The transition from socialist or communist economy to market economy in many countries has been dramatic, unpredictable, and mostly on the surface, observable in new consumption patterns or higher standards of living. But deeper change in the managerial mindset in these new market economies has been much slower and less evident. It is crucial to business success for foreign managers to understand their transition economy counterparts. This book examines the interactions that foreign and transition economy managers have in building business relationships, the influences behind those interactions, how the interactions themselves change over time, and how to manage the process of building relationships more smoothly.
The work is a practical examination of fundamental strategic issues confronted by firms competing in newly opened markets. It covers emerging markets in East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and the new states of the former Soviet Union.
Over the past twenty years, several countries in Europe, Central and South America and Asia have undergone a transition from a planned economy to a market economy. Some observers have described this process as perhaps the biggest economic experiment of the last few centuries. However, knowledge about how this process affects business in these countries remains limited. The task of this book is to increase our understanding about how business changes at the micro level during the transition to a market economy. The focus of this book is placed on the Russian market, as Russia is one of the biggest countries currently making the transition. The book takes as its point of departure the observation that firms and managers perceive the management of networks of relationships with customers and suppliers to be their greatest challenge. It presents a case study, which covers the period from 1986 to 1998, and analyses and explains how business networks in Russia have changed over the past fifteen years. Moreover, it identifies the driving factors in the process of moving away from plan-governance and toward the development of business relationships characterised by mutuality, stability and identity. Martin Johanson is associate professor at the Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, and Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall. He received his Ph.D. from Uppsala University in 2001. He has ten years of experience working as a diplomat and business consultant in Russia. His research interests are transformation of networks in turbulent economies and firms' entry into emerging markets.
This book investigates the concepts and instruments for managing change in companies striving towards a market orientation in transition economies. The focus is on the identification of factors, which have led to the considerable success of certain corporations, in spite of the very dynamic environment in transition countries since 1989. The analysis considers problems and solutions for all the relevant stakeholder relationships. Although the case study is largely based on Poland, the book also contains research on the economic, political and social context of doing business in Central and Eastern Europe.
This is a comparative study examining the past, present and future of management in the transitional economies of East and Central Europe, Russia, the People's Republic of China, and Vietnam.
To date, the record of economic transition has decidedly been mixed. The worldwide political climate is still in favor of economic reform and the process continues to have considerable momentum. On the other hand, this process now faces a number of formidable obstacles. There appears to be general agreement that in many countries the promise of a better standard of living which economic transition offers to the mass of the citizenry has failed to produce the rapid and dramatic results hoped for. There is an increasing conflict of interest between multinational firms and the national business community. Moreover, many transition economies have experienced a slowing of economic growth in real terms and social services have been severely cut.This book deals with the development of those forces that have played a major role in the successes and failures of economic transition. Its distinctive feature is that it does this from the perspective of economic, political and social analysis, taking into account both theoretical constructs and economic realities for those countries which have attempted the grand experiment with economic transition.
Contributing pioneering new research, this innovative book proposes new ways and directions in which to extend the influential ‘business networks perspective’ approach to doing business. While previous research has focused upon relationships with customers and suppliers, the authors argue that there is a need to expand the outlook to include other stakeholders. Taking a stand in a broad management perspective, chapters relate contemporary issues within industrial and international marketing, product innovation, and information systems. Challenging existing views and proposing elaborate alternatives; this volume examines a range of examples that have inspired researchers to extend the business network. To provide further understanding, Extending the Business Network Approach relates current and new research to territories, technologies and terms to reveal novel insights, and to encourage further directions for research.
China’s 30-year market transition and its integration into the world economy provide a unique opportunity for exploring the nature of large-scale economic and political transformation and the mechanisms underlying organizational behavior during such a transition. Management and Organizations in Transitional China explores how managers and firms cope with transition-related challenges by adapting to, manipulating, or even creating the complex institutional environment. This book examines the way transitional institutions shape individual decisions and organizational strategies, the mechanisms that promote the diffusion of innovative management practices and economic policies, and the formation and evolution of interfirm networks. Based on a comprehensive review of the studies on market transition, this book investigates how firms manage their relationship with important stakeholders in the environment. It highlights the importance of network-based strategies for institutionally less-advantaged actors (like private firms, foreign entrants, and entrepreneurs) to establish legitimacy, gain institutional support, and mobilize financial resources. Moreover, this book studies the mechanisms that facilitate the adoption of innovative management practices and economic policies in the transitional context, comparing the mainstream diffusion theories and evaluating the relative potency of the diffusion drivers. Furthermore, Management and Organizations in Transitional China provides empirical analyses using longitudinal data of alliance formation, network evolution, and the effect of both alliance formation and network evolution on firm decision-making and performance. Combining theory, data analysis, and rich contextual description to provide a comprehensive understanding of the organizational transition process, this book will appeal to scholars and practitioners in general management, organizational studies, international business, entrepreneurship, and related disciplines.
Internationalization and Managing Networks in the Asia Pacific consists of theories and analysis in sections that are related to network management, the power of business networking and the significance and role that business networking plays in propelling organizations towards international business, especially in Asia. Moreover, it includes stakeholder theory and applications of relevant theories to assist in identifying key stakeholders in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The first section contains various fascinating headings, such as analysis of stakeholders' needs, negotiation techniques with stakeholders, relationship management with stakeholders and the role of network management in expanding international business within Asia. The second section emphasizes internationalization theories and empirical evidence with case studies of Asian multinational companies that have succeeded in expanding abroad, such as Singaporean, Taiwanese, Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian companies. These help provide guidelines of analysis for the adaptations these companies made to internationalize successfully, market penetration strategies used for the AEC and international expansion of Asian companies across countries in Asia and other continents. In addition, an included debate provides information on the applications of business networking and internationalization theories, best practices and development policy recommendations, along with a discussion of the role of the public sector in supporting overseas expansion of the private sector. - Consists of two interesting and important topics about network management and internationalization - Focuses on the role of Asian companies, including international activities - Includes case studies and empirical evidence from works by researchers and experts on network management and international business expansion - Provides policy advice to the public sectors within Asia on formulating and implementing policies - Offers insight into the role of the public sector in supporting international business activities of the private sector
This book contributes to a better understanding of entrepreneurship in transition economies. Current literature reflects the more traditional schools of thought on entrepreneurship, which are influenced by the Western perspective, and fail to fully address the scenario in transition economies. There is a broad consensus among academics, policy makers, and practitioners that a fundamental cause of difficulties experienced by most economies in transition has been the fact that reform has not been accompanied by the creation of new, private businesses, and particularly SMEs. This is especially evident in states created in Europe after the dissolution of the Soviet Union where many barriers, which were inherited from the old system, remain in place, thus inhibiting entrepreneurial progress in these countries despite a favorable political and economic environment. The contributions featured in this book focus on how much progress has been achieved so far with regard to these aspects, as well as identify which current barriers and issues still need to be resolved. Themes include innovation performance, financing, venture capital, educational factors, and entrepreneurial learning.
