About the Book
Transculturalism and Business in the BRIC States, edited by Yvette Sánchez and Claudia Franziska Brühwiler, is the first handbook on the BRIC States that offers a transcultural perspective, which goes beyond the typical `how to’ manuals or economic projections and provides an understanding of transculturalism as it is studied and practiced in the respective countries themselves. This unique reference book also offers insights into the relations between the corresponding states and the challenges facing those trying to foster more intense business exchanges. The reader learns to interpret cross-cultural issues from the perspectives of the BRIC states themselves and gains insight into the way scholars in the BRIC area reflect on transculturalism.
Moreover, it introduces the reader to fresh visualizations that help consider transculturalism beyond the known categories.
The book will appeal, on the one hand, to practitioners who are active in the BRIC states and wish to better grasp the challenges to business relations, as well as the intra-area dynamics and, on the other hand, to scholars in transcultural studies and international management, due to its insider approach. Since the book combines theoretical concepts with a clear geographic focus and a critical approach to traditional models, it is suitable for both academic audiences as well as for practitioners who appreciate a sound theoretical base and a fresh take on a subject.
Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction, Claudia Franziska Brühwiler. Part I Theoretical Framework: Hall, Hofstede, Huntington, Trompenaars, GLOBE: common foundations, common flaws, Brendan McSweeney; Cultural negotiations in the BRIC TransAreas - new dynamic visualizing models of culture contact situations, Yvette Sánchez; Transcultural studies in the BRIC states: recent developments. Part II Areas - BRIC by BRIC: BRIC foundations: new kids on the block and the implications for transcultural communication, Martin Müller and Corinne A. Pernet; A long road for the BRICS: summits, Africa, civil society, and the problem of international change, Sérgio Veloso and Jurek Seifert; Brazil, Yvette Sánchez, Peter Sester and Mariana Castro; Russia, Elena Denisova-Schmidt, Martin Müller and Ulrich Schmid; India, Christiane Brosius, Jivanta Schöttli and Manuel Vermeer; China, Anne Schreiter; South Africa, Matshaba Mothiane. Part III BRIC Relations: BRIC on BRIC. Postscript, Yvette Sánchez; Index.
About the Author :
Yvette Sánchez holds the Chair of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of St. Gallen and is Director of the Centro Latinoamericano-Suizo (CLS-HSG). She is involved in several research projects in the field of Latin American and TransArea studies, for instance on Latinos in the United States. She initiated the founding of a University of St.Gallen Hub in São Paulo and teaches executive courses on Brazilian business negotiations.
Claudia Franziska Brühwiler is a political scientist, project coordinator, and a lecturer at the University of St.Gallen. In addition to her research focus on American political culture and the interplay of politics and literature, she is interested in the challenges of interdisciplinarity and transculturalism.
Review :
'Using original models and metaphors that shed interesting new light, this publication is an accessible introduction to both transcultural theory and the BRIC area, and is suitable for both scholars and practitioners. The chapters on bilateral BRIC relations were an especially rewarding read, providing us with a multifaceted picture of the complexity of doing business in the BRIC area.' Juergen Bolten, University of Jena, Germany 'A valuable source and resource for all interested in the BRICs. Academics, students, journalists, managers and politicians can all profit from this extensive volume. It tackles theoretical and conceptual problems regarding not only the historical use of the term BRICS, but also how the "transcultural encounter or cross cultural relations" have been interpreted and dealt with by different academic fields in the member countries. In this reader the complexity of culture appears in full force!' Livia Barbosa, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
`Using original models and metaphors that shed interesting new light, this publication is an accessible introduction to both transcultural theory and the BRIC area, and is suitable for both scholars and practitioners. The chapters on bilateral BRIC relations were an especially rewarding read, providing us with a multifaceted picture of the complexity of doing business in the BRIC area.’
Juergen Bolten, University of Jena, Germany
`A valuable source and resource for all interested in the BRICs. Academics, students, journalists, managers and politicians can all profit from this extensive volume. It tackles theoretical and conceptual problems regarding not only the historical use of the term BRICS, but also how the “transcultural encounter or cross cultural relations” have been interpreted and dealt with by different academic fields in the member countries. In this reader the complexity of culture appears in full force!’
Livia Barbosa, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
