Culture and value trade-offs for successful entrepreneurship in Africa

Abstract

In Africa slowly but steadily a transformation is taking place in the management styles of enterprises. There is a trend towards more precise time management, more precision in dealing with increasingly sophisticated technology, more feedback from the bottom to the top in order to manage the processes properly, more professionalism and independence of the individual worker. This contribution makes two points: first, neither cultures nor the so-called mental states of individuals are ever static, but always on the move. Second, the force of passion and inspiration by which particular cultural values are endorsed in a particular context makes all the difference in their impact. The importance of these two propositions comes to the fore, if the concept of an “economic culture” is taken into consideration. The claim of the authors is that the ongoing cultural transformation can be better understood in the dynamic approach of cultural values as proposed here.