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CEMP
final report
FINAL REPORT  December 2001 The
CEMP programme had three objectives: (1) to judge to what extent education,
research and consulting are contributing to a homogenisation in European
business practice; (2) to determine whether this homogenisation is more
developed in some parts of Europe than in others; and (3) to contribute to
an improvement of the European dimension in the diffusion and consumption of
management knowledge. In
terms of the first objective CEMP
research has shown that management practice has evolved in waves, which
differ significantly in terms of the dominant ideas, the focus of management
attention, and the role of top managers. One of the distinctive features of
the most recent wave is the polarisation of the structure within each of the
three fields of the management knowledge industry. While the national level
is gradually losing influence, both the global and the local levels are
becoming more important. The research has also pointed to the blurring of
the boundaries of the fields of management. As a result there is a tendency
for the management knowledge industry as a whole to use the same labels and
to diffuse similar ideas thereby providing legitimation. At the discourse
level there is therefore strong evidence for a growing importance of the
management knowledge industry in the promotion of convergence. It especially
contributes to the creation of a common management language and its
translation to a local context. For the latter, local actors play a
significant role as translators for global models. Overall consultants and
parts of the media are the most important actors promoting convergence. In
relation to the second objective
CEMP research shows that there are certain differences in the speed and
extent of the convergence process in the various parts of Europe. These
differences are mainly driven by (1) the existence of global management
knowledge institutions, and (2) language capabilities in a given country.
The United Kingdom therefore has particularly advantageous conditions for
the adoption of new management concepts and ideas. Concerning other parts of
Europe, the Scandinavian countries also appear to be fast to adapt new
management ideas due to a high fluency in English and the existence of
global actors. Germany and the Netherlands are also rapid to acquire new
ideas due to the presence of global actors, mainly consultants, and the
availability of local translators. In France, however, new concepts appear
to be adopted later and to a lesser extent. The southern European countries
also show a diverse picture. While in Spain business schools and
consultancies diffuse new ideas to the large companies, there are doubts
regarding the diffusion to small companies. Like France, Italy appears to be
less influenced by global management ideas, although there are regional
variations. In relation to the third objective it is concluded that there is a strong need to promote learning and diffusion of European best practices instead of depending on concepts developed and packaged outside Europe. The diversity of management practices in itself is an important model especially in the current network society. It should therefore be protected and promoted within Europe and its transfer to other parts of the world should also be encouraged. For this to happen management education is the most suitable because it is to a large extent located in the public domain. There is therefore a need for co-ordination and co-operation at the European level in order to further promote the circulation of faculty and students among European management education institutions, the recognition of courses and degrees throughout Europe as well as the use of European textbooks and other teaching materials. For the same reasons there is a need for more research dealing with the realities of business in Europe. As the development and diffusion of management practices are essential for European business, research on European management innovation should be promoted within existing programmes and possibly through special actions. FINAL
REPORT |