Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind

Book Description

The landmark study of cultural differences across 70 nations, Cultures and Organizations helps readers look at how they think—and how they fail to think—as members of groups. Based on decades of painstaking field research, this new edition features the latest scientific results published in Geert Hofstede’s scholarly work Culture’s Consequences, Second Edition. Original in thought and profoundly important, Cultures and Organizations offers vital knowledge and insight on issues that will shape the future of cultures and nations in a globalized world.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful framework for thinking about cultural differences.......2007-09-20

A must-read for anyone interested in the subject area.

The new and revised content also relate Hofstede's original groundbreaking research to the more recent work of other renowned scholars in the field (such as Ronald Inglehart of the Univ of Michigan and the World Values Survery). These links make his work even more compelling and make you start to think that we may be inching closer to a more universally agreed upon framework for thinking about cultural differences.

A must have resource for highly effective multicultural / multinational leadership..........2007-05-29

As a combat tested USAF E3 AWACS command pilot (over 1900+ hours of total flight experience), this book is a potent resource for anyone seeking to gain insights on how best to manage a multicultural / multinational workspace.

Excellent insights while entertaining to read.......2007-05-24

Having just survived a merger of two companies, I was searching to find the right words to explain the differences in cultures I was experiencing. Although this book focuses on national cultures, I found the explanations of the dimensions of culture and how they manifest themselves in different behaviors appropriate for corporate situations. The last few chapters deal explicitly with corporate culture, but I found these chapters less insightful than the others. The book is very well written and organized, with tables summarizing key concepts and entertaining anecdotes to illustrate the points. Because I've traveled internationally for business, I was familiar with other works on culture, but none were as helpful as this book. I now have the vocabulary to articulate the differences I see.

Monumental Book Well Worth the Read.......2007-03-06

The father and son team of Geert and Geert Jan Hofstede have done a remarkable job breaking down the (measurable) elements of the world's cultures, usingt the somewhat antiquated IBM studies combined with more recent (less comprehensive) studies. The end result is that nations can be evaulauted on the basis of criteria such as "uncertainty avoidance," "individualism" and "power distance from superiors."

The work is enlightening and helpful to anyone who works internationally. It is also useful to break down one's own nation (for example, some Americans lean toward the British way of thinking while others are more German-like). The same criteria that divide nations also divide families within a society.

Businessmen, missionaries, pastors, counselors, journalists, and social scientists should devour these materials!

This should be required reading for anyone planning to live overseas or anyone who deals with internationals. In short, this book is relevant to our modern "shrinking" world and quite well done.

Like most significant works, this volume has its weak points.

Although the authors claim to espouse a "values neutral" position (which I have always argued is an impossible and illogical position), their Dutch/Swedish preferences ring out loudly and clearly (humanistic, environmnetalist, etc.). Although the authors do make a serious attempt to look at things from other perspectives, they simply cannot divorce themselves from their own cultural preferances. This is not bad -- they simply need to be above board and stop pretending to take the role of the neutral outsider (at least to better influence those of us who are American conservatives; we are big into distinguishing between fact and evaluation of fact; these evaluations are always done through a person's own personal gridwork).

The authors also have occasional trouble connecting a few dots. For example, on the bottom of p. 355, the Hofstedes are tactfully scolding the U.S. for its lack of foreign aid (again, showing their own bias), but on the top of p. 356 they add, "Looking back to half a century of development assistance, most observers agree that the effectiveness of much of the spending has been dismal." They then say those countries which did improve did so because of their cultural values, not foreign aid. But they seem incapable of concluding that good intentions (and even money) is not the most effective way to solve these problems. They just don't get it.

The same is true with contributions through governments to Tsunami relief. It should be expected that individualistic countries would be more prone to give as individuals, not as collective societies. Rather than look at total giving (or perecentage) OF A SOCIETY, they authors confuse a society with its government. Lots of missed "dot connections" in this work.

Despite the books weakspots, it is overwhelming strong and rich with fascinating content. It is a "mind opening" work -- well worth the read. You simply must read this one!

Pioneering work.......2006-04-24

This is a pioneering book, which provides a generalist approach to dealing with cross-cultural issues with many excellent examples. Hofstede was one of the first to bring the study of how culture affects human interaction in the field of business. The quantifying approach is very similar to what cultural anthropologists use. As with all pioneering works there is some criticism about conflict resolution as other reviewers have pointed out. Another central criticisms of this model has been that nation state and culture are always presumed to be the same. Local culture does not follow political boundaries. Globalization has also changed some of the observations initially made by Hofstede.

Some readers might be tempted to think of people in simple categories or stereotypes, which is precisely what Hofstede counsels that we should attempt to avoid. Cultures and organizations gives good insights on how "Groupthink" controls our lives and how we could improve interaction.

Hofstede's tools for understanding different national cultures are widely used by cross-cultural trainers all over the world and taught in many fields.

This is a good book for international managers and students of culture. HR-practitioners working in multicultural organizations might find this a bit theoretical but nonetheless useful for understanding underlying causes for human behaviour.

Average customer rating:

Incorporating your Business for Dummies
Good as a starter, but you will need more.
just the tip of the iceberg
Good book for those contemplating a corporation
Okay, but not enough meat

Incorporating Your Business for Dummies
The Company Corporation
Manufacturer: For Dummies
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Binding: Paperback

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How To Start And Run Your Own Corporation: S-Corporations For Small Business Owners
Inc. Yourself: How to Profit by Setting up Your Own Corporation (Inc Yourself)
How to Incorporate: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs and Professionals (How to Incorporate)
Corporations Step-by-Step (Legal-Ease Series)
Don't Let the IRS Destroy Your Small Business: Seventy-Six Mistakes to Avoid

ASIN: 0764553410

Book Description

If you’re a business owner, incorporation can help you protect your personal assets and cut down your tax bill. But all the paperwork and legalese can make incorporation seem like more trouble than it’s worth. Incorporating Your Business For Dummies offers all the savvy tips you need to get incorporated — starting today!

Whether your business is big or small, incorporating isn’t as simple as it could be. This handy reference makes incorporation make sense, and guides you through the process step by step. From handling the mountain of paperwork to getting back to business once you’re finished, Incorporating Your Business For Dummies offers a wealth of helpful advice on these and many more topics:

Knowing whether or not incorporation can help you
Choosing the type of entity that will work best for your business
Dealing with shareholders and shareholder agreements
Transferring money and assets in or out of the corporation
Documenting corporate actions and maintaining compliance
Finding the right attorney, accountant, tax advisor, and other professionals

Written by the experts at The Company Corporation, who handle more than 100,000 incorporations every year, this helpful book offers the kind of advice you can only get from professionals — but in a user-friendly, lingo-free format. Whether you just want a little help with the paperwork, or don’t even know what a corporation is, you’ll find everything you need to know:

What limited liability means
Corporate statutes, bylaws, and articles
Choosing directors and assigning duties
The benefits of S corporation status
Deciding where to incorporate
Registering corporate names and domain names
Balancing equity versus debt
Understanding shareholder rights
Getting your financial information in order
Hiring a professional to help with corporate compliance

If you want step-by-step help on setting up your corporation, dealing with the paperwork, and getting off on the right foot, Incorporating Your Business For Dummies is the only resource you need. Packed with the kind of tips and advice you’ll find nowhere else, it’s the uncomplicated way to get incorporated.

Customer Reviews:

Incorporating your Business for Dummies.......2006-03-18

The book gave a good review of the different types of Incorporation. The type that might be best for any business desired with different requirements and tax advantages of each type. Whether one has partners makes a difference in type needed or whether one wants to sell stock in their company or not.
For a primer it is good but one needs a more in depth knowledge or a tax expert to really get more out of the type of incorporation wanted.

Good as a starter, but you will need more........2004-03-07

Inc for Dummies is not just for dummies, it is a good book on How To Incorporate, but you will need more.

Some additional books icnlude How To Incorporate: A Handbook for Entrpreneurs and Professionals by Michael R. Diamond. How To Incorporate in Any State: Everything You Need to Form a Corporation by W. Dean Brown. S- Corporations by Robert Cooke.

Form Your Own Corporation and Launch a Business in Any State and The Small Business Kit by J.W. Dicks.

Use the dummies book as a starter guide. Use the other books for the real meaty information. Be careful what you buy, the marketplace is proliferated with books by self proclaimed experts who read a lot but have no real world experience.

just the tip of the iceberg.......2004-02-27

In order to maintain the legal status of your corporation, you need to pass very specific resolutions and keep very specific records. I had hoped for a "cookbook" for the legal steps required to set up and operate my corporation, but this is not it.

The info on corporate structures is very basic and general - you could easily find this level of detail on the web. That's my primary complaint with this book... it mentions what you must do, but doesn't give you the specifics of how.

Instead of this book, I recommend you:

(1) Get the *basics* from your lawyer or accountant (or even doing some research on the web)

(2) buy The Corporate Minutes Book by Anothony Mancuso instead of this book!

Good book for those contemplating a corporation.......2004-02-23

If you are contemplating starting a business and therefore a corporation, this book is a great first start. As with all of the dummy series books, the authors feel that people reading these books are brand new and know nothing. So this gives even the most naive a good start on how to incorporate.

So much of the information is basic and since the book was written awhile ago, some of the material may be dated. Nonetheless, good first start for business people.

Other good books include How To Start a S-Corporation by Robert Cooke and Brilliant Deductions by Wade Cook. The latter shows a way to drop out of the social security system and offers a good section on Nevada Corporations.

Okay, but not enough meat.......2003-12-01

I thought that this book was an okay read but left some very important information out especially regarding S-Corporations.
The best book I have found on S-Corporations is How to Form a S-Corporation by Robert Cooke.

Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Critical Perspectives on the World Economy)

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Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Critical Perspectives on the World Economy)
Drysdale
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0415310989

Book Description

The Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum was established as a regional grouping in 1989 to deal with the issues arising from growing regional interdependence. Its stated aim is to build `a prosperous Asia-Pacific through free and open trade and investment' and it now has twenty-one member economies, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Peru and Chile. The APEC Summit of Leaders and Ministers from around the region is the major dialogue on economic and political affairs across the Pacific each year. But APEC continues to evolve in a bid to keep pace with the rise of East Asian economic and political power, first around the emergence of Japan as a great industrial nation, later with the rise of the other East Asian economies, the remarkable growth of China and, more recently, the emergence of India.

This new Major Work from Routledge is a five-volume collection which covers in depth the origins and history of APEC, its achievements and the impact it has had—and continues to have—on international relations and economic cooperation in general. It provides the information, analysis and interpretation that are essential to thinking about the economic and political framework within which these unprecedented changes in the structure of the world economy might be managed more or less successfully.

The Big Book of Team Building Games: Trust-Building Activities, Team Spirit Exercises, and Other Fun Things to Do

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Superb resource book
Great book for great ideas
Great
Patronising rubbish
Big book of Lousy Ideas

The Big Book of Team Building Games: Trust-Building Activities, Team Spirit Exercises, and Other Fun Things to Do
John W. Newstrom , and Edward E. Scannell
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
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Quick Teambuilding Activities for Busy Managers: 50 Exercises That Get Results in Just 15 Minutes
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Team-Building Activities for Every Group
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The Big Book of Motivation Games

ASIN: 0070465134

Book Description

Did you know that games can be a terrifically effective way to build team spirit, communication, and trust among people who work together day in and day out? Now you can spark morale in any work group by choosing from 70 stimulating games and activities specifically designed for the manager who's looking to raise sagging morale in a department, liven up boring staff meetings, enable team members to collaborate smoothly and effectively, and much more!

Customer Reviews:

Superb resource book.......2007-05-03

I had this series of books before - loaned them out at work and never got them back (go figure!). Happy to have found them again here.

Great book for great ideas.......2007-03-14

Remember when you were in arts and craft classes, this book is like that

Great.......2007-01-12

Excellent quality and turnaround time, received when promised. The games are fun, and not immature for adults!

Patronising rubbish.......2006-11-04

It's strange how so many businesspeople I meet tend to be right-wing, anti-communist and great believers in personal freedom, yet run their businesses like Stalin's Russia. Workers are motivated by a mixture of fear and ambition and any individual opinion that deviates from the party line is seen as a threat.

I'm a manager. All I ask of my staff is that they're honest, work hard and treat everyone with respect. That's it. For my part I give them a clear idea of what I expect and make sure that they have the tools to do the job and receive recognition of their achievements. What I don't do is mess with their heads.

This book is symptomatic of a trend in management culture where it is not enough to ask people to do their jobs well, we now have to re-engineer their souls. The aim of this book is to motivate staff with 'fun' activities in staff training sessions, but the reality is intrusive and patronising. One game invites workers to mention a childhood achievement that they were particularly proud of and then get other members of the team to discuss it. Well, I believe in personal freedom and part of that is not feeling obliged to talk about personal things in a work setting.

Chairman Mao had his 'Cultural Revolution' and this smacks of the same attitude. It's not enough for people to do as they're told, they now have to have the right attitude and if they're not willing to be team players, they're out. It's like 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'.

Buy this book to find out how emotionally dysfunctional people struggle to motivate teams and get it horribly wrong.

Big book of Lousy Ideas.......2005-10-06

This was a complete waste of money! The ideas were stale and elementary. Do not waste your money or your time flipping through it.

Average customer rating:

Decent, old ideas in new packaging
A classic, an introduction to negotiation and its links to game theory and business strategy
Insightfull
Not a book to skim through
co-opetition is fascinating, innovative and practical

Co-Opetition
Adam M. Brandenburger , and Barry J. Nalebuff
Manufacturer: Currency
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life
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The Compleat Strategyst: Being a Primer on the Theory of Games of Strategy
Competition Demystified : A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy
Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction

ASIN: 0385479492
Release Date: 1996-05-01

Book Description

The game of business changes constantly. So should your business strategy.

When a business strategy is so new in design, a new word must be coined to capture its value. Such is the case with co-opetition, a method that goes beyond the old rules of competition and cooperation to combine the advantages of both. Co-opetition is a pioneering, high-profit means of leveraging business relationships.

The Harvard Business School's Adam M. Brandenburger and the Yale School of Management's Barry J. Nalebuff, scholars and consultants, have developed a five-part business strategy that shows how to do more than play the game of business. It shows how you can change the game of business for maximum benefit.

Though often compared to games like chess and poker, business is different. To win at chess or poker, someone has to lose. In business, long-term profitability doesn't require others to fail. And in business, people are free to change the rules, the players, the boundaries, the game itself. Intel, Nintendo, American Express, NutraSweet, American Airlines and dozens of other companies have been using the strategies of co-opetition to change the game of business to their benefit. By telling stories of these companies, and formulating strategies based on the science of game theory, Brandenburger and Nalebuff have created a book that's insightful and instructive for managers eager to move their companies into a new mindset.

Co-opetition will revolutionize the way you play the game of business.

Customer Reviews:

Decent, old ideas in new packaging.......2007-08-29

You'd be better off working through Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter, there's nothing in here that isn't in Porter's book. This books is a little easier to read for the casual reader however and does have more examples to explain the topics.

A classic, an introduction to negotiation and its links to game theory and business strategy.......2007-07-17

The book starts showing that business is not always the adversarial relationship that is usually presented in many strategy books. The authors contend that business is war and peace at the same time, hence the name: cooperation and competition contract to co-opetition.

The book develops further the well known five-forces analysis to create the value net, and show that a company is interested in the well-being of some of the other market participants -a typical example is the DVD player makers and the movie producers, the more records are on offer the more DVD players are available, which makes more interesting to keep publishing records. Game theory is introduced as the method to link competition and cooperation opening the second part of the book, which shows a structured method how to approach and improve your position in negotiations.

The method follows the acronym PARTS, which stands for:
-Players, who profits from taking part in a negotiation.
-Added-values, what are you and other players bringing to the negotiation.
-Rules, how can you improve contracts.
-Tactics, how perceptions influence the results and how you can change it.
-Scope, are there other issues or negotiations that can be linked to the negotiation.

Every point is well developed linking it to the points mentioned earlier, or the idea of the value net, and with plenty of examples from real life.
If you want to read a basic book on negotiation this is a great choice.

Insightfull.......2007-01-09

It is book to be re-readed and "worked" because it is thorough and with lots of ideas that transform in some way the way we should see competition and the interaction of a company with the market, its competitors, etc....

Its clear for all that the world is not so simple as us and the rest that compete with us but the authors books elaborate a framework for better understanding of the market complexity.

Enrique.

Not a book to skim through.......2006-10-20

I took Co-opetition with me to a coast-to-coast flight hoping to start practicing a fast reading method. Brad Feld explained on his blog how he succeeds to read 8(!) books a week: "(a) no TV, (b) no kids, (c) four to six hours a night of reading, and (d) the willingness / ability to skim when things are dull". So I thought to try the method with Co-opetition and to complete it on my way from Atlanta to Palo Alto. From all the requirements only the willingness/ability to skim wasn't provided upfront. After the first dozen of pages I understood that that's not a skim-through book.

Adam and Barry made a book sharing principles of strategy, tactics, and planning carrying away your attention by clear reasoning, crystal logic, plain English, and bright examples. The book can takes it place on one's shelf next to "Good to great", "Marketing warfare", and the books of Jeoffrey Moore but unlike the latter doesn't goo too far in the academic direction. Quite the contrary, it oozes real, top brand examples, spending 90% of the text describing the stories of failure and success and only 10% devoting to formulating principles and recapping the arguments.

The book consists of two parts: the game of business and the PARTS of strategy.

The first part (about 1/3 of the book) introduces the concept of the value net reminding in a certain way Porter's five forces. The authors present a square graph with the business placed in the crossing of the diagonals and customers/suppliers and competitors/complementers taking the opposite corners of the square. The book explains the theory of balanced forces and promotes principles and approaches symmetrically applicable to the corners of the net.

The war/piece preamble breaks the concept of known in advance friends and foes. Introducing multiple perspectives the authors claim that in the modern business world everything should be viewed through the prism of the net and simple definitions don't work anymore.

The PARTS (Players, Added value, Rules, Tactics, and Scope) are the components describing the game and depending on particular circumstances and targets the components have to be re-evaluated and re-mapped.

After introducing the concept the authors in the rest of the book religiously describe each of the components bringing tens of examples following and breaking the principles (and leading to success or failure correspondingly. Bright and bold marketing strategies of great companies leading to win-win situations with competitors, customers, suppliers, and complementers captivate you and don't let skim over. For every case of success the book brings a counter-example of failure as well cementing the principle and equally teaching and convincing the reader.

Among many other topics particular attention is devoted to such as how to manage negotiations, how to deal with perceptions, how to plan prices and avoid wars, how to establish and change rules, which tactics to apply, and how to analyze scopes.

Many new ideas flooded by almost detective business examples preclude me from skimming a paragraph in the book. A great pace with which the book expounding the matter, vivid examples, clear language, and strong (at times shocking) ideas make this book a solid must for everybody who deals with building, positioning, and rolling out products or services. Highly recommended!

co-opetition is fascinating, innovative and practical.......2006-08-09

I was lucky enough to read this book while being taught Game Theory & Business Strategy by Adam Brandenburger, who is unequivocally one of the best Professors I've had in B-school.

To the criticisms of this book that it does not include the theoretical aspects of game theory and modeling, that may be true, but the purpose is not necessarily theory but practical application. When I read this book, I was also in the process of reading and learning about specific game theory and actual games, so it tied together well. If that is what you are looking for, I recommend this approach.

In terms of what you will get: many "A-ha!" moments with regard to analyzing a competitive situation and how to take advantage of the opportunity available, including changing the game and learning who is really in a position of power.

A must read for anyone interested in learning how to leverage their position in the game of business strategy!

Strategies of Cooperation: Managing Alliances, Networks, and Joint Ventures

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2nd Edition Add more practical detail

Strategies of Cooperation: Managing Alliances, Networks, and Joint Ventures
John Child , David Faulkner , and Stephen Tallman
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0199266255

Book Description

Strategic alliances are increasingly common, as many organizations look towards various partnering arrangements. This second edition of Strategies of Cooperation extends the first edition's clear and comprehensive survey of strategic alliances. Presenting different disciplinary perspectives (economics, strategy, organization theory) and numerous examples from the corporate world. The text has been thoroughly revised and updated, taking account of new theoretical models, and its coverage of case studies has been extended. It will be ideal for business students and managers alike wishing to understand the challenges of managing alliances.

Customer Reviews:

2nd Edition Add more practical detail.......2005-11-23

Strategies Of Cooperation: Managing Alliances, Networks, And Joint Ventures 2nd Edition by John Child, David Faulkner (Oxford University Press) excerpt: Strategic alliances and other forms of interfirm cooperation have grown remarkably since the mid-1980s. They are one of the more important new organizational forms. Despite the managerial and organizational challenges they undoubtedly present, there is no sign that alliances are a transient phenomenon. A survey based on 323 questionnaire responses and over 400 interviews with senior executives in 2000 indicated that alliances were `expected to account for 16 percent to 25 percent of median company value within five years and, astonishingly, more than 40 percent of market value for one-quarter of companies' (Contractor and Lorange 2002: 4).
Alliances are, along with outsourcing and virtual value-chains, one of the defining forms of modern networking among firms. As noted, they represent a clear break away from the internalized, hierarchical model of the firm, of which General Electric and IBM were salient examples in the 1980s. Today, leading corporations such as these have as many as 1,000 alliances. In the past, such corporations might have regarded alliances as a relatively peripheral activity, primarily for entering emerging country markets in which risks were high or government regulations required jVs or licensing agreements. Today, alliances are regarded as a means to achieving fundamental strategic objectives such as a strong market position, significant knowledge acquisition, and major cost reductions.
This book attempts to take stock of current thinking on the subject of cooperative strategy. The focus will he on cooperation between firms, though many of the insights into establishing and managing interfirm cooperation can also be applied to partnerships between other types of organization. Alliances, which are partnerships between firms, are the normal agent for cooperative strategy. "they are often `strategic' in the sense that they have been formed as a direct response to major strategic challenges or opportunities
which the partner firms face. Alliances are a means to an end, and consequently they are not necessarily formed with a long-term cooperative relationship in mind. But they may be established with this intention, the more so when the partners invest substantially in them. Once alliances are up and running, partners may also perceive unanticipated benefits from cooperation, such as mutual learning, which lead them to reevaluate it positively.
However, alliances can also be formed with shorter-term objectives in view. A firm may intend to use an alliance as a means of appropriating competencies and knowledge from its partner, which it continues to regard as an actual or potential competitor. Or it may enter into an alliance as a way of taking out an option for the future in conditions of uncertainty-for example, entering an unfamiliar national market. Once it has mastered the uncertainty, it may no longer attach much value to continuing the cooperation.
Whatever the underlying motivation for its formation, any alliance requires an ability to manage cooperation in order to generate returns to the partners. The ever-growing prevalence of alliances, and the need to understand the basis for their successful management, provides the main justification for the present book. It is informed by John Child's work on JVs in China and to a lesser extent Brazil and Eastern Europe, David Faulkner's work on strategic alliances between companies in developed nations, and Stephen Tallman's work on understanding the processes and motivations for alliance strategies. It also attempts to integrate what the authors believe to be the salient ideas of other writers on cooperative strategy in tackling some of the key issues currently under debate in the field. A number of important ideas emerge from the writers' efforts in this endeavor, which are perhaps worth capturing before the reader embarks on the task of a detailed reading of the book:
Cooperative strategy is not new; it has always been with us. It means what it suggests, namely the achievement of an agreement and a plan to work together; not the giving of orders down hierarchies. Firms embarking upon alliances with other firms need to keep this in the forefront of their consciousness when devising systems and controls, and activating them in the joint enterprise. This book, whilst concentrating on perhaps the pre-eminent form of cooperation-namely, the various forms of strategic alliance-encompasses other forms of cooperation as well that are met in business activity, even down to the humble distributor or supplier agreement.
Commitment and trust are the key attitudes most strongly associated with success in alliances. No amount of energy and clear direction will compensate for their absence. And it should be noted that commitment can exist without trust and vice versa, but both are necessary for a lasting and stable relationship.
Strategic alliances, including JVs, collaborations, and consortia, are at base all about organizational learning, and should be structured towards that end. However, many other types of cooperation, such as networks or virtual corporations, are primarily about skill substitution-that is, Company A cooperates with Company B because it sees that its partner can exercise a particular skill better than it can.
Other forms of cooperative strategy, such as virtual organizations, networks, and outsourced corporations, are about capability substitution. Their strength lies in
their specialization, adaptability, and flexibility, but not necessarily in the learning opportunities they afford.
Cooperative enterprises do not do away with the need for intelligent purpose, a brain, and a central nervous (information) system if they are to achieve competitive advantage in relation to integrated corporations that more self-evidently have these characteristics.
To cooperate does not mean to allow all proprietary information to pass unchecked to the partner. As Richardson (1972) warns: 'Firms form partners for the dance but, when the music stops, they can change them.'
Issues of control need to be addressed, but more subtly than in hierarchies, as too great a degree of control in cooperative enterprises stifles innovation and motivation, and can lead to the breakdown of the cooperation.
A successful alliance is one that evolves into something more than was perhaps foreseen at the outset. Conscious attempts must be made to cause the alliance to develop if it is to attract the best people, and contribute most to the partner companies.
The interface between the two (and sometimes more) company cultures is the crucible of potential achievement. Sensitivity to each other's cultures is vital to effective joint operation. Its absence leads to a failed alliance, however great the potential economic synergies between the partners.
Information technology (IT) makes the task of coordinating cooperative strategy that much easier, but it cannot and must not be allowed to substitute for bonding between cooperating company executives.
These and other key lessons from the research behind this hook are developed in more detail in the chapters that follow.
Part I is concerned with the nature of cooperation and its role in strategy. Chapter 2 outlines the main perspectives from economics that contribute to an understanding of cooperative strategy. The theory of cooperative strategy is related to market-power theory, transaction-cost economics, agency theory, resource-based theory, transaction value theory, real options theory, and increasing-returns theory. Chapter 3 continues to address major theoretical models of cooperation, but from managerial and organizational perspectives, such as game theory, strategic-management theory, resource dependence, social network theory, and organizational theory. It summarizes the relevance of these theories and draws out the complementarities between them.
Cooperation depends on trust between partners. Chapter 4 presents the insights into trust that can be derived from psychological and sociological research. This identifies the factors on which trust can he based and through which it can develop. The first step is to find a basis on which the risks of depending on partners become mutually acceptable.
As the partners get to know more about each other, this improved understanding should breed further mutual confidence. Eventually, the cooperation may become firmly established on the basis of genuine personal friendships between the key participants. These elements in trust development can support the phases through which cooperation within an alliance can develop. The chapter closes with guidelines for developing trust within cooperative relationships between firms.
Part II is concerned with how cooperation between firms is established and the various forms it can take. Chapter 5 introduces the idea of an alliance process by which two firms find each other for a cooperative venture and discusses the principal motives behind a cooperative strategy. It considers the most common reasons for setting up a collaborative activity with a competitive or complementary firm. The various types of resource and skill deficiency are rated in relation to their importance as stimuli to cooperative activity. It is emphasized that it is not only competence vulnerabilities, but also the desire to spread risk and the need to reach markets fast, whilst 'windows of opportunity' last, that drive organizations to set up cooperative arrangements. Strategic, transaction-costreducing, and organizational learning motives for cooperative activity are compared and contrasted (Kogut 1988).
Chapter 6 considers the criteria to be highlighted in selecting a partner and deciding upon the appropriate form the alliance should take. Once a collaborative activity has been decided upon, it is necessary to find an appropriate partner. This chapter attempts to operationalize the strategic-fit/cultural-fit matrix. It emphasizes that the possible achievement of synergies through the use of complementary assets and competencies underlies the concept of strategic fit (Geringer 1991). It also draws the reader's attention to the need for intercultural sensitivity if the alliance is to succeed. The second half of the chapter considers the question of collaborative forms, and which one to select. The key characteristics of the various forms of cooperative activity are considered, as well as the circumstances in which each form is most appropriately adopted. In addition to the major strategic alliance forms of the joint venture, the collaboration and the consortium, the flexible nature of collaborative networks is discussed.
Chapter 7 addresses the question of how to negotiate in an alliance situation, and how to value your partner's and your own prospective contributions to the enterprise. It emphasizes that, whereas in a takeover situation, the negotiators are single-mindedly concerned to achieve the best price for their company-the highest or lowest price depending on the side of the negotiating table-this is not the case in an alliance. Unless both partners are concerned that the other has a good deal, the alliance will not prosper over time. A so-called win-win situation is sought. The problem of contribution valuation, however, is truly more an art than a science.
Chapter 8 looks at the strengths and limitations of network forms in greater detail. It considers the varied types of network that form the basis of much cooperative strategy. Networks are the loosest form of alliance between companies. At their weakest they represent a well-developed communication system within an industry that enables companies operating in that industry to keep abreast of developments. They are often crystallized in trade associations. In d stronger form they represent a ready-made band of would-be cooperating companies willing to tackle commercial
opportunities together without setting up formal links that may compromise the individuality of networking firms. Dominant-partner and equal-partner networks are compared and contrasted.
Chapter 9 addresses the concept of the IT-based virtual corporation in the information economy. The `Virtual Corporation' is the name for the network and F1'-orientated form of organization based around centers of excellence in particular competencies. It can be created very rapidly to meet specific, sometimes transitory, sets of circumstances. It can equally easily be dismantled and re-formed as circumstances and profit opportunities change. This new concept is discussed and its strengths and limitations assessed. Many strategic alliances demonstrate characteristics of the virtual corporation.
In Part III different aspects of the management of cooperative activity are reviewed. Chapter 10 discusses the general and overall management of alliances. It emphasizes that the management of alliances differs in its essential nature from that of unitary companies. The ability to give instructions is replaced by the need to seek areas of mutual agreement and to develop constituencies behind a course of action (Kanter 1989). It is noted that appropriate management styles will differ, particularly in the circumstances of a JV, which can be treated much like an ordinary company, and a collaboration, where a sensitive boundary-spanning mechanism is necessary.
Chapter 11 looks at control as an issue in cooperation. It recognizes that control is not possible in a complete sense in alliances because of the consensual nature of alliance activities, but also that some control by each partner is necessary if the partners are not going to feel themselves to he in the hands of total uncertainty. The importance therefore is to specify controls that are at once clear yet flexible.
Chapter 12 addresses the issue of alliance corporate governance, which has been relatively neglected in the literature on alliances. The question of corporate governance arises particularly with equity JVs in which parent companies as owners appoint managers to run the ventures as their agents. This chapter suggests key elements in an analysis of JV governance, focusing on partner preferences. It adopts a broad definition of corporate governance as the process of control over and within the firm (i.e. the JV) that aims to reduce risks to its owners and to ensure that its activities bring a stream of acceptable returns to those owners in the long term.
Chapter 13 deals with organizational learning. It discusses the role of organizational learning in all its aspects as a primary driver in cooperative activity. It distinguishes different forms of learning in alliances, including learning about, from, and with an alliance partner. Learning is divided into technical, systemic, and strategic components and the implications of these distinctions for alliances are identified. Particular attention is given to the mechanisms and policies that help promote and transmit learning within alliances.
Chapter 14 addresses the specific area of human resources. It considers some of the key human resource issues that arise when personnel from different countries and different cultures are brought to work together in a new collaborative environment. The building of local management teams, the nature of training, and the role of the international manager are discussed, as is the role of human resource management (FIRM) as a tool of control within alliances.
Chapter 15 is concerned with culture. It is now widely recognized that one of the most common reasons for the failure of alliances is the clash of the partners' contrasting company cultures. These can be reinforced by differences between national cultures in an international alliance. Yet there is evidence to suggest that the issue of cultural congruence is not high on the checklist of companies seeking partners. The chapter discusses the nature of cultural differences and how they can present barriers to performance and to bonding. It also considers measures to overcome such problems. The chapter deals in particular with two distinct forms of potential cultural problem-that between two partners from the developed world, and that between a developed world company and a partner from the developing world such as China, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. In discussing these collaborative configurations, the 'culture problem' will be assessed in its broader institutional context.
Chapter 16 looks more specifically at how to manage cooperative strategy in relation to emerging economies. Cooperation between companies in developed and emerging economies is a particularly fast-expanding feature of global business relationships. The chap-ter discusses this issue with particular reference to Brazil, China, and India, and seeks to identify ways in which such collaborations differ from those between firms that are both in developed countries.
Part IV addresses the question of how cooperative activity can achieve positive performance, however defined, and he helped to evolve through time. Chapter 17 examines the issue of alliance performance. Unlike unitary forms of business organization, alliances, whether formal or informal, often face differing objectives and so find success and failure difficult to assess. Objectives may be less economic in scope than for other organizations, payoffs may be indirect through influences on other organizations, and economic performance is seldom reported directly. These considerations make both academic study and practical oversight difficult and challenging.
Chapter 18 emphasizes the importance of the role of evolution in the success of alliances. This implies the growth of the alliance in terms of new projects and new responsibilities. It is maintained that all alliances suffer potentially from entropy (Thorelli 1986), and that, unless the bonds brought about by the creation of the cooperative activity are constantly attended to and strengthened, there is an ever-present risk that the alliance will decline in importance to the partners, attract mediocre staff, and steadily become marginalized in the partners' priorities.
Chapter 19 presents some closing reflections on the ways in which progress needs to he made in bringing cooperative strategy further into the mainstream of management thinking. It gives reasons why cooperation between organizations is increasingly appropriate for operating in a complex global competitive economy.
As a whole, the hook provides a broad view of the practical and theoretical literature concerning cooperative strategies and the alliance and network organizational forms that are the outcome of these strategies. While based on the research of the authors and representing their views of cooperation, it summarizes and evaluates the work of many other authors as well. It is tied to the academic literature, but is also grounded in cases developed by the authors and others and addresses practical issues of alliance management as well as alliance studies. It can he and has been, used as a textbook in MBA and executive programs.

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