Page 76 - Crossing Cultural Boundaries - Cees den Teuling

of the local business organisations at large. Overarching are the opportunity costs with the unmistakable impact on the performance of the Russian economy, downgrading its potential, systematically.
In the upcoming section the differences in cultural attitudes on entrepreneurship and management are highlighted from the Russian and Western approaches.
2.6.2 Contrasts in Entrepreneurial and Management Culture: Russian and Western perspectives
The applicability of Western management and leadership theories and practices in Russia and other CIS countries is questioned by Hofstede (2012). The implosion of the economy of the FSU created and is still creating an array of overwhelming positions for Western theorists and practitioners / consultants. In an attempt to share their (Western oriented) knowledge and experiences with the owners/entrepreneurs and managers of Russian privately held, privatised, state-supported and state-owned organisations, with increased and exponentially grown relevance, consultants often neglect or do not take into consideration the culture bound background, sufficiently. The results of Western development interventions and training implementations in Russia and Central Europe are occasionally successful but more often accompanied with cautionary notes on the disappointing results (Warner, Deniezhkina & Campbell, 1994). In recent publications, it is argued that Western trainers and consultants in principle must gain an in-depth and thorough understanding of the Russian culture and management practices before being able to apply their accumulated experience and theories (Geroy & Caroll, 1994).
In their discussion of cultural differences among entrepreneurs in Russia, Djankov, Miguel, Qian, Roland and Zhuravskaya (2004, p. 7) state: “Cultural differences appear to play some role but they are less influential than some could have expected”. Russian entrepreneurs consider their work as an important value, like intellectual achievement, power and politics. They share similar values with non- entrepreneurs in dimensions like family, friends and leisure. Religion, financial security, health and freedom are considered important as well.
For this study, the manager and the owner/entrepreneur are treated equally in their roles as receiver and as the organisation’s representative and/or owner. Russia’s economic and societal climate for the development of entrepreneurship and the growth of SME’s is recognisable, but still not supportive for starting or operating an own business. Russian SME’s and owners/entrepreneurs (sole proprietors) are defined by the Federal Law of 2007 with different types of SME’s, including Micro (< 15 employees),
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