An unAmerican business. The rise of the new European enterprise model

Abstract:

Empires expand to the point of their own collapse, and in the last decade the American economy has seen the collapse of some major capitalist enterprises driven by the increasing expectations of the stock market. So where to next and what price enterprise? This book explores the European alternative where competition may still be king but collaboration is the emperor.

The work is organised over six chapters. The first chapter deals with the expansionary decade of the nineties, which at its height was discovered to be floating on a huge bubble of hidden debt kept inflated by fraudulent accounting. The system remains in denial and this is explored further in chapter two. The third chapter offers evidence that the American ‘enterprise dream’ is over and that wake-up time has been called for corporate America. Chapter four addresses some of the legacies, in particular the place of the CEO, corporate America’s answer to its political counterpart, the Commander in Chief. It dissects the failings of the ‘infallible leader’ concept and the ‘ivory tower’ thinking of financial management which lost sight of the essential business operation. Meanwhile across the pond Europe continued to ape the American enterprise, but it has recently begun to embrace a new European enterprise model. Chapter five discusses one such model, while chapter six goes on to explore the long term viability for the European enterprise models which will have to compete with competitors guided by the American model. The battle is on - and an increasing part will be played by partnerships giving credence to collaboration towards mutually endorsed goals.

The book will interest scholars, students, business people, entrepreneurs, financiers and all those engaged or associated with corporate development and the business arena.