The European Enterprise

What is Europe's impact on enterprises? 150 years ago, the emergence of nation-states created the national enterprise. After 50 years of European integration - is there a European firm distinct from the national firm?

The book provides an assessment of the barriers to and prospects for this emerging species. Can it be claimed a major political failure of the EU not to have created an institution promoting European identity at the level of enterprise? The contributors look for European convergence at all levels of the economy - firm, branch, state, and EU. They stress various points of view, using diverse methods, and propose different measures. The overall result is an evaluation of the future potential of this new type of enterprise. Though in its infancy, the European enterprise has the power to change both the perception and the actual face of Europe.

Zusammenfassung
This book offers a broad overview of the topic of the European enterprise: It ex- ines what the Europeanenterpriseis or might be, whetheror not it exists, and,if not, if tendencies towards its emergence can be discerned or not. To indicate the results just brie?y already: There is de?nitely a movement in that direction, one which has accelerated during the past few years; however,there is not a large numbersof ?rms which are taking part in this movement yet, and the movement is also characterized by cases of backlash and phases of stagnation. There is probably only one characteristic of Europe on which all persons re- ers as well as contributors would agree: Diversity. Europe is more diverse than any other region of the world of the same size. The same holds true, naturally, for views on and perceptions of Europe. No single person is in a position to provide all different views simultaneously. Thus, in order to encompass this variation, the v- ume was designed as an effort of many: Its 20 different contributions were written by 26 different persons, representing 13 different nationalities, including the United States of America and Japan. As a counterbalance to this diversity, the introduction provides a general focus and the conclusion the common results of the combined efforts.

Inhalt

General.- The European Enterprise. Its Relevance and Problems.- European Corporations: Ownership, Governance, Strategies and Structures. A Review of Five Countries: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.- Europe as Home and Host to Multinational Enterprise.- Common European Assets: A Japanese View on the 'European Enterprise'.- Impact of Brussels.- Defining a European Vehicle: Community Standards as Integration Tools or Trade Barriers for European Enterprises?.- Scotch Over Bourbon1: How British Principles of Accounting Became the Norm for Financial Reporting in Europe.- The Impact of European Integration on Institutional Change in Switzerland.- European Institutions and Enterprises in Sweden.- Facilitating Technology Services: National and European Standards and the Shaping of FORCE Technology, 1940-2005.- Europe as an Aim and as a Tool.- The European Enterprise as a "Fortress" - The Rise and Fall of Unidata Between Common European Market and International Competition in the Early 1970s.- Europeanisation and Americanisation: Converging Backgrounds of German and Dutch Top Managers, 1990-2005.- Suez Towards a European Enterprise (1982-2006)?.- Greek Business in Southeast Europe: National, Regional, or European?.- Did the Progressive Absorption of the French Paper Industry Create European Firms?.- European Business or Business in Europe?.- The Rise of the New Public Service Transnationals: European or Global Phenomenon?.- Corporate Responses to Institutional Changes - the Effects of Europeanisation in the Case of Denmark, 1973-2003.- European, Global or Norwegian? The Norwegian Aluminium Companies, 1946-2005.- Changing Transnational Affections. Orkla, Elkem and Norwegian Big Business, 1960-2004.- European Challenges and Opportunities:The Role of Europe in the Internationalisation of Spanish Firms.- Conclusion.- The Development Toward a European Enterprise: Results and Conclusions.