Seven Cultures of Capitalism Pb [Paperback]

Charles Hampden-Turner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 1995

This book is an enlightening and bias-breaking study. It looks at the cultures of capitalism in Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands, and reveals how each has unique cultural habits and traditions of economic excellence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Piatkus (March 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074991386X
• ISBN-13: 978-0749913861
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,182,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish this weren't out of print!, April 8, 1999

By 

Kaitin D. Sherwood "Kaitlin Duck Sherwood" (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Seven Cultures of Capitalism: Value Systems for Creating Wealth in the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Sweden, and the Netherlands (Hardcover)

This book examines a number of different countries and the priorities that shape them. While different cultures may all share the same values - be honest, treat your friends well, etc - what is telling is how different cultures *prioritize*.

For example, if you are in a situation where you see your friend at fault in a car accident, and you are called upon to testify, what do you do? While Americans tend to value truth-telling over loyalty to friends, Asians tend to value loyalty to friends over truth-telling. Both choices are shocking to the opposite: "How can you lie like that?" vs. "How can you let your friend down like that?"

This book looks at a number of cultures and how they differ. It's a fascinating read, and has changed how I look at the world.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, February 11, 2001

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Seven Cultures of Capitalism: Value Systems for Creating Wealth in the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Sweden, and the Netherlands (Hardcover)

The authors used questionnaire-based research to study twelve countries through the lens of seven oppositional pairs (the cultures from the title).

These pairs are:
Universalism vs. Particularism
Analyzing vs. Integrating
Individualism vs. Communitarianism
Inner-Directed vs. Outer-directed Orientation
Time as Sequence vs. Time as Synchronization
Achieved Status vs. Ascribed Status
Equality vs. Hierarchy

They make the point that capitalism is not a choice for or against but a range of behaviours made up of a multiplicity of choices. Using their grid and research data, they position various countries on this range.

As someone who works and lives in a country where I was not born, I found the book a very useful frame for looking at my adopted work environment.

I really call this 4.5 stars, the -.5 is because sections of it are much more dated than others and there are places where I think the tone of the book is lessened by the authors' temptation to give in and make value judgements.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely fascinating book, October 11, 2002

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Seven Cultures of Capitalism: Value Systems for Creating Wealth in the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Sweden, and the Netherlands (Hardcover)

Though this book was first published in 1993, it is still every bit as relevant and interesting today. In this book, the authors examine the values and cultural habits of seven major capitalist countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands), and examines how their cultural differences has given to each an entirely different capitalist system. After first explaining how the differences were quantified, the authors then examine these cultures, giving the reader an in-depth understanding of how each country's culture (and as such, capitalist system) works, and how it produces wealth.

I found this to be an absolutely fascinating book. I was always aware of the cultural differences between various countries, but this book did an excellent job of defining those differences, and showing how they affect the way that the country does business. If you are interested in any of these seven countries, or interested in international business, then I highly recommend this book to you.