THE ROLE OF STATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN TRANSITION CONDITIONS

One of the most significant socio-economic challenges at the beginning of the new millennium has been the transformation of post-socialist systems into systems that can meet the challenges of a predominantly capitalist world economy.Multinational companies become directly involved in this transition process when acquiring in one of the former socialist economies, especially when engaging in local businesses. They are confronted with a particular institutional environment that pre-determines strategic opportunities for the enterprise and limits the application of Western firms business practices and organizational concepts. Thus, the strategies observed in transition countries are different from those applied in successful and developed economies, and strategies that prove successful in one country may be a complete failure in another. Corporate strategies in transition countries and other emerging markets can only be explained by including a specific institutional context in the analysis. This creates challenges that are fundamentally different from the experience of managers of developed countries and firms with foreign business partners. a particular challenge is the acquisition and subsequent integration of state-owned enterprises.