Problem: Steve, an American of Czech origin and a franchisor for Chicago Style Pizza has decided to expand his business into the Czech Republic. Although he was born in the United States, his family and friends in the Czech Republic, speak Czech fluently, and have visited the country of their origin several times. However, he does not feel that he really knows or understands the Czech people well enough to know what they really want.
Q1 - Are there major differences and incompatibilities between the U.S. and Czech cultures? Will these differences create major business risks for Steve? How might Steve mitigate these risks?
Q2- Using Will Hofstede's four primary dimensions to help evaluate the Czech business environment? What are the likely results of this evaluation?
Q3 - What comparative advantage exist in Czech? Can Steve take advantage of these?
Q4 - What kind of trade barriers would Steve need to be aware of?
Q5 - How would he assess the cost structure? What could Steve infer about the price and income elasticities of pizza?