CMR129

S u m m e r 1 9 9 8 | V o l . 4 0 , N o . 4 | R E P R IN T SERIES

California
Management
Review

Can AmericanManageme
Concepts nt in
Work A Cross-Russia?
Cultura l Comparative Study
Detelin S. Elenkov

© 1998 by The Regents of

the University of California

This document is authorized for educator review use only by Aftab Haider, Bahria University until February 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860
 Can American
Management Concepts
Work in Russia?
A CROSS-
CULTURAL
COMPARATIVE
STUDY

Detelin S. Elenkov

R
ussia, a country with a rich culture and a history filled with dramatic
turning points, is once again in the midst of far-reaching changes. In
what some describe as “one of the greatest natural experiments” of our
time, Russia has introduced a series of sweeping economic and political
reforms.1 According to the opinion of Archie Dunham, president and CEO of
Conoco (a major investor in the sizable Russian oil industry), “Russians . . .
have made incredible strides toward a market economy in an extremely shor t
time.”2 There has been an unmistakable upturn in the Russian economy, with
falling inflation, a stabilization of the ruble, bottoming-out of the factory output,
and rapid privatization of state-owned enterprises.3 Moreover, Russia has offered
Western investors an enormous wealth of natural resources, advanced tech-
nology in some critical areas, highly skilled scientists, and almost 150 million
potential consumers.4 In the words of Dana McGinnis, president of San Antonio
Capital Management, “if investors don’t get [in Russia] now, they might as well
never........ The best buys are available now.”5 Almost weekly, new firms join the
existing 116 registered U.S. firms with Moscow-based operations.6 To assist with
the effort of expanding U.S. business in Russia, the U.S. Department of Com-
merce has announced plans to open several American Business Centers (ABCs)
in the country.
However, many Americans who have been attracted by the abundant
business opportunities in Russia have encountered some serious obstacles. As
it has been suggested by a number of studies, the Russian environment is very
complex and the Russian culture is significantly different from Western cul-
tures.7 For example, one experienced international business researcher contends
that “foreign firms found the [Russian] business environment difficult because
the concept of business that Westerners had was very different from the one that

This document is authorized for educator review use only by Aftab Haider, Bahria University until February 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860
 CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOL. 40, NO. 4 SUMMER 1998 133

This document is authorized for educator review use only by Aftab Haider, Bahria University until February 2014. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860
Thank you for using www.freepdfconvert.com service!

Only two pages are converted. Please Sign Up to convert all pages.

https://www.freepdfconvert.com/membership