Europe is now a corporate also-ran. Can it recover its footing?
American and Chinese businesses have left their European counterparts in the dust
IN 1984 A besuited 20-something American executive on a visit to France offered Europeans a few tips for corporate success. Entrepreneurs needed to be given a second chance if they failed and government bureaucrats made for lousy investors, he told a television interviewer. His advice was sage. But European companies ruled the global corporate roost alongside those of America and, occasionally, Japan. Why should they take advice from this uppity Californian newcomer?
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “The land that ambition forgot”
From the June 5th 2021 edition
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