Managing Consultant at Andersen Consulting Strategic Services Group in Milan. He was formerly a consultant for McKinsey & Co and has had extensive international experience with JP Morgan and Flemings. Morosini has published in leading academic journals such as European Management Journal and Journal of International Business Studies.

The book presents the most recent developments in international industrial and service marketing research, from a relationship and network perspective. While the latter perspective has a long tradition in Europe, "relationship marketing" has also in recent years become one of the dominant approaches in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. However, the schools of thought on relationships and networks emerging from different marketing traditions examine different concepts, use different methods and arrive at different outcomes, all of which are reflected here.

This book aims to fulfil two objectives: to contribute to the state of knowledge in the broad area of relationship marketing and to provide readers with an insight into the antecedents and roots of the current "fashionable" interest in relationship marketing. The first part of this book presents ideas on our current understanding of networks, relationships, and interaction. The second part contains contributions which will be of interest to all those undertaking research in the area of business-to-business marketing. Part three, containing contributions with a strategic orientation, aims to give readers an indication of how broad the scope of the subject matter really is. The contributions represent some of the most current and interesting thinking and empirical research in the field, and have been chosen to reflect the way in which the theme of relationship marketing has matured and developed. They cover the three areas of interactions, networks, and relationships, but this book goes further by the way in which these topics are covered. The chapters include theoretical developments in the area, practical case studies, and also new methodologies that can be applied to the study of relationship marketing.

This book examines the relationship between multinational firms and emerging markets, a relationship which has changed profoundly in the period from the 1950's to the late 1990's. Governments and multinational firms have moved from a situation of conflict to one where government policies were seen as a constraint on the activities of MNE's, and finally to an era of cooperation. This relationship has been reflected in (and driven by) academic writing on the subject, of which this book is a selection of the best examples. The readings in part one show how the critical conflictual elements of the relationship were emphasized in the period 1950 to 1975. Latterly, writing has emphasized cooperation, even harmony, and writers have pointed out that free trade based on cooperative advantage can bring benefits for all. The most profound change in the world economy in the early post-war period was the emergence of successive waves of Asian 'newly industrializing countries' (NIC's) as key players, bringing new competition to Western nations and fostering the notion of a 'loss of competitiveness' in the developed countries, as well as changing the nature of FDI in the developing countries. These issues are covered in part two. As outward oriented policies replaced protectionist ones, emerging country multinationals became salient: the analysis of their strategies is the subject of part three. Part four examines how the policies of host governments towards inward investment have been shaped by the increasing interdependence of global economic activity. Asian emerging countries went beyond NIC status to become full global competitors, and the post-communist nations began to enter the world economy as new NICs. The danger facing many economies was that of being left on the fringes as globalisation drew countries together, either through expanded world trade and FDI or through the creation of trading blocs (EU, NAFTA, ASEAN-AFTA). The wholly new issues which have inevitably been thrown up by these changes are examined in the final part of this collection.

Emerging global markets and rapid technological development make strong demands on the ability of companies to develop and utilize knowledge. In order to handle the knowledge management problem, firms have to search for new collaborative ways of organizing internationalization and technical development. This is reflected in a growing interest among both businessmen and academics in business networks. Business networks have been defined as networks of connected business relationships between firms, where a business relationship is a lasting relation between two firms doing business with one another. Business network relationships are particularly interesting since they allow the companies to interact more closely with each other and thereby handle critical problems in a way that is beneficial in the long run for the parties involved. It has been demonstrated that business networks are closely related to company learning. First, learning is an important element in business network development. Second, learning is an effect of interaction in business networks relationships. Third, learning can be a part of interaction in relationships. Against this background, the objective of this volume is to discuss learning in business network settings.

This work encompasses the latest thinking on managing international business ventures in China's emerging economy. It examines key topics in areas including management of joint ventures, human resource management, and strategic management. With contributions from world-renowned scholars on China, this volume provides a forum for discussing some of the most important and contemporary research on managing international business ventures in China.

Reflects the current state-of-the-art research in the alliance field. It is based on thirty-six papers contributed by leading academics at a conference hosted by Professors Contractor and Lorange at IMD, Switzerland. A follow-up to the original conference this book reflects the latest thinking within this field. While the papers have an academic tone, they abound with practical insights and recommendations for alliance practice. Cooperative Strategies in International Business contains papers presented at a conference fifteen years ago hosted by Professors Contractor and Lorange and held at Rutgers University, USA. The book, had a strong impact on the field of international management and strategy, and presaged the explosive growth of alliances over the last decade. It remains today a landmark reference volume, and its papers are still widely read and referenced in companies, MBA and doctoral programs in Business Management worldwide. Together both books provide an indispensable set for academics, policy makers, consultants and strategists involved in strategic alliances.

The internationalisation of business has accelerated during the post-war period and particularly in the past decade. At the same time, research on international business has grown considerably. The early efforts in the 1950s have been followed by a vast number of research projects all over the world attempting to understand and explain the processes and problems of internationalisation. The aim of this book is to continue this task by providing critical perspectives on internationalisation and on internationalisation research.

For marketers, the Internet is increasing in importance. One important marketing issue is how to initiate, develop, and manage relationships with customers through the Internet. This holds true for marketing of goods and services, in domestic as well as international markets. This book aims to improve our knowledge on utilization of the Internet in marketing. The book will supply theoretical as well empirical knowledge on managing customer relationships on the Internet. This book also contributes to the development of theory to explain the internationalization process of Internet firms by proposing that models that emphasize knowledge and network are suitable for this purpose. In doing so, the book answers questions such as: What types of business relationships are possible to establish and develop on the Internet? How much face-to-face contact do we need in business relationships? What are the key driving mechanisms in Internet-based relationship development? It is a true international comparative management book, including data from Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Finland. The book contains 14 chapters. The evidences supplied in the book are based on research in industries such as health care, bio-technology, information technology, and the air-lines. The contributors to this book are active researchers in the field of internet and marketing. The material supplied in this book is new and original. This series: provides an international perspective to the study of business, with a special emphasis on management and marketing issues; deals with such topics as globalization, international business negotiations, cross-cultural communication, entry strategies, doing business in different regions, and future trends; and, also focuses on the development of international business theory, methodological issues, the results of empirical studies and the findings of practitioners.

Editorial Objectives This series applies a truly international perspective to the study of international business, with a special emphasis on management and marketing issues, and aims to advance the frontiers of knowledge in this fast developing field. Topicality The International Business and Management series deals with such topics as globalization, international business negotiations, cross-cultural communication, entry strategies, doing business in different regions and future trends. Work on competition, the development of international business theory, methodological issues, the results of empirical studies and the findings of practitioners also fall within its brief. Key Benefits This series provides high-quality, relevant articles that give comprehensive analysis and empirical findings in all aspects of financial planning, analysis and forecasting. It creates a global forum for discussion and debate of key issues in these fields. Key Audiences International Business and Management provides up-to-date guidance to students and practitioners of international business and aims to advance the frontiers of knowledge in this fast developing field. The series is widely accepted and available in most university/college libraries. A number of volumes are also used as text books and recommended readings for postgraduate courses in top universities all over Europe.  Coverage Subject coverage includes, but is not restricted to:Globalization International business negotiations Cross-cultural communication Entry strategies Doing business in different regions Future trends The development of international business theory

An intellectual property (IP) system was established in China in 1985. Since then, the merits and drawbacks of the system have become apparent in theory and practice. Despite the fact that a great deal has been written about the Chinese IP system, systematic studies of the subject are still scarce, especially from a corporate management perspective. The book has three aims. It evaluates the problems UK and US multinational enterprises have encountered in their IP Flows into different enterprises in China. It also analyses the causes of these problems and suggests methods of avoiding future problems. The overall rationale for the book is to fill a void in our understanding of IP rights in China, particularly from a corporate perspective. It is important to draw upon a variety of discipline approaches when exploring these issues, which are influenced by the political context, the legislative framework, economic factors and the existence of cultural differences. The book is composed of ten chapters containing studies of related IP history, previous study on the area, and the current empirical survey. Major findings are discussed in later chapters of the book. In the conclusions, the book provides eleven suggestions for future practice for companies involved with IP flows.

The publication of this book is timely and appropriate because it deals with Eastern and Central Europe (ECE), and alliances with local partners with different attitudes, beliefs and ways of thinking. At the beginning of the 1990s many Western firms entered ECE hurriedly without thinking about the complexities associated with this region. Many promising business ideas failed due to lack of knowledge about the local environment including social, cultural, political and human resource related issues. This book therefore addresses issues in depth as how to reduce the gaps between Western and Eastern firms and how to make the alliances workable and fruitful. Initially motives are focused to assess partners' expectations from the alliances. Once expectations are known, it becomes easier to evaluate performance of the activities. Exchange of complementary resources plays a vital role in the formation, management and development of the relationships. The change of need over time and exchange of resources are seen as a consequence of learning that takes place on the part of alliance partners. Environmental factors are of particular interest in this study as they influence the operations in various ways and many times can directly contribute to the success or failure of the collaborations. It includes topics such as: Exchange of complementary resources; Grouping of Eastern and Central Europe on the basis of success in adopting market economy; Role of environment factors on alliance operations; Scope and consequence of learning on the alliance; and development and benefits of networking.

The purpose of the volume is to analyze the impact of European Union on inward foreign direct investment in Europe and to discuss what type of effects are being created by this race for FDI. The volume deals with two levels of discussion: first, by looking at the policy issues as addressed by the EU authorities and incentive regimes exercised in single countries by local governments. Second, by looking at company strategies towards location selection and whether there is a trend towards concentration in some countries or regions. Although academically it is still under discussion, most countries believe that inward foreign direct investment is beneficial for local economies. It is considered positive not only for job opportunities but also for tax income, technological development and competitiveness of local firms. Countries thus create different type of incentives for foreign firms, such as; direct incentives/subsidies, tax relief, soft loans and preferred handling. This race for attracting inward FDI has been intensified in the European Union. However, there has hardly been any research to understand the impact of EU on the competition among EU-countries to attract FDI. This volume will investigate whether there is such a race or not and provide evidence from different countries.

Today there is hardly any company that can claim that it is not involved in international business (IB). A huge body of literature is available on international business, but there are very few publications on the most important aspect of IB, namely negotiations. The purpose of this book is to enhance our understanding about the impact of culture and communication on international business negotiations. Consequently to explore the problems faced by Western managers while doing business abroad and provide some guidelines for international business negotiations. The book is divided in four parts. The first part explains the nature of international business negotiations. The second part deals with culture and its aspect on international business and negotiations. Part three discusses negotiations for different type of businesses and finally, part four provides insightful examples from different parts of the world and provides concrete guidelines to handle cross-cultural negotiations. It focuses on the most important aspect of international business: negotiations!

Today there is hardly any company that can claim that it is not involved in international business (IB). A huge body of literature is available on international business, but there are very few publications on the most important aspect of IB, namely negotiations. The purpose of this book is to enhance our understanding about the impact of culture and communication on international business negotiations. Consequently to explore the problems faced by Western managers while doing business abroad and provide some guidelines for international business negotiations. The book is divided in four parts. The first part explains the nature of international business negotiations. The second part deals with culture and its aspect on international business and negotiations. Part three discusses negotiations for different type of businesses and finally, part four provides insightful examples from different parts of the world and provides concrete guidelines to handle cross-cultural negotiations. It focuses on the most important aspect of international business: negotiations!

Over the past twenty years, several countries in Europe, Central and South America and Asia have undergone a transition from a planned economy to a market economy. Some observers have described this process as perhaps the biggest economic experiment of the last few centuries. However, knowledge about how this process affects business in these countries remains limited. The task of this book is to increase our understanding about how business changes at the micro level during the transition to a market economy. The focus of this book is placed on the Russian market, as Russia is one of the biggest countries currently making the transition. The book takes as its point of departure the observation that firms and managers perceive the management of networks of relationships with customers and suppliers to be their greatest challenge. It presents a case study, which covers the period from 1986 to 1998, and analyses and explains how business networks in Russia have changed over the past fifteen years. Moreover, it identifies the driving factors in the process of moving away from plan-governance and toward the development of business relationships characterised by mutuality, stability and identity. Martin Johanson is associate professor at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, and Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall. He received his Ph.D. from Uppsala University in 2001. He has ten years of experience working as a diplomat and business consultant in Russia. His research interests are transformation of networks in turbulent economies and firms entry into emerging markets.

The increasing global interdependency in economy and business transaction asserts the importance of documenting the most recent developments in global work and organizational behaviours, which are strongly influenced by the advancement of information technologies, virtual business transactions, multicultural business groups and expanded business settings across cultures. An in-depth analysis of some major areas of developments and developmental needs for some areas which have paramount influence on international work, organizational and business psychology is of both academic and practical importance. Our book aims to present thoughtful analyses of some major developments in work and organisational psychology, with a focus on international business and management. The book is expected to benefit students, researchers, practitioners and employers. We hope our relentless efforts to compile leading authors work will bring fresh ideas and thought-provoking issues on both theoretical and practical applications of emerging psychological knowledge in work and occupational psychology, to the international management and business. The book will have immense value to the global market, especially for international business and management courses, programme development and delivery on work and organizational psychology across cultures, inter and intra-cultural developmental programme on business transactions, and recent developmental issues in cross-national management and business. An eclectic approach is taken to showcase the chapters in this book. Each author is asked to invest his/hers valuable insights to write a selected chapter with examples from relevant research, utilizing scholarly and reflective arguments to cover the essence of the theme in a particular chapter. Each Chapter has adopted an easy going style to inform readers about the developments in a major area. The discussion in each chapter is assembled with author/s own research and management experiences, thus providing a real-life perspective, highlighting the importance of applying recent developmental issues to the future academic work in the international management and business field. This series: provides an international perspective to the study of business, with a special emphasis on management and marketing issues; deals with such topics as globalization, international business negotiations, cross-cultural communication, entry strategies, doing business in different regions, and future trends; and focuses on the development of international business theory, methodological issues, the results of empirical studies and the findings of practitioners.

This book presents new evidence on what really drives the competitive performance of organizations in todays multicultural milieu. This new evidence suggests that only when an organization develops a strong "Common Glue" that blends its male and female characteristics harmoniously at the leadership levels, does it become capable of transcending cultural, geographic and functional boundaries and of achieving sustainable and superior competitive performance. Grounded in hard data and empirical evidence established through a 5-year research project spanning scores of organizations and company executives world-wide, these breakthrough findings have far-reaching implications for any institution or individual person interested in harnessing differences to unleash the competitive performance of organizations.

In their foreign markets, MNCs interact not only with customers and suppliers but also with governments and bureaucrats. The book is an outcome of several years of research on MNCs market activities in developing and industrialized countries. Different from the earlier studies this book addresses how interactions not only with business partners, but also with the vast variety of governmental and legislative organizations, affect local firms and MNCs businesses. Based on the business network theory, the book develops a new model for the exchange relationship between local customers and MNCs and investigates the effect of different political organizations and other business firms. It examines relationship using several dimensions, business, social and political, through multiple cases from a developing country (DC) and industrialized countries. The comparison provides deepened knowledge on strength and longevity of business relationship in these two different business worlds. The outcomes reveal new insights with the claim for general appliance for DCs. The book supports the management of MNCs in their understanding of local firms behavior in such markets and to retain appropriate measure in their globalization efforts. The book also enables governments in DCs to realize consequences of their political actions for both local firms and MNCs and thereby industrialization of the country.

Transparency has in recent years become a buzzword in the economic-political debate about prospects for economic growth in general and for Europe in particular. A number of events, trends, and developments for example the East-Asian financial crisis, a series of corporate governance scandals in the United States and in Europe, the introduction of the euro as a common currency in part of the European Union, a global trend toward politically independent central banks, growing attention to environmental issues, and attempts to reform the governance structures of supranational and multilateral organizations such as the EU and the UN have made transparency an issue of highest concern. However, the long and winding road leading from improved transparency in Europe to increased economic growth in the region has never been mapped out in a coherent way. The reason is simply that the causal chain from transparency to growth needs to be discussed in a comprehensive, interdisciplinary way, incorporating different research areas and traditions from accounting to economics and political science. This book attempts to bridge that gap in current literature. What is transparency? Are there different kinds of it? What does it do? How much of it do we need, and for what purpose? In this book, the purpose of transparency is assumed ultimately to be higher rates of economic growth, and so the analyses in the different chapters take an instrumental view of transparency, where the relevant question is whether increased transparency leads to more efficient resource allocation. The chapters address transparency in different markets and at different levels: from corporate financial disclosure to lobbying; from the risk incentives facing banks to competition and environmental policies. The book raises important questions and delivers a wealth of insights which will be of great use to a wide spectrum of audiences, including researchers and students on the one hand and policy makers, bureaucrats, and finance and investment professionals on the other. The Editor Lars Oxelheim holds a chair in International Business and Finance at Lund University, Lund and is an affiliate of the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IUI), Stockholm and of the Fudan University, Shanghai. His current research focuses on the implications of macroeconomic disturbances for corporate performance and issues related to economic and financial integration. He has published some 25 books and numerous articles in the areas of international business and finance, corporate finance and corporate governance. Among his recent monographs are "Money Markets and Politics: A Study of European Financial Integration and Monetary Policy Options" (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2003) (with Jens Forssbaeck), European Union and the "Race for Foreign Direct Investment in Europe" (Oxford: Elsevier, 2004) (co-edited/authored with Pervez Ghauri) and "Corporate Performance and the Exposure to Macroeconomic Fluctuations" (Stockholm: Norstedts Academic Publishers, 2005) (with Clas Wihlborg). This series: provides an international perspective to the study of business, with a special emphasis on management and marketing issues. It deals with such topics as globalization, international business negotiations, cross-cultural communication, entry strategies, doing business in different regions, and future trends. It also focuses on the development of international business theory, methodological issues, the results of empirical studies and the findings of practitioners.

This book presents the theoretical background to risk and corporate crisis management and offers useful methods and techniques applicable to small and medium sized enterprises in the event of disastrous situations such as fire, flood, storm, etc. Unlike the vast majority of literature available in this field, this book: concentrates on small and medium business organisations; presents a comprehensive approach to crisis management involving all aspects of business operations; adopts a systems approach at an organisational and crisis management levels; approaches disaster recovery by identifying targets, instruments and policies during various phases of the crisis management process; and employs commonly available software programs. This series: provides an international perspective to the study of business, with a special emphasis on management and marketing issues; and, deals with such topics as globalization, international business negotiations, cross-cultural communication, entry strategies, doing business in different regions, and future trends. It also focuses on the development of international business theory, methodological issues, the results of empirical studies and the findings of practitioners.

This further volume on the effects of multinational enterprises (MNEs) provides a contribution for the analysis of the impact of MNEs activities on host development and growth, the creation of linkages and knowledge flows in local contexts, and the relationships between foreign activities and home competitiveness. Specifically, the conceptual discussion and the fresh empirical evidence provided in the volume allow light to be shed on the following questions, which are crucial for designing the role of policy in order to trigger virtuous circles between multinationals, and local development and growth. To what extent do foreign MNEs represent a crucial source of spillovers for local domestic companies? And which are the working mechanisms of these technological transfers? How can development and growth processes take off? And are there privileged sectors and locations? Do MNEs benefit from significant technological transfer from their foreign activities? And what modalities and mechanisms do MNEs adopt to value technological transfers? Which are the main advantages stemming from them? Do MNEs performances also benefit in terms of labour productivity and employment? The answers provided highlight that recursive elements and interaction between international institutions, government policies and strategies of MNEs are main mechanisms to factors that influence development and growth, thus offering new insights to policy makers. This volume studies the relationship of the MNE with it's home and host countries. It analyzes the effect of MNEs upon local development and growth. It contributes to define the role for public industrial and economic policies.

The increasing amounts of money paid out in compensation to corporate executives have become the subject of a heated public policy debate on both sides of the Atlantic during the last decade. The magnitude of these sums, as well as the timing of payments relative to evidence of corporate success or - more notably, failure - has surprised and, in many cases, angered employees, shareholders and politicians, and drawn considerable attention in the media. Are executives in many firms exploiting their power to benefit themselves at the expense of other stakeholders or is the level of compensation the result of an effective market mechanism? This book is intended to fill a void created by the current focus of economic, financial and management research on executive compensation in the USA, and to address whether results from the US generalize to Europe, whether there is a European model for executive compensation, and whether European compensation structures enhance the wealth of shareholders and citizens. The research presented here provides a foundation for further research that will help shareholders, their representatives on boards, and policy makers develop wealth enhancing procedures, contracts and rules within European corporate governance systems. The book covers a wide range of issues, including: corporate law and regulation in the area of corporate governance; prosperity and growth effects of compensation contracts; effects of compensation packages on incentives; organization of markets for executives; the choice of performance measure in performance-linked compensation contracts; influences from the US on compensation levels in Europe; as well as country studies of factors affecting compensation packages and their characteristics. This book will be of interest to academics, practitioners and policy makers. On the academic side, researchers and students in the field of business economics, corporate governance, finance, international business, and management will discover research results that enhance their knowledge and provide the basis for further research. Among practitioners, board members, executives, chief financial officers, and bankers will benefit from this book when evaluating and designing executive compensation schemes. Policy makers will find research-based material that can either support or call into question their preconceived opinions.

Corporate governance is a subject of high academic and practical significance in contemporary business. The book determines and analyzes the relationship between corporate governance and the value of a firm in emerging and developed financial markets by using sophisticated econometric methods and models. The results of the study show that corporate governance does matter - there is a positive relationship between corporate governance and the value of a firm in these financial markets, although the nature of these relationships, differ between emerging and developed financial markets because of the individual characteristics of these markets. This book makes an original contribution by undertaking a very comprehensive comparative econometric study on the poorly researched topic of the relationship between corporate governance and firm value in emerging and developed markets.

This book explores the role of expatriates in the mobilization, nurturing and sharing of knowledge between their original (parent/home) country and the MNCs' host countries. Included are topics related to the management of knowledge and the tools, methods and practices that can be customized to facilitate the transfer of knowledge in MNC settings. The text is an in-depth international compendium of theoretical and empirical studies about the role of expatriates in knowledge transfer at global levels. Thorough and comprehensive, it covers topics recognized by practitioners, academics, and researchers, yet about which very little has been published at an international level. It provides coverage that includes: organizational culture; cross-cultural differences; globalization; cross-generational issues, technology based sharing systems; intellectual capital management; linguistic differences; and, distinctive political practices. This book also investigates the challenges imposed by culture, generations, tools, laws, regulations, and language, and examines the benefits of knowledge management principles that originate from different cultures, heterogeneous knowledge, and diverse intellectual capital management in global settings.

This volume looks at interaction between business firms and socio-political actors in emerging markets - and how this relationship can be managed - and deals with the interconnection between the socio-political organizations in emerging markets and MNCs. Inferring to different business perspectives, the volume includes papers studying firms' strategic actions towards socio-political organizations, i.e. the interplay with socio-political actors and how this affects firms' competitive advantage in a particular market. The book discusses this in relation to a number of critical strategic areas such as brand building, market orientation and CSR. It also offers a number of practical illustrations from empirical studies from different markets. In this volume different authors contribute chapters focusing on diverse empirical and theoretical aspects covering the impact of socio-political environments on the success of international firms.

This volume focuses on Central and Southeast Europe, and explores the dynamic and complex area of distributive trade on markets which have recently undergone a huge transformation. Papers in the volume employ both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and focus on retailing, international trade, relationships between retailers and suppliers, sustainability, private brands, loyalty programs, e-commerce and retailing strategies. Challenges For Trade in Central and Southeast Europe offers insights that will assist retailers, wholesalers and logistics companies in their decision making, as well as exploring macro topics that consider the effects of trade on the economy as a whole. There is much of value for a broad international readership, including academics, practitioners and policy-makers.

Mergers and acquisitions are one of the cornerstones of firm growth, and have attracted considerable attention from the scholarly research community in the last three decades. Several studies have concluded that M&A transactions do not result in better performance, and can even erode the acquiring firm's shareholder value to produce highly volatile market returns. Others have identified reasons for such inefficiencies. However, very little attention has been given to business evaluation process as an influencing factor. This thirtieth volume in the acclaimed International Business & Management series investigates how the processes involved in the evaluation of a target firm influence the outcome of M&As. Co-authored by international business expert Pervez Ghauri, it highlights the processes that should be followed to evaluate potential acquisition targets, and how a proper evaluation can influence the M&A performance. It encourages greater reliance on the strength and independence of the business evaluation process, and brings clarity in understanding the relationship between different components of business evaluation.

Iran is located at the cross-roads of world civilization and inter-continental trade, and has, throughout its long history, played an important role in the movement of goods, people and ideas. The political factors that have hobbled Iran's development have hitherto prevented scholars, business practitioners and policymakers fully appreciating Iran's potential as a key player in the economic, political and technological development of its region and beyond. This book provides its readers with a fuller understanding of the economic complexities of the present and the promise of a future rebirth in an important country, perhaps the last emerging market; a country whose potential has been dormant or held in check, but whose significance has remained unaffected. Although Iran is a large, untapped market and a great potential contributor to the world economy, after more than three decades of relative isolation, our knowledge of this country has been constrained by the dearth of exchanges and the opacity of Iranian society. The contributing scholars offer a broad overview of the challenges and opportunities presented by the gradual reintegration of Iran into the world economy.