Strategies of Multinationals in Central and Eastern Europe


Book Description

The focus of the study is on the larger food processing companies, which invested in Central and Eastern Europe – namely Nestlé, Unilever and InBev - and analyses the motives of investment and the entry strategies of food MNEs, outlines their contribution to the local development and stresses the national actors as forces to embedded FDI.




Emerging-market Multinational Enterprises in East Central Europe


Book Description

The rise of multinational enterprises (MNEs) from emerging markets is topical, important and poses a number of questions and challenges that require considerable attention in the future from academia as well as business management. The recent takeovers of high-profile companies in developed or developing countries by non-European emerging-market MNEs (EMNEs) – such as Lenovo, Wanhua (China), Hindalco (India), CVRD (Brazil), Cemex (Mexico), Lukoil (Russia), etc. – as well as the greenfield or brownfield investments of emerging companies (such as Huawei, ZTE, Tata, Pepco, etc.) show a new trend where new kind of firms become major players globally. EMNEs have become important players in several regions around the globe, ranging from the least developed countries of Africa through the developing markets in Latin America and Asia to the developed countries of the United States or the European Union, including East Central European (ECE) countries. EMNEs presence on the global level has resulted in numerous studies in the international literature but those research results barely cover EMNEs’ activities in the ECE region (in the East Central European EU member countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). The existing books typically focus on the investment activity of a single country or region (such as China or East Asia) but a comprehensive analysis is still missing in this regard. The novelty of this edited volume is that it aims at exploring EMNEs location determinants, strategies, activities and challenges in East Central Europe by discussing its anomalies to the traditional theories as well as to other types of MNEs in the ECE region. The authors focus on EMNEs not only from China but from other important emerging countries, too, such as Russia, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil or South Africa.




Globalization and the State in Central and Eastern Europe


Book Description

This book examines the transformation of the state in Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism and adoption of market oriented reform in the early 1990s, exploring the impact of globalization and economic liberalization on the region’s states, societies and political economy. It compares the different policies and national strategies adopted by key Central and Eastern European states, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, showing how initial internally oriented strategies of market reform, privileging domestic sources of investment, had by the late 1990s given way to externally oriented strategies emphasising the promotion of competitiveness by attracting foreign investment. It explores the reasons behind this convergence, considering the influence of internal and external forces, and the roles of interests, institutions and ideas. It argues that internationalization of the state is forged in the processes through which domestic groups linked to transnational capital attain domestic influence necessary to shape state policy and strategy. These groups — the comprador service sector in particular — constitute and organize political, social and institutional support of the competition state in the region. Overall, this book not only provides a detailed account of the political economy of post-communist transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, but also the processes by which states adapt to the forces of globalization.




Cross-Border Investing


Book Description

Cross-Border Investing: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe offers a view that reflects two main hypotheses: -You cannot understand foreign direct investment (FDI) trends and developments unless you understand the company's motives to invest, -You cannot understand a company's cross-border investment decision-making unless you understand what the investment area offers. This is the reason why this text builds up a relationship between the world of companies' decision-makers and that of the policy makers in the public sector. It does so by linking the business processes to the factors that together constitute the location profile of a country or a region. Based on more than 15 years of practical experience as well as research in the field of FDI, Dr Julia Djarova offers a Cross-Border Investment Model to describe the logic behind the decision-making process concerning foreign investments made by companies. The model is illustrated by a number of case studies of multinationals.




Marketing Strategies for Central and Eastern Europe


Book Description

This title was first published in 2001. Successful international marketing requires the development and implementation of marketing strategies responsive to different environments. This text examines the unique features of the marketing environment in Central and Eastern Europe and the impact that they have on the strategies used to enter and penetrate this region. It is based on the proceedings of the 6th annual conference on "Marketing Strategies for Central & Eastern Europe" held from the 2nd to the 4th of December 1998 in Vienna, Austria. The book presents the editors' view on marketing in Central and Eastern Europe and summarizes the main features and research results from the selected papers.




Strategies of Multinationals and Competition for Foreign Direct Investment


Book Description

Is there a trade-off among countries in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI)? And, in particular, has the opening up of Central and Eastern Europe diverted FDI that otherwise would have gone to developing countries? To answer these questions, FIAS c




Understanding Energy Security in Central and Eastern Europe


Book Description

The purpose of this book is to move beyond the approach which views energy as a purely geopolitical tool of the Russian state and assumes a 'one size fits all' approach to energy security in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It argues that in order to fully understand Russian involvement in the regional energy complex, the CEE-Russian energy relationship should be analysed in the context of the political and economic transitions that Russia and the CEE states underwent. The chapters on individual countries in the book demonstrate that, although Russia has and will continue to play a substantial role in the CEE energy sector, the scope of its possible influence has been overstated.




The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets


Book Description

For nearly two decades, emerging markets have been a primary source of growth in the world economy. They have become more international and compete more extensively with companies in developed countries. For these reasons, an understanding of managing businesses in emerging markets is a fundamental skill for competing in the twenty-first century. The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets identifies key elements of the business systems and competition in emerging markets around the world, and then looks at competitive strategies of companies going into and coming out of these countries. While business is business, the handbook's focus is on how management differs depending on the different environmental characteristics in emerging markets, such as the role of the government, the potential weakness of infrastructure, and the skill and innovation bases available locally in emerging markets, among other elements. The volume is organized into five sections. The first section establishes conceptual perspectives for exploring the current business environment in emerging markets. The second section focuses on questions surrounding governance and markets. The third explores multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging economies, while the fourth section looks at local firms and emerging market MNEs. The fifth and final section looks at management in emerging markets within specific countries and regions around the world. This handbook is a vital resource for scholars, students, and managers looking to expand into emerging economies by providing comprehensive analyses of functional areas from human resources to finance to marketing, and on issues such as family businesses, state-owned enterprises, and the bottom of the pyramid.




Market Entry and Operational Decision Making in East-West Business Relationships


Book Description

Understand the dynamics of East-West relationships in business to make better decisions The Eastern expansion of the European Union has increased interest in this geographic region. Market Entry and Operational Decision Making in East-West Business Relationships presents 10 case studies that focus on firms in Central and Eastern Europe and the strategies used for success. Academics, researchers, and practitioners examine a variety of topics, including entry and marketing strategies of Western multinational companies, choices of locations for foreign direct investments, first mover advantages, entry behavior of retailing companies, dynamics in subsidiary operations, industry clusters, decision-making autonomy, and internationalization. Market Entry and Operational Decision Making in East-West Business Relationships provides information that is uniquely timely and practical to those in business in this region. The chapters bring the academic and the practical perspectives together by analyzing various research studies from different companies in several Central and Eastern European countries. This resource discusses companies and the decisions about where they begin and maintain operations, and why these strategies were chosen. The book provides a clear spotlight on the business decisions currently taking place in the East-West interaction. Topics in Market Entry and Operational Decision Making in East-West Business Relationships include: studies of four Estonian companies on their emergence and success factors a comparative study of performance measures of companies in Central and Eastern Europe a detailed look at the strategies of Finnish and Swedish companies in the Baltic states and Russia the location decisions of Italian firms a comparative study of in-store shopping behavior in Italy, France, and Poland the regionalization of multinational company strategies studies of Estonian companies, including the wood and forest industries and more Market Entry and Operational Decision Making in East-West Business Relationships is an essential resource that examines issues of critical importance to business researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.




Foreign Direct Investment in Central and Eastern Europe


Book Description

This title was first published in 2003. Covering a diverse range of countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Russia, as well as referring to the characteristics of the region as a whole, this book examines the inflow and outflow of foreign direct investment from both home and host company and country perspectives. By analyzing foreign direct investment in terms of process, content and context, the book provides a holist approach towards direct foreign investment in the transitional context of Central and Eastern Europe, embracing both macro- and micro-economic perspectives of the process.