CULTURAL IMPACT ON BUSINESS EXPANSION: HOW MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES ADAPT TO HOST COUNTRY ENVIRONMENTS

The paper examines the impact of Host Country Culture on business operations of multinational enterprises. The globalization of the world economy has intensified international relationships, with increasing importance of cultural dimensions which has become so important recently as organizations start to look abroad to expand their businesses. As the world becomes more and more interconnected, the global economy has formed business environments that require organizations to look at business from an integrated global perspective. Along with others, one of the biggest challenges faced by organizations that operate in international markets is cultural differences. This, unknown to organizations who are wrapped up with the home culture and assumed they are relevant in other context, can result to conflicts and crises that can consume organizations and their investments outside their home environments. In order to survive, grow and succeed in the international business arena, managers of multinational enterprises should take into account the cultural contexts of their foreign business operations, and seek to align their operations to their foreign business home culture so as to avoid multiple cultural challenges that can cripple and destroy their entire business operations and create a state of entropy.