How European is management in Europe? An analysis of past, present and future management practices in Europe

This paper investigates if the term 'European management' is justified or if national differences between management practices within Europe render this concept meaningless. We argue that up to the late 1980s, management practices in Europe were still rather diverse. From the 1990s onwards, under the context of globalisation, convergence tendencies became more prevalent. However, the focal point was not so much a specific European management model, but the American model instead. For the future we predict a more multi-polar world in which the virtual monopoly of the USA in setting the standards for 'best practices' in management will weaken.