Cross-cultural Challenges in International Management

2How to Survive in an Unstable Environment for a Long Time to Come

A Study of Firms Operating in Tunisia During the Democratic Transition

Alya Charfi and Jamil Chaabouni

Introduction

Firms are evolving in a world that has become unstable and violent, going through democratic revolutions and the rise of extremism and terrorism. This instability affects the development of businesses or the maintenance of their operations in countries with an uncertain future. Sometimes the survival of the firm becomes the issue, when the institutions of their country of origin collapse, the economy is crippled or war rages.

This research aims to understand how certain firms manage to get through troubled periods whereas others struggle to emerge from them ...