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The European Union today consists of 15 members and it will expand significantly in years to come with the addition of countries from eastern and southern Europe. Europe's economies are, on the whole, strong, and companies there have lately demonstrated uncharacteristic aggression in acquiring other firms. Yet stumbling blocks to closer cooperation remain: Not all EU members, notably Britain, have embraced the euro, which recently hit new lows against the dollar, and deep differences exist over the question of whether Europe would benefit from a written constitution. For an update on European developments, Knowledge@Wharton sought the perspective of one of Europe's most prominent executives, Henning Schulte-Noelle, chairman of the board of management of Allianz AG, a global insurer and provider of financial services based in Germany.

The Caucasus region -- bounded by Russia and Iran, by the Black Sea and the Caspian -- is rich in oil and hatred. It is where Stalin was born, and where the Soviet empire died.

This article provieds an interesting look at the French government-private sector relationship, specifically with regards to the social welfare system (at least for outsiders like me). Also profiles the man at the heart of it all, Ernest-Antoine Seilliere.

Europe's companies, executives, and workers are becoming more mobile, flexible, and transnational.

"How Europe's Establishment welcomes immigrants in the future could play a big part in promoting economic growth--and stifling the hatreds and fears that have bedeviled immigrants for years."

A new appreciation for the customer is sweeping across Europe as more of the continent's businesses invest billions of dollars in CRM software.

Why are so many on-line banking ventures-start-ups and incumbents alike-foundering? Despite the presence of more than 2,500 Western European banking sites on the World Wide Web, only eight million people in the region use the channel to either check their accounts or make transactions. We studied 65 leading banks in ten European countries to determine why customers are adopting on-line banking at different rates.

The take-away
Our study confirmed that when it comes to bringing customers on-line, "push" factors (the efforts that banks make to attract customers to on-line operations) are almost as important as "pull" factors (the demand from Internet-savvy customers for electronic services).

Find a wide selection of interviews with business luminaries in our Interviews Section

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This piece is a little dated (1996) but it discusses some general issues regarding the German economy and culture that will be of interest to those with little background. Norbert Walter is (was?) Chief Economist with Deutsche Bank Group.

Europe's tighter privacy laws present challenges and risks for U.S. companies.

The old adage that "money makes the world go round" may never be more apt than it is on January 1, 2002. The introduction of Euro bank notes and coins on this date will be an operation of unprecedented enormity, affecting the currency regimes of 12 European countries. But unless the parties involved in the Euro cash supply chain, and especially consumers, are well prepared and informed, matters could be quite complicated for a while. Intervention by army and police forces to secure the new currency and ensure an orderly introduction can't be ruled out. Professors Arnd Huchzermeier and Ludo Van der Heyden study the introduction of the new European currency, especially from a retailer perspective, and make some general comments on the operation of unprecendented magnitude.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Paul Gooderham and Odd Nordhaug gained fresh insights into the preferences of European business school students relating to their choice of job, employer and industry.

Editor's Note: you can read the article on the web page, but for a bigger font and to get the graphics referenced, read the .pdf version instead (link on the right side of page).

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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A new Index going beyond narrow economic issues has been compiled to assess to what extent countries are prepared for the 21st century. This article explains the thinking behind the initiative – on the next two pages two experts give their reactions..

Note: you can read the article on the web page, but for a bigger font and to get the graphics referenced, read the .pdf version instead (link on the right side of page).

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Seen as a panacea for limited growth prospects at home, recent European takeovers of US firms are encountering management problems. CEOs should be wary of the pitfalls.

Note: you can read the article on the web page, but for a bigger font and to get the graphics referenced, read the .pdf version instead (link on the right side of page).

There are several senior positions you can hold without any formal qualifications - senior manager, parent and prime minister, for example. You can also be a company director without undergoing any real training. In the UK, however, a growing number of senior executives are submitting themselves to an exhausting and rigorous process which allows them to call themselves chartered directors. The Institute of Directors, which has devised the chartered directors' programme, believes it is first such qualification in the world.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Application form, reference and interview. These are some of the traditional techniques still used by employers, but what other tools are available and what national differences can be discerned?

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Don't let the title fool you - this is an excellent article for those who are not even especially interested in Europe. That is because it offers a good overview of the work of Professor Geert Hofstede, who between 1967 and 1973 surveyed over 100,000 IBM employees in 49 different countries about their preferences in terms of work-related values. The result was a number of seminal works on cultural values and differences published during the 1980s and 1990s. Here the authors specifically review Hofstede's four basic dimensions:
1. Power Distance
2. Uncertainty Avoidance
3. Individualism-Collectivism
4. Masculinity-Femininity

If you are not familiar with this work already, read this article.

Editor's Note: see the EBF follow-up with a new critique of Hofstede's methodology from Professor Brendan McSweeney and a personal commentary from Professor Mikael Søndergaard at:
http://www.ebfonline.com/main_feat/in_depth/in_depth.asp?id=286

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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A recent study of firms in the Netherlands shows that regional differences still influence the sourcing strategies of European-based firms. The results also turn the tables on the ‘globalisation pundits' who link international sourcing with higher profits.

Clashing regulations make cross-border business difficult in Europe.

Find a wide selection of interviews with business luminaries in our Interviews Section

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BusinessWeek correspondents and editors have chosen 50 individuals at the forefront of change. They are presented in the following categories:
- MANAGERS
- INNOVATORS
- AGENDA SETTERS
- FINANCIERS
- ENTREPRENEURS
- CHALLENGERS

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Analysis of France over the last 20 years suggests that the Bourse is playing a bigger role in the economy - but the link to innovation and productivity is more complex.

Here is a collection of reports and articles from Accenture which attempts to deliver distinctive points of view on important issues affecting the European business landscape.
- EU Enlargement and Transformations in Central & Eastern Europe
- European eCommerce and Competitiveness
- Scenarios for the Future in Europe
These perspectives are based on specially-commissioned surveys, interviews with CEOs, case studies of leading companies and research by Accenture's Policy and Corporate Affairs team.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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US experience shows that changing the chief executive is not necessarily a panacea for improved company performance. Europeans should take note.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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"Europe's top performing employers see people as a vital strategic asset. In a survey undertaken by Hewitt Associates in France, Germany, UK and Austria top performers ranked human resources (HR) first when asked what would have most impact on their ability to compete in Europe...Hewitt Associates' 'Best Employer Best Results' survey sought to understand how the management and development of an organisation's people resource affects business. Furthermore, it aimed to identify what makes the best, the 'Best'."

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Companies, investors and policymakers have had their faith in financial markets shaken recently, even though questionable market practices and conflicts of interest were already rife. Read the EBF debate which addresses the root causes of the problem, possible solutions and the outlook for international accounting standards and further European integration. EBF's distinguished contributors are: Bocconi Professor Valter Lazzari; Tony Jackson, ex-market analyst and former head of the FT's Lex Column; Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB); Stefano Micossi of Italy's Assonime; Olivier Lefebvre and André Went of Euronext; Cees Maas of ING; Andreas Grünbichler and Patrick Darlap of the Austrian Financial Market Authority; Christopher Huhne, MEP; Jaap Winter; and Brett Savill and Alexander Bregonje of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In today's challenging economic environment, the entrepreneurial skills of Europeans have never been more important. A new study on entrepreneurship identifies significant barriers that must be overcome if the entrepreneurial culture in Europe as a whole is to be strengthened.

Silicon Valley still dominates the technology map, but European high-tech clusters are closing in.

Editor's Note: aside from the main topic, this article offers a decent overview of the concept of technology clusters.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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It was meant to be the decade that launched Europe as a global economic superpower. Companies operating inside the EU would achieve new economies of scale as internal trade barriers tumbled, cross-border competition would hasten the restructuring of inefficient businesses, and national protectionism would become a thing of the past. But what has happened since the 'arrival' of the Single Market on 1st January 1993? To what extent do businesses really treat Europe as a single entity? Which sectors have benefited, which remain frustrated by politicians' inability to tear down national rules and regulations? Has the euro made a difference? How does Europe compare to other regions of the world? And what are the chances of Europe being the most competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010?

Update: this debate is continued with three supplmental articles at
http://www.ebfonline.com/at_forum/at_forum.asp?id=372 (the pricing article is quite interesting actually)

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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For the more chauvinistic European executive the very question could be impertinent. For the unthinking global imperialist it can be equally dismissed. As far as most of us are concerned this question presents an important challenge at the end of a decade which has seen growing support for the gospel of shareholder value, ever closer European integration, and the rise and rise of an Internet economy which seemingly respects no barriers.

In this section you can read the widely differing conclusions of eight experts - two businessmen, four academics, a consultant and a journalist - invited by EBF to give their views.

There is the writer and commentator Will Hutton, for example, who claims America's economic "miracle" has been greatly exaggerated and that Europe's hour will come soon.

There is Andrew Campbell, whose writings on corporate strategy have forced many business people to re-think their position on diversification and who, by contrast with Hutton, champions the newly "enlightened" Anglo-Saxon model.

Next comes Bob Bischof, a successful Anglo-German entrepreneur, whose short essay will surely shake the complacency of Little Englanders, followed by a joint contribution from the distinguished French academics Jean-Paul Larçon and Bernard Ramamantsoa praising European diversity.

Vic Luck, Managing Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting Practice in Europe, Middle East and Africa, draws on his wide experience of working with businesses in many different countries; while in a more philosophical contribution Philippe de Woot, author of an agenda setting book on this topic, urges mangers to consider the shared values of European society.

Finally Klaus Esser, chairman of Dusseldorf based Mannesmann, concludes with some positive but carefully chosen words about shareholder value.

Editor's Note: this was the first issue of EBF (an excellent magazine) and thus is several years old. Nevertheless, the discussion is of long-lasting relevance and significant interest.

A follow-up set of articles on this topic can be found at:
http://www.ebfonline.com/at_forum/at_forum.asp?id=33

The European Union is emerging as a formidable competitor among world economies, thanks to an aptitude for cross-border management and an ease with cultural diversity.

Italy has worked hard to modernize its economy, but still lags in reforming labor markets, financial systems, and education. Will the nation push ahead, or hang on to the status quo?