Organizational learning in a centrally planned economy

Enterprise organizational learning in a socialist economy is reported in this article. Previous research has been conducted only with reference to firms operating in a market economy. The research team studied ten firms in light industry during the period from 1970–1980.     

Institutional quality and market selection in the transition to market economy

This paper investigates the impact of institutional quality on the productivity, profitability and survival of new entrants versus those of incumbent firms in a transitional setting, Vietnam. By integrating economic and institutional perspectives, we emphasize the importance of institutional quality in shaping the evolution of industry dynamics. We find that poor institutional quality that acts as institutional buffering for incumbents jeopardizes the Schumpeterian market selection process. In particular, despite being more productive and profitable, new entrants are still more likely to exit than incumbents on average. As a consequence, facing poor institutions, only new entrants with sufficiently high productivity and profitability are able to survive. However, improving institutional quality does not enhance new entrants' survival and entrepreneurial performance; rather, it removes the survival advantage of incumbents and thus reduces the differences in performance and exit hazard between new entrants and incumbents. We investigate this seemingly paradoxical relationship using Vietnamese census data from 2006 to 2013.     

Monetary policy in the transition to a market economy: The case of Hungary

In the centrally planned economies of Eastern Europe, monetary policy played a subordinate role, there were no capital-market institutions and the banking system was single-tier. All this has to be changed in the transition to a market economy. The example of Hungary, which abolished the traditional system of central planning as early as 1968, shows some of the pitfalls to be avoided.     

Family economics in Russia: women's perspectives on the transition to a market economy

Abstract This study of family economic variables is based on in-depth oral interviews conducted in the spring of 1995 with 95 women living in Moscow, Russia. The survey explored family economic life in a variety of socioeconomic settings. Data gathered include an overview of the household economy, family income and expenses, satisfaction with current economic situation, patterns of consumption, work culture and women's culture. In addition, the subjects were asked to comment on the current status of women in Russia, the state of the economy and the role government should play in the economy. The analysis contributes to an understanding of the relationship between the reproduction economy and the macro/production economy in a time of major economic upheaval.     

Product-innovation propensity at the company level in centrally planned economies

One aim of the 1981–1983 economic reform in Poland was to increase the propensity of product innovation at the company level. This article discusses barriers that hampered product-innovation development under current market conditions. Empirical data for the paper were provided by studies conducted by the author from 1982 to 1983 in nine industrial companies. The results of the study verified the hypothesis that the new economic system, together with the influence of other variables such as market structure and market situation does not create favorable conditions for the development of product innovation.     

Restoring the growth potential of formerly centrally planned economies

All formerly centrally planned economies record very substantial declines in their social products. The largest drops in production are recorded in Poland and in east Germany (the former GDR), that is, in those countries where the most radical steps towards a market economy were taken in 1990. Thus it looks as though a recession was unavoidable during transition. But what are the conditions that must be fulfilled in order to restore growth potential to these countries? The following article aims first to devise a theoretical picture of a successful transition. The criteria thus obtained are then employed for an analysis of the recessive processes in Poland, the first east European country to start a radical programme of transition. Finally, the recession in Poland is compared with that in the former GDR.     

Cuba,the centrally planned cigar,and its rivals

Cuba has a long‐standing reputation for producing premium cigars. Despite the inefficiencies of central planning, Cuba continues to command a dominant global market share in this product outside the United States, whose trade embargo forbids Cuban imports. Cuba's main rivals in premium cigars include the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras, which dominate the US market but have a smaller presence elsewhere. All premium cigar exporters face important global demographic and policy changes that will alter the competitive landscape. Public anti‐smoking measures have diminished cigar demand in Europe and other industrialised areas, reinforcing a market growth shift towards emerging markets, especially China. Cuba's strengths in branding, reputation and third‐world ties give it an advantage in developing the high end of these new markets. However, the rigidities of Cuba's economic system make it difficult to increase or adjust premium cigar output and exports in response to new market opportunities. Cost‐efficient competition from its Caribbean rivals allows them to respond to consumer preferences for new cigar blends and lower‐priced brands. The paper concludes by assessing the need for economic reforms and foreign investment in Cuban cigar production that will be necessary for it to maintain or improve its export performance.     

The road to a market economy

The ongoing conversion of the economies of former socialist countries into market economies has so far suffered from the lack of a theory of system transformation (policy) which indicates the means of achieving the desired objectives and makes it possible to evaluate the transformation policies of individual countries. The following article outlines the essential aspects of such a theory.     

Consumers and deregulation of the electricity market in Germany

Against the backcloth of EU regulation, this note looks at the “politics of necessity” regarding electricity provision in Germany. Electricity as a case is chosen because its provision has been undergoing a profound process of liberalisation and deregulation, and there is a considerable amount of experience with the chances and pitfalls of liberalisation in this sector. Secondly, electricity is a network industry and a natural monopoly subject to systematic market failure, which calls for regulation. The paper starts out with a closer look at the consumer as an actor in the regulation process, proposing a three-role model of the consumer as a market player, as a citizen, and as a micro-producer in households and networks. In these roles, consumers take on different social and political identities; they are affected differently by (de)regulation of essential services and have different options for reacting to quality and price issues. It then describes the legal state and the development of deregulation in the electricity sector in Germany. Selected empirical data are presented, and consumer policy implications are drawn.     

Market-economic experiments in China’s planned economy

Aware of the limitations of central economic planning, the Chinese leaders have issued instructions to complement the economic order, at least on an experimental scale, by elements of the market economy. The author attended the deliberations on the new Ten-Year Plan last autumn, and here he draws a picture of the intentions underlying the reform proposals and the problems likely to arise.     

Re-examining foreign subsidiary survival in a transition economy: Impact of market identity overlap and conflict

Taking an identity perspective from the organizational ecology literature, we re-examine foreign subsidiary survival in a transition economy. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) with a socialist identity and privately owned enterprises (POEs) with a market identity exert different influences on foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs). SOEs and POEs affect the survival of FOEs primarily through the cognitive legitimation process. SOEs tend to crowd out FOEs due to identity conflict. Owing to identity overlap, POEs tend to increase the survival chances of FOEs. The level of socialist legacy in regions where FOEs are located affects the sociopolitical legitimacy of FOEs’ market identity, thus moderating the relationships between SOE and POE density and the survival of foreign subsidiaries.     

提高自身素质适应市场经济需要

中国船舶工业物资总公司为提高领导干部的政治业务素质、领导艺术和领导方法,以适应形势发展,保证"十五"规划的实现,举办了领导干部培训班,并开展了提高自身素质,"做一名合格领导干部"活动.借此机会,本人认真研读了《邓小平同志论领导干部廉洁自律》、《企业领导的方法和艺术》、《给领导者的100个思路》、《国有大中型企业建立现代企业制度和加强管理的规范》等书籍.现结合工作中的实际情况,谈谈自己的学习体会,作为今后的努力方向.     

Is the global market economy broken?

Governments are reeling. Companies are foundering. People are worrying. The global market economy is stressed to levels not seen in a long time. Des Dearlove has been asking people if the world's economy is broken. He quickly discovered that it's not a yes-or-no question.