Cross-cultural means not only the differences between ethnic, racial or national groups. It is more. Cross-cultural confrontations arise by the differences of genders, educational levels, differences in thinking of diverse companies departments (e.g. production versus research & development, marketing versus finance), the mix of musicians or styles of painting. However, there is a lot of danger in cross-cultural collaboration: Diversity means different views, opinions, values and objectives easily generating misunderstandings and quarrels possibly ending up with serious conflicts. The conflicts may trigger new approaches and breakthroughs or lead to a state of frozen relations and stagnation. Sensitivity to the values and views of other cultures, open communication and aware leadership are traits helping to capitalize on cross-cultural influences. In further discussions with our friends of the EACI board we changed our mind for the new conference topic to CROSS-CULTURAL INNOVATION. Cross-cultural Innovations are new and origin problem solutions, which are generated in confronting problems with cross-cultural aspects. In many cases such solutions are breakthroughs and the start of a paradigm shift. Another advantage of such solutions is that they even influence the subconscious of stakeholders problems. Only cross-cultural solutions minimize the risk of hidden problems which develop under the surface in merger projects. Especially mergers of big companies are successful if change-managers are able to transfer cross-cultural conflicts in new challenging objectives. Bridging cultural gaps by visionary leadership is the way to bring people together and to create new common innovative enterprises or departments."

Milieus of Creativity is the second volume in the book series Knowledge and Space. This book deals with spatial disparities of knowledge and the impact of environments, space and contexts on the production and application of knowledge. The contributions in this volume focus on the role of places, environments, and spatial contexts for the emergence and perpetuation of creativity. Is environment a social or a spatial phenomenon? Are only social factors relevant for the development of creativity or should one also include material artefacts and resources in its definition? How can we explain spatial disparities of creativity without falling victim to geodeterminism? This book offers insights from various disciplines such as environmental psychology, philosophy, and social geography. It presents the results of a research conference at Heidelberg University in September 2006, which was supported by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.

Cross-cultural knowledge management, an elusive yet consequential phenomenon, is becoming an increasingly essential factor in organizational practice and policy in the era of globalization. In order to overcome culturally shaped blind spots in conducting research in different settings, this volume highlights how the structuring of roles, interests, and power among different organizational elements, such as teams, departments, and management hierarchies (each comprised of members from different intellectual and professional backgrounds), generates various paradoxes and tensions that bring into play a set of dynamics that have an impact on learning processes. In this context, such questions often arise: How is knowledge shared in the multicultural organization? What problems and issues emerge? How do different mentalities affect people’s responses to new knowledge and new ideas? How can knowledge-sharing processes be improved? Under which conditions do ideas generated by units or groups of different cultural traditions have a chance of being heard and implemented? Such questions translate into an investigation of potential managerial dilemmas that occur when different but equally valid choices create tensions in decision making. The authors draw from experiences working with a wide variety of organizations, and insights from such fields as sociology and psychology, to shed new light on the dynamics of knowledge management in the multicultural enterprise. In so doing, they help to identify both obstacles to successful communication and opportunities to inspire creativity and foster collaboration. The authors note that in order to enable organizations to transfer knowledge effectively, mechanisms for dispute settlement, mediation of cultural conflict, and enforcing agreements need to be in place.

Unter dem Thema "Cross-Cultural Innovation" haben Wissenschaftler, Berater und Führungskräfte aus 20 Nationen ihre Erfahrungen, Forschungsergebnisse, Ideen und Visionen über die befruchtende Wirkung interkultureller Unterschiede auf Innovationen ausgetauscht und diskutiert. Das vorliegende Buch ist eine repräsentative Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse des Treffens der weltweit führenden Experten für Kreativität und Innovation, das Anfang September 2003 zum zweiten Mal in Deutschland stattfand. In den Kategorien Neue Gedanken, Theorien und Modelle; Empirische Untersuchungen; Praktische Erfahrungsberichte aus der Geschäftswelt; Praktische Erfahrungsberichte über die Anwendung von Methoden und Techniken; Praktische Erfahrungsberichte aus der Bildung wird dargestellt, wie das Aufeinandertreffen unterschiedlicher Kulturen positive Impulse für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft bewirkt. Darüber hinaus spiegeln die 36 Artikel der international renommierten Autoren die neuesten praktischen und theoretischen Erkenntnisse über Kreativität und Innovation weltweit wieder. Das Buch richtet sich an Studierende, Wirtschaftswissenschaftler und Praktiker gleichermaßen.

We tend to assume that our map of the intellectual disciplines is valid cross-culturally. G. E. R. Lloyd challenges this in relation to eight main areas of human endeavour, namely philosophy, mathematics, history, medicine, art, law, religion, and science, by examining how the disciplines were conceived and developed in different times and places.

This book explores how to create culture-sensitive technology for local users in an increasingly globalized world with rising participatory culture. Illustrated with a cross-cultural study of mobile messaging use, Sun presents an innovative framework integrating action and meaning through a dialogical, cyclical design process to create usable and meaningful technology.

Responding to the need for organizations to improve global strategic planning and execution, this book presents a framework for effectively conceiving and executing new concepts for international markets. Filling an important gap in knowledge and research on global innovation, the author demonstrates how leaders can facilitate multicultural collaboration in service of organizational performance. Cases and findings are shared from international studies of over 200 leaders and 45 multinational firms with headquarters based in Asia, Europe, and North America. Leading Global Innovation provides a practice perspective with specific models and solutions for facilitating multicultural team collaboration, from concept to market. This book offers crucial guidance for executives, managers, consultants, and educators who would like to understand how to lead and orchestrate innovation in a culturally diverse and networked business environment.