The book brings together an international panel of experts on economic integration and international business to address the essential link between the two fields, namely the impact of integration processes on the business environment. Focusing on the European Union, it presents numerous examples and case studies to demonstrate how local business is becoming international business, and addresses the opportunities, constraints and overall historical changes. Starting with the regional and global economic integration framework, and subsequently exploring the institutional structure that makes everything possible and how the union came to be, the book reveals how the common policies of the EU impact businesses and entrepreneurship within both the common market and the member states.

Readers will learn about the economic and political context that affect businesses in Europe; understand the basic concepts of integration, accompanied by cases and examples; gain a new perspectiveon important EU sectoral policies and challenges for individuals and businesses; become aware of the main challenges to EU enlargement; and better grasp the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in Europe in the present context.

Autorentext
Alina Mihaela Dima is a full Professor at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Business Administration, and the Director of the UNESCO Department for Business Administration. Her main research fields are: International Business, Competition Policy, European Integration,and Higher Education. She has coordinated two national projects related to competition policy and higher education in Europe financed by UEFISCDI. She is one of the founding members and the vice-president of the association 'Society for Business Excellence', and Chief-Editor of the journal Management & Marketing. She is the editor of the book Handbook on Research on Trends in European Higher Education Convergence (IGI Global USA,2014).

Inhalt
Chapter 1: European Union between the Big Bang and the Big Crunch.- Chapter 2: The Single European Market - challenges for doing business.- chapter 3: European Union Trade Policy.- Chapter 4: European Cohesion Policy.- Chapter 5: The relationship between EU competition and innovation in the European business environment.- Chapter 6: The Euro and European Monetary Policy: a critical view.- Chapter 7: Fiscal Policy of the EU implications for Romania.- Chapter 8: The European Energy Union (EEU) from dream to reality.- Chapter 9: EU Policy for Digital Society.- Chapter 10: Social Entrepreneurshp across the European Union- an introduction.- Chapter 11: The Role of Social Enterprises at European Level.- Chapter 12: Entrepreneurship of Family Businesses in the European Union.- Chapter 13: The Effects of European Integration in the Tourism Industry. Consequences of the Last Accession Waves.- chapter 14: Sociotechnical challenges of transition economy SMEs during EU integration.- chapter 15: From Successful SMEs to Entrepreneurial Society and The Importance of the Entrepreneurial Mindset.- Chapter 16: The Creative Economy in Romania, a Key Factor of Economic Integration in the European Union.- Chapter 17: Differentiation Strategy and Rankings in Higher Education; Role of Rankings in Building a Strategy.- chapter 18: "Big Business Bias? European Policy at the Expense of Small and Alternative Ventures".- chapter 19: Innovation support strategies for enhancing business competitiveness in the European Union. Programmes, objectives and economic impacts.- Chapter 20: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Enterprises on the Over The Counter (OTC) Markets in European Union. Case study of Polish NewConnect Market.