I have learned a lot about Swedish business culture simply by sitting across the table from two managers at different Swedish companies (Swedish branch of IBM and IT company called Office IT-Partners). Many of the things I learned was about cultural understandings/norms as well as what they think about the government.
Here is a list of some of the things I have been learning.
1. In Sweden, nobody is "better" than anyone else. Everyone likes to be modest because its the most relatable. If someone is successful, they will keep that success to themselves and they won't brag about it or showcase it (except for Swedish soccer star, Zlatan, who is one of the highest paid soccer starts in the world. He is boastful, but in his defense, he is the best). The implications for feeling equal as everyone else means that you can be rich (unlike in communism), but if you are a salesperson, you won't drive a ferrari to a sales meeting. It would be more acceptable to drive a Volvo (Swedish brand) because then you would seem like a regular guy, and not a big-hot-shot. In America that may be different quite often because people will relate wealth with success, and they relate that success with ability to do their job. So many people in America would be more apt to trust a outwardsly rich person rather than a seemingly "normal" guy. It is not this way in Sweden.
2. The government is somewhat moderate, but by no means Communist. The difference between our government, Sweden's government, and that of the former soviet union is that our government is all about free market and less about social programs and making sure our citizens are taken care of (by the state), instead supporting big business and providing the bare minimum for lower classes of people. In Sweden, they have a democratic system, like the USA, but instead of a person being elected (like Mitt Romney or Barack Obama), they will elect a party and set of policies. The party takes care of who is in charge, and that leader elects his/her cabinet members. Unlike the soviet union, Sweden is pretty capitalistic. Yes, there are high taxes, but it is not to spread the wealth so everyone is equal. The taxes are in place to provide social programming such as free education and healthcare for children. This works well for a small country like Sweden, and I'm not certain if that kind of social programming could work on a larger scale like in the United States, but the United States is one of the only industrialized, "first world" countries that doesn't have a universal healthcare.
3. Swedes don't make a ton of money, but they don't need to. They make enough to get by, have a nice family, do some traveling, etc. Swedes don't need the excess luxury that Americans will typically have.
I have learned a lot so far from having meals and "fika" (Swedish coffee break) with Swedes, and I hope I learn much more as my journey continues.
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