Conclusion

Putting forward a theory and a methodology for steering change in organisations cannot be concluded without tackling the question of their link with the cultural context in which they have been drawn up. Are they closely linked to this context – in this case, that of developed countries in the Western world – and consequently relatively unadaptable and inoperative in very different surroundings? This question is based on the fact that, no doubt due to the globalisation that characterises the world at the start of the twenty-first century, executives and managers like tackling such ‘cultural’ issues, sometimes according them an inordinate level of importance. There is no merger or acquisition which is not preceded by a harrowing interrogation on the ‘compatibility of cultures’, a subject on which there is no hesitation in initiating in-depth research. All business schools have, in their international management programmes, courses that are devoted to such questions and each one proposes, in its continuing education programmes, seminars for familiarising participants with the need to take action in very differentiated environments