DINA Yugoslavia 1990: Case study search for a foreign partner

This is a case study written for senior international managers of a US-based multinational company, General Electric. It was first discussed during a GE sponsored four week programme at IMD International on the political and economic changes of Central and Eastern Europe. The programme included two weeks of meetings with company managers and government officials in five Central and Eastern European countries. The case study is about a company, in the former Yugoslav Republic*, in the petrochemical industry. DINA was seeking a global partner to develop its plastic producing capabilities and to leverage its land and geographic assets. The company representatives from DINA believed that the recent changes in Eastern and Central Europe as well as changes in Yugoslavian law put the companyin a favourable position for joint venture discussions with an appropriate partner. DINA had had experience with a western partner in the past. In 1977, INA-DINA had been formed through a joint venture between Dow Chemical and Industrija nafte Zagreb (INA). Dow was responsible for the early technology transfers and joint development of DINA's petrochemical facilities until changes in the market and issues in the partnership caused DOW to withdraw from the agreement. This was a major factor affecting DINA's partnering possibilities. DINA's prospects for finding a new partner were also hampered by the company's relatively weak financial position, limited access to end markets and upstream raw materials, and the inertia of a consolidating industry. Nonetheless, the new management of the company had aggressively restructured the business around their installed base of two petrochemical products, and were optimistic about the changing Yugoslavian and European economies. The case study revolves around a series of strategy review meetings among DINA's top managers.