The publication of this book is timely and appropriate because it deals with Eastern and Central Europe (ECE), and alliances with local partners with different attitudes, beliefs and ways of thinking. At the beginning of the 1990s many Western firms entered ECE hurriedly without thinking about the complexities associated with this region. Many promising business ideas failed due to lack of knowledge about the local environment including social, cultural, political and human resource related issues. This book therefore addresses issues in depth as how to reduce the gaps between Western and...