Research Note: Business Environment and Corporate Culture in Venezuela

Abstract

The research reported here studies the relation between the corporate culture of an American multinational company and the business environment in Venezuela. This multinational financial service corporation enjoys and tries to maintain, at all costs, excellent worldwide prestige. In order to ensure this, the corpora tion'imposes strict supervision, following orders that come from headquarters located in the United States. It offers continuous training to managers, both abroad and locally, through courses given by international staff members who travel from headquarters or other countries where they have acquired experi ence that can also be useful in Venezuela. The special contribution of this research is to show how, in the Latin American entrepreneurial context, corpor ate culture is useful in counteracting local business practices which act as obstacles to the fulfilment of corporate values. At the same time, this local entrepreneurial context makes it very difficut for managers to adapt to a corpor ate culture for an unlimited period of time. As managers grow older and their individual circumstances change, they no longer adapt to corporate goals because the firm cannot offer them the possibility of fulfilling their needs and professional goals. At that point, it is the local business environment that offers managers the chance to advance professionally.