The press and business magazines are filled with stories about a rush of American firms into the European Community to take advantage of, or avoid the adverse consequences of, the expected formation of a single market in 1992. Yet, it is hard o find evidence of a large shift in plant and equipment expenditures, employment, or financial investment toward the EC countries by American firms. The main reason seems to be that large American manufacturing firms are already well entrenched in the EC, and may even be better positioned to take advantage of the single market than most of their European rivals. The U.S. firms (unlike most Japanese companies) already supply almost all their share of the EC market from operations within the EC and depend very little on importing from the U.S. There is some indication of moves toward EC production by non-manufacturing operations such as distribution and services, by smaller companies, by those not now producing extensively in the EC, and by firms hoping to take part in public procurement.

Business is becoming more global, more competitive, and more knowledge-intensive. Consequently, business executives are being required to reexamine and redefine fundamental relationships - both intra- and inter-company. The Dynamic American Firm explores the pivotal factors motivating the organizational changes that are sweeping American business, with a particular emphasis on the global marketplace. It provides a critical analysis of the forces that are shaping strategies and structures of American business, emphasizing that the process of adaption is more important than particular strategies and structures that develop along the way. The authors begin by illustrating the external factors that shape the development of the firm, including a combination of technological advances and increasingly global markets, and proceed to discuss corporate efforts to adapt to this external environment by means of changing relationships with other firms. They pay particular attention to the alliances that help American firms establish a presence in overseas markets, including the roles of mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. The book concludes with a discussion of the internal changes taking place in American firms, including shifts in organizational strategy and structure, the elimination of middle management, and the development of work teams.

The Americanization of Europe and the strategic initiatives of American firms abroad have been well studied. The expansion of American firms in Europe, however, lacked a comprehensive study. This book gathers the works of two dozen economic and business historians from across Europe, preceded by Mira Wilkins' comparative essay. The collection addresses the timetable and pace of American direct investment in Europe, the patterns followed in each country according to the specificities of each industry and service sector, and the strategies followed by the different firms. The studies go beyond the facts, scrutinizing the immaterial aspects of this business history, especially European perceptions of American firms and the essential stakes of corporate images and identities. The Europeanization of American firms is a key issue, including social relations, management, commercial policies, brand image, connections and embeddedness. The authors gauge the reaction of public authorities and lobbies (industrialists and trade unions). Graphs and tables provide data, while overviews of ads published by American affiliates fuel analyses of consumer perception.

People in Europe have seen their lives profoundly affected by the policies of the European Union. The contributors to this book provide an overview of the EU within global capitalism, a survey of policies within key issue areas and a treatment of the economics of family care, migrant workers and pensioners. It concludes with an analysis of the insider-outsider dilemmas of the imperfectly united Europe. The book takes a social perspective on economic issues and is accessible even to the non-specialist.

Contributors from East and West Europe, Russia, and the US discuss the impact of the Treaty on the European Union (Maestricht Treaty) on American-European cooperation. Topics include the balance of power in NATO, monetary union in Europe, economic cooperation between Russia and the EC countries, environmental policy in Europe, and women in the EC b.