Fons Trompenaars is a Dutch author in the field of cross-cultural communication. His books include: Riding the Waves of Culture, Seven Cultures of Capitalism, Building Cross-Cultural Competence, 21 Leaders for the 21st Century and Innovating in a Global Crisis .
Trompenaars studied Economics at the VU University Amsterdam and later earned a Ph.D. from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, with a dissertation on differences in conceptions of organizational structure in various cultures. He experienced cultural differences firsthand at home, where he grew up speaking both French and Dutch, and then later at work with Shell in nine countries.
Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner have developed a model of culture with seven dimensions. There are five orientations covering the ways in which human beings deal with each other.:
1. Universalism vs. particularism (What is more important, rules or relationships?)2. Individualism vs. collectivism (communitarianism) (Do we function in a group or as individuals?)3. Neutral vs. emotional (Do we display our emotions?)4. Specific vs. diffuse (How separate we keep our private and working lives)5. Achievement vs. ascription (Do we have to prove ourselves to receive status or is it given to us?)
In addition there is a different way in which societies look at time.
6. Sequential vs. synchronic (Do we do things one at a time or several things at once?)
The last important difference is the attitude of the culture to the environment.
7. Internal vs. external control (Do we control our environment or are we controlled by it?)
The Seven Cultures of Capitalism: Value Systems for Creating Wealth in Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands with Charles Hampden-Turner (1995)
Riding The Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business with Charles Hampden-Turner (1997)
Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values with Charles Hampden-Turner and David Lewis (2000)
21 Leaders for The 21st Century with Charles Hampden-Turner (2001)
Mastering the Infinite Game: How East Asian Values are Transforming Business Practices with Charles Hampden-Turner (2001)
Did the Pedestrian Die: Insights from the World's Greatest Culture Guru (2003)
Business Across Cultures (Culture for Business Series) with Peter Woolliams (2004)
Managing People Across Cultures (Culture for Business Series) with Charles Hampden-Turner (2004)
Marketing Across Cultures (Culture for Business Series) with Peter Woolliams (2004)
Managing Change Across Corporate Cultures (Culture for Business Series) with Peter Prud'homme (2005)
Servant-Leadership Across Cultures: Harnessing the Strengths of the World's Most Powerful Management Philosophy with Ed Voerman (2009)
The Enlightened Leader: An Introduction to the Chakras of Leadership with Peter Ten Hoopen (2009)
Riding the Waves of Innovation: Harness the Power of Global Culture to Drive Creativity and Growth with Charles Hampden-Turner (2010)
The Global M and A Tango: Cross-cultural Dimensions of Mergers and Acquisitions with Maarten Nijhoff Asser (2010)