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International business cooperation requires Cultural Integration Strategic alliances increase by more than 20% a year accounting for successful development of global business. They are a critical strategic component in many industries, but their failure rate hovers up to 70%. Research mostly discusses specific cases; literature is mainly focused on negotiation, partner selection or cross-culture-aspects and less on the general high failure rate as phenomenon. This book tries to enlighten this dark corner of missing strategic goals. Portfolios are assigned as tool to get information if similarities indicate risks to fail. The conclusion is that not single factors but cultural integration at operational level determines the outcome of such projects. The complexity and interrelation of cultural factors in reference to the individual ability of managers to act within different cultural spheres determine the chance of a positive outcome of projects. The book should motivate to care much more about the process of cultural integration. A questionnaire enables a self-evaluation of projects. Even if the propositions were only approximately true, the suggestions offer significant implication for improving international business cooperation.

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W. Riether holds an academic degree for economics and sociology. He has been acting as manager and consultant in international business for more than forty years. As expert for strategic management and international business he combines practical management and scientific research to improve success of international business projects.

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