Building on more than 40 years studying international business, Fisher’s Oded Shenkar has co-authored a book that explores the critical role that culture and its correlates, such as language and religion, can have on business on a global scale.

Shenkar, the Ford Motor Company Chair in Global Business Management and professor of management and human resources at Fisher, wrote the book, Navigating Global Business: A Cultural Compass, with Simcha Ronen. Ronen is a professor emeritus of organizational psychology and international management at Tel Aviv University.

Using data collected over multiple decades, the book examines key work-related cultural dimensions from around the world and how they intersect with global business. Shenkar and Ronen’s analysis provides insights into patterns that have developed throughout and how these patterns have impacted globalization.

More information about Navigating Global Business

“Culture has been proven to be a critical factor in all facets of business, from strategy and human resources to finance and marketing,” Shenkar said. “We have found national cultural patterns to be extremely resilient, globalization notwithstanding. The cultural map of today is almost identical to the one we have identified a quarter of a century earlier.

“So culture is here to stay. Neglecting it is done at your own peril.”

Navigating Global Business contains data and analyses that appeal to the research community as well practical insights that business leaders across many different industries will find useful.