Eastern Europe: Culture and Business Ethics

Abstract

This chapter intends to reveal the leading questions regarding doing business in Eastern Europe. The chapter uncovers the most important cultural issues applied to business ethics in order to improve the knowledge concerning business in Eastern Europe. We envisage, also, the nexus between intercultural elements and business ethics issues. This chapter aims at practitioners and management scholars, serving as a starting point for deepening the understanding of cultural and ethical issues in Eastern Europe.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the economic, social and political conditions have changed radically, especially in Europe. During the last two decades, Europeanization has become an attractive research area and an integral part of the study of European Union (EU) politics.

National cultural values provide a context for discussing ethics and ethicality, but not an explanation of why there are differences in ethical values. The organizational culture is quite homogeneous among Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) countries, but the national cultures remained different.

Organizational cultures in ECE are characterized by: highly centralized structures, dislike of uncertainty, preferences for formality and strong collectivist attitudes.

Professional ethics is not a special type of ethics but the application of ethical judgement in professional practice. This application can be difficult in business settings as conflicting demands can arise. In areas where professional practitioners are employed, there is potential for a conflict.

Citation

Warter, I. and Warter, L. (2020), "Eastern Europe: Culture and Business Ethics", Warter, I. and Warter, L. (Ed.) Understanding National Culture and Ethics in Organizations, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83867-022-120201009