The Influence of the Business Climate on the Strategic Decision-Making Process of the Foreign Companies operating in Montenegro

The Balkan market has been proving to be, for some years, one of the most dynamic and active ones - thanks to the reforms implemented by local governments, aimed at opening up to foreign companies in order to acquire the technology and know-how needed to comply with Western development standards, in view of a future entry into the EU. In particular, among the countries in this area, Montenegro is now playing an important role, due to the high degree of attractiveness achieved by improving the business climate, which is increasingly directing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) towards this country. Following a brief analysis of the main forms of Foreign Direct Investment, the present work is aimed at examining what fields have experienced an improvement in the business climate in Montenegro and how this has influenced the development strategies of foreign companies (particularly Italian ones), thus yielding an economic benefit to corporate investors as well as to the country itself. To this end, an analysis was carried out using the data collected from interviews with the managers of the companies located in Montenegro, based on ten indicators: Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permits, Employing Workers, Registering Property, Getting Credit, Protecting Investors, Paying Taxes, Trading Across Borders, Enforcing Contracts, Closing a Business. The final results were then compared with those obtained, on average, in the Balkans.