Globalization and Technology

Although globalization and technology continue to link nations, businesses, and individuals, these linkages also high- light the importance of understanding different cultures, national systems, and corporate management practices around the world. The world is now interconnected geographically, but also electronically and psychologically; as such, nearly all businesses have been touched in some way by globalization. Yet, as cultural, political, and economic differences persist, astute international managers must be in a position to adapt and adjust to the vagaries of different contexts and environments. In this new tenth edition of International Management, we have retained the strong and effective foundations gained from research and practice over the past decades while incorporating the important latest research and contemporary insights that have changed the context and environment for international management. Several trends have emerged that pose both challenges and opportunities for international managers. First, more nationalistically oriented governments and/or political movements have emerged in many regions of the world, challenging previous assumptions about the benefits and inevitability of globalization and integration. Second, while emerging markets continue to rise in importance, some—such as China and India—have fared much better economically than others—such as Brazil and Russia. Third, aging populations and concerns about migration have challenged many developed country governments as they wrestle with these dual pressures. Fourth, social media and other forms of electronic connectivity continue to facilitate international business of all sorts; however, these connection go only so far, with many barriers and limitations imposed by governments.  Although we have extensive new, evidence-based material in this edition, we continue to strive to make the book even more user-friendly and applicable to practice. We continue to take a balanced approach in the tenth edition of International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behavior. Whereas other texts stress culture, strategy, or behavior, our emphasis on all three critical dimensions—and the interactions among themhas been a primary reason why the previous editions have been the market-leading international management text. Specifically, this edition has the following chapter distribution: environment (three chapters), culture (four chapters), strategy (four chapters), and organizational behavior/human resource management (three chapters). Because the context of international management changes rapidly, all the chapters have been updated and improved. New real-world examples and research results are integrated throughout the book, accentuating the experiential relevance of the straightforward content. As always, we emphasize a balance of research and application. For the new tenth edition we have incorporated important new content in the areas of the emergence and role of social media as a means of transacting business and mobilizing social movements, the global pressures around migration, the role of the “sharing” economy as represented by companies such as Uber, and other important global themes. We have incorporated the latest research and practical insights on pressure for MNCs to adopt more sustainable practices, and the strategies many companies are using to differentiate their products through such “green” management practices. We have updated discussion of a range of contemporary topics, including continued exploration of the role of the comprehensive GLOBE study on cross-cultural leadership. A continuing and relevant end-of-chapter feature in this edition is the “Internet Exercise.” The purpose of each exercise is to encourage students to use the Internet to find information from the websites of prominent MNCs to answer relevant questions about the chapter topic. An end-of-book feature is a series of Skill-Building and Experiential Exercises for aspiring international managers. These in-class exercises represent the various parts of the text (culture, strategy, and behavior) and provide hands-on experience.