Cultural standards of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Empirical findings and implications for strategic human resource management

According to theoretical approaches to strategic human resource management (SHRM), knowledge about a country's business culture and the ability to develop appropriate skills are a source of competitive advantage. This article analyses cultural standards in the transition economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the basis of narrative interviews with twelve Austrian managers and feedback sessions with thirty Bosnian business experts we identify seven cultural standards, for example regarding bureaucratic behaviour, decision making and customer focus. Therewith we contribute to culture specific human resource management (HRM) research and deficient cross-cultural literature for transition economies.