Patterns And Determinants Of Enterprise Restructuring In Central And East European Countries

The position of enterprises, industries and economies on the market depends on their response to a wide range of incentives, market trends, technological changes, government policies and institutional reforms. The adjustments made by companies so as to take over their rivals’ market are commonly referred to as restructuring. It is important to understand enterprise restructuring since the ability of enterprises to compete determines the ability of their nations to grow and to provide better standard of living. Over past two decades enterprise restructuring has been prominent feature of firm behaviour in Central and East European countries. Institutional reforms in these countries have required enterprises to introduce changes in their behaviour in order to survive. Bearing this in mind, this paper looks into forms, objectives of and reasons for enterprise restructuring in transition. It also identifies major patterns of enterprise restructuring and discusses which factors and forces have motivated firms to choose particular pattern of restructuring. Finally, paper provides review of methodological issues pertinent to existing analyses of this process.