The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze how managerial discretion is influenced by the environment and, thereby, increase the theoretical knowledge of the concept. Hambrick and Finkelstein (1987) introduced environment as a level affecting managerial discretion. However, the authors only discussed it in an industry context. Moreover, in this dissertation we developed the environmental level by adding two more contexts. Thereby, a theoretical input –and output model were created. These include three environmental sublevels: Industry characteristics, public sector and transition economy. The analysis is under a strategic perspective, which defines top managers’ discretion as the latitude of strategic actions. Hence, managerial discretion varies in the scope of available actions influenced by environmental factors. To fulfill the purpose of this dissertation, the methodical approach is a case-study. Thus, the data consists of interviews, observations and public documents collected in a governmental organization. The findings have shown that a dynamic environment, such as a country undergoing a transition, provides context-specific factors affecting the degree of managerial discretion. Context-specific factors, such as powerful outside forces and quasi-legal constraints can increase and/or decrease the degree of top managers’ degree of discretion. The conclusion summarizesthe findings of how the different factors within each sublevel, affect the degree of managerial discretion. Moreover, the conclusion also contains the contributions of this dissertation. Firstly, the study contributes to the theory of managerial discretion, by introducing context specific factors within the public sector and a transition economy. Secondly, the study enhances the empirical knowledge about the concept, by providing new empirical evidence of managerial discretion. Finally, the results of this dissertation can help policy makers as guidelines when implementing policies. Recommendations for future research include adding the governance perspective, and/or conducting a comparison research with different organizations/contexts.

Current theoretical frameworks for assessing policy implementation have been developed almost exclusively in the context of market-based, pluralist democracies. The lack of applicable implementation theory outside this ‘western’ setting inspired this research to investigate policy processes in more diverse contexts. This research thus applied existing implementation theory to the post-Soviet sphere, utilising current frameworks to test conditions in a post-communist context. This policy lens approach was applied through two in-depth case study policies within the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, in order to improve practical understanding of the ongoing transitional complexities in the region. The choice of SMEs as policy targets shed particular light on the development of the middle class, which in turn contributed insights regarding post-Soviet nations’ continued transition towards more liberal democracies. This research examined implementation effectiveness through fieldwork conducted in Ukraine (2012), using an amalgamated list of criteria for ‘perfect’ policy implementation as a theoretical framework (Allison & Halperin, 1972; Gunn, 1978; Mazmanian & Sabatier, 1983). Empirical data was collected through both qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews (141), surveys (178) and primary source collection. Data was analysed through a combined approach of interview coding, process-tracing and cross-tabulation. Findings confirmed that incorporating certain socio-economic features, specific to a post-Soviet environment, into existing implementation models resulted in a more accurate picture of actual policy processes. Research conclusions thus included a new theoretical model for assessing policy implementation effectiveness in the region (Fischer-Smith Policy Implementation Measurement for Post-Soviet States). For theoreticians, this research may inform structural considerations when conducting policy research outside of a pluralist democracy. For practitioners, it may allow for better identification of implementation obstacles, in order to more effectively target mitigation efforts. Ultimately, the new considerations presented in this thesis may inform the wider field of policy implementation studies, both in transition regions and developing nations, as well as in the western pluralist societies where implementation theory originated.

Capital markets development is an integral part of overall economic growth of any country. Accounting harmonization is aimed to increase the attractiveness of capital markets by creation of synchronized financial reporting environment globally so that the capital is effectively allocated with the lowest costs and increased liquidity. To the date, more than a hundred of countries implemented IFRS into the national accounting frameworks, therefore the need for the assessment of the real impacts on capital markets is obvious. The main goal of this study is to identify whether there is statistical evidence of the relationship between decreased/increased cost of equity capital among Russian listed companies and mandatory adoption of IFRS. Theoretical part includes an overview of the relevant theory, reasons of accounting harmonization as well as potential challenges. There are also described the main findings and real evidences of adoption impacts on the main capital and financial markets. Practical part of this paper is aimed to investigate whether the proposed benefits of IFRS adoption may be similarly observed in an environment of transition economy.

Entrepreneurship is the force that drives economic, social and technical progress. A small percentage of firms (5%) is responsible for a disproportionately large amount of net job creation (>50%). Named high growth firms, these successful enterprises have been in the spotlight of research looking into the key drivers of firm growth and growth policy. This dissertation explores high growth from multiple perspectives: at the level of the firm, by understanding how the definition of a high growth firm impacts its characteristics and expected performance over time; at the local level, by isolating the effect of political connections of firm performance and firm entry; and at the macro level, by observing the evolution of entrepreneurship during transition. The first study finds that most HGFs are unable to maintain high growth rates for long, but do register lower volatility in growth rates and a higher chance of survival. Results on growth volatility and persistence vary significantly with the specific definition of “high growth” used as well as with the specific variable used to measure growth (e.g., revenue, employees, profit, productivity). These findings have direct implications for growth policies and programs that depend on identifying HGFs. The second study indicates a strong significant effect of political alignment on revenue growth and firm entry. Larger firms take advantage of political connections for performance gains, while small firms are negatively impacted. Furthermore, alignment reduces entry into entrepreneurship by 8-11%. These findings establish political alignment and local-level business-politics collusion as important dynamics to consider when evaluating entrepreneurship policy in developing countries. The third study describes the interdependence between entrepreneurship, institutions, and transitions. The case of Romania shows that the beginning of transition was characterized by an initial explosion of newly created private enterprises, followed by a declining trend in enterprise creation and, recently, by a new increase in entrepreneurship activity. To conclude, this work contributes new perspectives towards a better understanding of high growth firms and growth policy. Policy implications are targeted towards transition and developing economies that have seen little representation in literature. The goal is to enable successful high growth policies across multiple levels.

Using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, this paper examines differences in entrepreneurial perceptions (fear of failure, opportunity perception, self-efficacy, public opinion) between CEE and non-CEE countries, before and after the 2008 recession, as well as the effects of these perceptions on entrepreneurial motivation and overall levels of activity. The results suggest that CEE countries have systematically more pessimistic outlooks in terms of fear of failure and opportunity perception, but no difference from non-CEE countries in self-efficacy and public opinion. Additionally, most of the difference in fear of failure and opportunity perception, along with an increase in necessity-motivated entrepreneurship, comes after the recession, suggesting less durability and resilience of optimistic entrepreneurial perceptions in CEE countries. Finally, there is evidence of a higher threshold for a perceived opportunity to become a business reality in these post-socialist CEE countries.

This dissertation deals with the non-performing loans of companies that are resolved within insolvency proceedings, with a focus on reorganization. The work compares insolvency systems of various developed markets with those of emerging/transition economies. The practical part is oriented toward domestic insolvency issues in the Czech market based on a survey structured as a questionnaire that was responded to by top insolvency professionals, bankers and lawyers. The survey was followed-up and complemented by structured interviews with selected respondents. The work also entails practical observations arising from the author´s recent working experience with debt-recovery both in the Czech market and abroad. The dissertation seeks answers regarding whether reorganization provides banking creditors with added-value and the transferability of western approaches to reorganization in the context of the environment of transition economies. A clear answer to this complex question is not found and based on his research the author remains skeptical as to the frequent and often over optimistic opinions provided in support of the general benefit of reorganizations.

The purpose of this thesis is to increase an understanding about management strategies in transitional economies from the perspective of creativity/entrepreneurship, control, trust and social/cultural changes. The study is carried out through a case study of management strategies in a transition economy, Kazakhstan. Transitional economies are not a new interest for management research. However not many studies have been made in Kazakhstan about management strategies, compared to the countries that are situated closer to Europe, such as East European countries.. There are not so many studies done about the Central Asian transition economies like Kazakhstan. Therefore a country like Kazakhstan can contribute to the literature. Another important distinction in research of transitional economies is whether it concerns local experiences or cross- cultural experiences. The study shows the perspective of Kazakhstani managers on creativity/entrepreneurship, control, trust and social/cultural change and their perceptions of western management strategies. The study shows that there are two phases in a transition economy. The first phase is in the beginning of a transition economy, that time is characterized as chaotic and unpredictable. The second phase is the time when the economy becomes more stable and people get values back based on socialism and used them in business. In the present time, the values are formed through a mixture socialism and capitalism. The process of transition influences the four variables: creativity/entrepreneurship, control, trust and social/cultural changes. It also influenced the way of management in transitional economy. At the end of the thesis there will be given some theoretical and managerial implications of the thesis, the limitations of the thesis and the suggestions for future research.

China’s rise and Russia’s fall shape today’s global political economy. This new great divergence originates from the different policies pursued in the transition from a command economy. Russia applied a ‘big-bang’ doctrine with rapid price liberalisation at its core. In contrast, a policy of experimentalist gradualism manifested in the dual track price system (DTPS) laid the foundations for China’s economic success. But the Chinese reform approach was highly contested in the 1980s and China came close to implementing a big bang. My dissertation sheds light on this critical crossroads by asking on what intellectual grounds China escaped a big bang in price reform; or to turn the question positively, on what intellectual grounds the DTPS was defended against the plans to implement a big bang. To derive an answer, the first part presents the broad historical and theoretical context of the 1980s Chinese price reform debate. In particular, I analyse the ancient Chinese tradition of price regulation, the US price control experience and controversies during and after the Second World War, and the Chinese Communists’ price policies in the Maoist period. Against this background, the second part conducts an in-depth study of the 1980s price reform debate drawing on more than 50 interviews with Chinese and foreign economists, previously unexplored archival evidence and a wealth of Chinese sources. I show that the DTPS emerged from bureaucratic practices and was justified by large-scale empirical research efforts conducted by young intellectuals, who had gained influence through their contribution to rural reform. In contrast, I find that the big bang reform approach was introduced to China by Eastern European émigré scholars and Western economists, and was promoted by a group of Chinese academic economists. I demonstrate how the DTPS was grounded in a pragmatic philosophy of economic policy-making deeply rooted in China’s bureaucratic tradition, which prevailed over the idealist stance underlying the panacea of a big bang.

Foreign direct investments have an important role in current global economy. There is a substantial evidence between the macroeconomical factors and the foreign direct investments especially at the transition countries. However the capital inflow have a different effect on the macroeconomical factors in the different countries. Effects of foreign direct investment could have a positive effect on the investment, gross domestic products, on the other hand they could also be a source of swift appreciation and massive repatriation of profits with negative impact of the host economy.

The purpose of this project is to describe and explain the foreign investment decision process in the uncertain and turbulent environment of transition economy. By getting an in-depth understanding of how decision-making works in the environment of transition economy, the study intends to contribute to the development of business administration theory in the area of foreign investment decision-making, particularly its application in the turbulent and uncertain world. Theoretical ‘blocks’, elaborated on the basis of literature study, include the following concepts: the framework of transition economy; initial motivation (or reasons) of companies to make foreign direct investments (FDI); investigation of the investment climate and information collection methods; project evaluation and investment decision criteria; risk assessment factors and risk reduction measures. Transition economy is defined in the study as ‘a non-planned, non-market economy’ where the new emerging market institutions coexist with the bureaucracy and hierarchy inherited from the old administrative system. Investment projects, therefore, should probably be seen as being under institutional influence from both the local (i.e. transition economy) and the Western investor’s home country environments. The empirical data presented in the paper also shows that it is necessary to establish the relevant economic, legal, political and social institutions in order to attract FDI. The study further includes the analysis of the main components and features of transition economies and their influence on FDI decision-making. One of the results of the study is that FDI decision-making in transition economies is largely consistent with different theoretical approaches suggested in the literature. On the other hand, the empirical support obtained for different theoretical approaches is often questionable and opened to alternative interpretations. The presented project suggests that theoretical perspectives do not preclude each other, but rather have a complimentary character. The study attempts to contribute to the mainstream FDI theories through a firm-level approach based on the case studies. Two in-depth case studies are presented in the paper: Ericsson’s direct investments in Russia and Vattenfall’s investments in the Baltic countries. A formal questionnaire based on the parameters of theoretical ‘blocks’ was created and 25 top executives from Ericsson and Vattenfall who participated in FDI decision-making were surveyed. The empirical investigation took place during the period 1997 - 1998 with partial updating of the cases during the year 2000.  The study shows that where companies confront stable environments, investment decision routines and procedures will be less necessary and important than where market uncertainty is high. The strong appreciation of the local business partners for properly done investment calculations increases the importance of capital budgeting in transition economies more than in developed market economies. Besides, traditional investment appraisal methods provide managers with an ‘objective’ or ‘materialistic’ feedback for the decision-making in the rapidly changing uncertain environment. On the other hand, the study emphasises the importance of strategy over financial techniques and argues that FDI decisions in transition economies should be based on methods consistent with the company’s long-term objectives. In case of permanent changes, new approaches as well as better co-ordination of traditional techniques with strategic, political, historical, geographical and cultural issues are required. Ericsson’ s direct investments in Russia are presented in the paper in connection with other factors: the company’s historical involvement in Russia, marketing strategy, human resource development, privatisation and restructuring of the telecommunication sector in Russia, etc. Nordic Electric Power Co-operation (Nordel), the EU’ s decision in 1996 to create an internal electricity market in Europe, Baltic ring study, future plans to privatise the energy companies in the Baltic countries, etc., are the framework to present the second case. An application of project evaluation and risk assessment techniques for broader and more complicated environments shows that investment decision-making is probably as much, if not more, a social, political and cultural technology as an economic one. The study argues then that the rational choice decision-making model often co-exists with alternative models elaborated in social science - limited rationality, political and garbage can. According to the empirical data, the investment decisions are largely based on intuition, business experience and judgement, personal contacts with representatives from the local country, and these investment criteria are inevitable and acceptable in a situation of total chaos and permanent change. The right chosen partner, for example, is one of the major criteria for the success of the investment project in a transition economy. One of the outcomes of this study is that the revitalised form of investment decision-making will differ rather markedly from much of what has gone before: less emphasis on the quantitative aspects of capital budgeting, more on the qualitative aspects of companies and investment environment. The project also argues that determinants, approaches and criteria of investment activity in transition economies are largely consistent with patterns observed in other parts of the world. A few specific environmental conditions of transition economies, however, are shown in the study to affect the pattern of FDI decision-making. The level of turbulence is still different compared to the developed market economies due to uncertainties and unpredictibilities associated with environment of transition economies. Other major differences are the large power distance with authoritarian leadership, strong hierarchy and bureaucracy as well as the vital role of personal contacts in transition economies. It is not clear, however, if these features of transition economies should be seen as inherited from the past communist system or as an alternative way to organise the economic actors through networks, a way that is natural and appropriate for the majority of Asian societies.