ABOUT THIS SITE.... Approximately one fifth of the world's economic transactions currently take place in Asia. Asia thus not only presents itself as a place of business opportunities for the Nordic region but holds increasing economic significance for Scandinavian companies and organizations in the near future. In Singapore alone, there are about 170 Swedish or Swedish related organizations and according to the Swedish Trade Council, the fast-growing markets for Swedish exports today are found in Asia, especially Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Asia now accounts for 13 percent of Swedish exports, making it the most important single region outside of Europe. The trading patterns between Scandinavia and Asia set the macro background to my research and explains broadly why the study of organizational behaviour between Scandinavian and Asian organizations is important. It is however, the more specific micro context of the merging and interaction of Scandinavian and Asian management styles that is the focus of my ongoing PhD research, where my approach to this project is multidisciplinary in nature, combining both a linguistic and a business administrative framework of analysis. With that brief introduction, I would also like to extend my thanks to the many Scandinavian and Asian business leaders who had put aside time and efforts to meet with me in Singapore in February – March 2004 for a number of long interviews that will be part of my study. While some forefront authors and business leaders believe that the Scandinavian management style is best practice for today’s knowledge economies, the preliminary results from my research indicate that for Asia, a merging of Scandinavian and Asian management styles is perhaps a more successful management strategy. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro E-mail:

WEB DESIGN: Cordeiro & Nilsson, Sweden 2003 - 2007