Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2025 i The European Business Review

AUTHORS Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities opens with the famous line: “These are the best of times and the worst of times.” For the first nine months of 2025 they have been a little of both. Although worldwide inflation is relatively moderate and projected to be 4.2 per cent this year, global growth overall is slowing and is expected to decline to 3.0 per cent in 2026. Merchandise trade is contracting to 0.2 per cent this year, yet services trade is increasing. Global poverty levels are decreasing; however, income inequality is widening.1 As for the next six months, they will be VUCA-dominated,2 “VUCA” standing for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous—a perfect description for the current environment for global trade. The three principal drivers here are economic fragility, geopolitical…

AUTHORS The platform economy is no longer an emerging trend—it is an established reality. Yet its geography tells a story of striking imbalance. According to the latest Top 100 Worldwide Platforms ranking, based on market capitalisation, 85.8 per cent of their total value is concentrated in the Americas, 11 per cent in Asia-Pacific, while Europe accounts for a modest 2.2 per cent and Africa just 1 per cent1. This disparity begs an obvious question: has Europe already lost the platform battle? Not entirely. Significant examples prove that Europe can still matter in the global platform landscape. Siemens with Siemens Xcelerator, AXA with its AXA Digital Commercial Platform, and Eni with Open-es are three distinct initiatives united by the same logic: leveraging platform models to tackle complex challenges and create new…

AUTHORS INTRODUCTION In a world that is ever-changing and fraught with unpredictability, the strength of an organization lies not just in its resources but in its spirit. “Cultivating Endurance: Empowering Your Organization for a Resilient Future” speaks to the heart of what resilience truly means—an unwavering commitment to rise stronger, to adapt, and to flourish despite the challenges that lie ahead. This title encapsulates the essence of transformation, emphasizing the nurturing process of building resilience as a continuous journey rather than a one-time initiative. It resonates on an emotional level, inspiring leaders and teams alike to embrace the challenges of today as stepping stones toward a more promising tomorrow. In this article, we embark on a path that not only fortifies the foundations of an organization but also ignites a…

AUTHORS Introduction We live in a time when society, far from being a refuge of support and growth, can become a source of silent harm. A harmful society is one that, consciously or unconsciously, normalizes behaviors that hurt, exclude, or humiliate others. It is not just about great acts of violence or injustice but about an everyday culture where damage – emotional, social, symbolic – is reproduced without question. The most complex aspect of a harmful society is that many of its practices have become so common that they go unnoticed: ignoring someone as a form of punishment, mocking under the pretext of humor, making irony an insidious source of punishment and humiliation, constantly competing, speaking ill of others to validate themselves. Such is not only a society that allows…

AUTHORS Europe leads on decarbonization. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of the largest European companies are cutting operational emissions—typically by more than 3 per cent annually.1 Nineteen per cent have set a date by which their operations will have net zero carbon emissions. But a further 64 per cent of large European companies have set date-bound commitments to be net zero not only in their operations but also in their upstream and downstream value chains.2 This is more than twice that of their non-European peers. Can Europe translate this climate leadership into competitive advantage? Such a coupling is possible: since 1990, the bloc has cut emissions by 37 per cent while growing GDP by over 68 per cent.3 But it’s not inevitable. Mario Draghi warns that decarbonization “could run contrary to…

AUTHORS Introduction The increasing relevance of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven technologies across sectors has prompted growing interest in measuring their adoption across firms and industries (Cockburn, Henderson, and Stern, 2018). While anecdotal evidence points to the widespread integration of analytics, machine learning, and automation into business models, systematic evidence remains limited, particularly outside of the technology sector (Seamans and Raj, 2018).i This article explores AI-related adoption patterns across US industries between 2020 and 2024, using a large-scale textual analysis of 10-K filings. By tracking the frequency of AI-related keywords in regulatory filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the authors constructed a novel, replicable dataset that offers insight into how different industries disclose and potentially adopt AI technologies over time. The dataset consisted of annual 10-K filings…

AUTHORS Negotiation in high-stakes situations—such as kidnappings or hostage crises—has evolved significantly. What was once a confrontation driven by physical force has shifted to a terrain where language, psychology, and strategy have emerged as the most powerful tools. In this delicate balance of wills, the motto of the NYPD’s1 Crisis Negotiation Unit rings clear: Pax per conloquium (“Resolution through dialogue”). This transformation did not happen by chance, but is the result of an increasingly profound understanding of human nature and how people react under pressure. The approach adopted in police negotiation has extended beyond law enforcement, influencing fields as varied as business and international diplomacy. And while these arenas may appear different on the surface, they share a critical common denominator: the constant presence of risk and urgency. At such…

AUTHOR The Impostor Syndrome describes high-achieving individuals in any area of endeavour, from business to sport, who, despite their objective successes, do not accept and internalize their accomplishments. They have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or impostor, somehow not deserving of their success. They might sabotage, consciously or unconsciously, their performance, hence confirming their self-appraisal. The concept has been around for over 40 years and is much discussed when clearly brilliant people “go off the rails” at the peak of their success. STUDIES ON THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME A recent review found that the syndrome was relatively common among both men and women and across a range of age groups (adolescents to late-stage professionals). Also, it is often comorbid with depression and anxiety and is associated…

AUTHORS We all mostly view fashion in terms of fashionable clothing and style. Yet fashion is far more than that; it actually involves trends in architecture, trends in decoration, trends in clothing, in linguistic choices and even trends in our communication styles. IDEA EXPLORER Truly, in our everyday life, we embrace various instances where we willingly or unwillingly deal with fashion trends, be it in terms of what to wear, where to dine, which car to drive, where to live, or which words to choose in our everyday communication. When speaking of everyday communication, there are some words that become fashionable depending on the ongoing fashion in the air. Thus, for instance, recently there have been such words in contemporary English language as “dope”, in phrases as “a dope make-up”…

AUTHOR In today’s rapidly changing world, challenges like climate change, social inequality, and economic uncertainty call for thoughtful and comprehensive approaches to leadership and decision-making. Business schools possess a unique opportunity and responsibility to be part of the solution to these challenges. They must go beyond traditional instruction of management skills, and how to run businesses or develop profit-making strategies. Business education needs to foster leaders who can think critically about the broader values of business decisions. This transformation can be achieved by embracing sustainability concepts and rethinking business education in terms of the curriculum, teaching, research, and service. In this context, the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) offer an opportunity for business schools to work together with their stakeholders to shape a sustainable future. By integrating…

AUTHORS There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy. — Hamlet, Scene 1, Act 5 Hamlet was right. The prince did not know the intricacies of artificial intelligence (AI), but his statement is equally applicable and indicates that there are limits to our philosophical constructions and, alarmingly, also to their dreams. How much more unreachable can the unknown be when neither us, nor our machinations, nor their dreams, can make sense of it? In this article it will be argued why we are at this cross-roads. If we do not know how AI works, what its intentions might be, and how little we can do about containing it, how can we regulate it effectively? This situation may fuel the growing list of risks…

AUTHOR When negotiating a new business partnership, from a product collab oration to a sales agreement to a corporate merger, organizations often approach negotiations with optimism about their strategic complementarity. Enthusiasm about the prospect of creating synergy through combined strengths spurs the belief that each side will overcome its weaknesses and begin anew. Unfortunately, this focus on strategy often completely overlooks the importance of assessing cultural complementarity—that is, how well the organizations’ cultures are likely to mesh. That’s a significant oversight, as a culture clash—specifically, between “tight” and “loose” organizational cultures—is often to blame for partnerships that fall apart during the implementation stage, Stanford professor Michele Gelfand and her colleagues have found in their research. Recent negotiation case studies illustrate why cross-cultural partnerships are often bumpy and offer clues on…

AUTHORS The history of the discovery of the Van Gogh Roots site In the spring of 2020, during France’s COVID-19 lockdown, Wouter van der Veen, scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in Auverssur-Oise, discovered the exact location of Van Gogh’s final painting, Tree Roots, by matching a vintage postcard to the scene depicted in the artwork. After confirmation from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, it was determined that Van Gogh painted this scene on July 27, 1890, just some hours before his death. The site was located on land owned by the Serlinger family, who had purchased and renovated a dilapidated farmhouse in Auvers-sur-Oise years earlier. The discovery was announced on July 29, 2020, the 130th anniversary of Van Gogh’s death, drawing international media attention and positioning Auvers-sur-Oise…