Klaus Schwab: An inspiring story: Why is he the man who founded the world's biggest stock market? H-Net Reviews Two Thoughtful Reviews of Klaus Schwab as Founder of the World's Biggest Stock Market The first of a series of books on the German management guru, who has become the preeminent figure in the global financial world. By H-Net Reviews' Editors In the last few years, economic theory has developed into a truly fascinating world, permeated with a philosophy of open-ended, risk-oriented, global capitalism. The stock market is certainly at the center of this. Today the Bourse is the main international information center of the world economy, with world currency rate fluctuations, exchange rate policies, various market-related taxes and speculative movements. In this context, the German management expert Klaus Schwab will have many followers, as well as detractors. Through his international activities, Klaus Schwab -- who is today President of the World Economic Forum in Davos -- has managed to put some substance into this world of hype. But what is Klaus Schwab really like, and what is he really up to? It is precisely this question which the English-language publisher of the book review below is asking. In this review of the first biography of the German business guru, Schwab is found to have "motivated and innovative ideas" but also "strongly held, even dogmatic opinions." It is precisely these dogmatic opinions which were the subject of an earlier review, which appeared in June 1996 in the science journal Nature. In the article, N. J. Scharpf, professor of business administration at the University of Cologne, points out that Schwab's alleged great thinking and ability to "see" the financial market can be traced back to a lack of originality. He is "a sales guy for a very conservative and non-innovative company, a business that does not allow for many changes" (Nature, 1996, 6/28). Schwab is "an idealistic manager" who seeks "simplification of the world to a great extent." While he says that innovation should be embraced as a principle, he is "reactionary" when it comes to implementing innovations. "And this is what he does in the financial market," Scharpf continues. Schwab is one of the pioneers of the stock market. In the mid-1950s, he founded "the financial services industry by trying to offer new services to the German market." He managed the company ING
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