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Coping with the market: Are there cohort effects for organisations in transition?

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  • Michael Wyrwich
  • Ina Krause

Abstract

This paper investigates the employment growth of small and medium-sized firms that survived the transformation process of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). We find that firms founded in the later period of the GDR’s existence have especially low growth prospects, even 10 years after German reunification. The later phase of the GDR was marked by tightening measures intended to enhance political influence on the planned economy, accompanied by a sharp economic decline. Thus, organizations were more deeply embedded in planning structures that were more rigorous than those present in the first years of the GDR’s existence. We argue that these organizations therefore developed less appropriate practices for coping with a market economy than organizations founded in other periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Wyrwich & Ina Krause, 2011. "Coping with the market: Are there cohort effects for organisations in transition?," Journal of East European Management Studies, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 16(1), pages 54-74.
    • Handle: RePEc:rai:joeems:doi_10.1688/1862-0019_jeems_2011_01_wyrwich
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    Cited by:

    1. Oertel, Simon, 2014. "Density imprints and organisations’ survival chances: a question of organisational ancestors," Journal of East European Management Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 19(1), pages 81-105.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    transition; East Germany; organizational learning; employment growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • M20 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - General
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions

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