ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how culture in Europe co-evolved with European business ideologies and practices in the context of specific societal and political constellations due to a number of drivers for change. It focuses on six different 'ages': the late Middle Age; the Age of the Commercial Revolution; the Industrial Revolution; World War; the period of Europeanisation; and Europe today with its current and future challenges. All the factors contributed to flourishing trade, representing one-third of world production between 1800 and 1913, with Europe accounting for almost two-thirds of global trade and even more of global investments, which had grown 20 times between 1855 and 1914. Scientific discoveries and developments gave rise to the age of industrialisation that had tremendous impact on European business, societies, their structure and way of life due to new production methods based on radical inventions.
