JOHN B. KIDD was educated in the UK and worked for several major UK organizations before returning to University scholarship. In the Universities of Birmingham and now Aston Business School his research focused on the development of IT use in SMEs; the management of projects; and the softer management issues that concern multi-national joint ventures. He has held visiting professorships in several European Universities, and in the China Europe International Business School, Shanghai. - FRANK-JURGEN RICHTER is the Director in charge of Asia at the World Economic Forum, Geneva. He was educated in Germany, France, Mexico and Japan. At one time he was based in Beijing for several years where he managed the operations of a European Multi-national enterprise: there he developed a keen interest in Asian business practices.