It is often argued that the process of globalization has mainly favoured large-scale multinational companies which are able to organize their business efficiently within internal hierarchies. However, globalization has not only pushed cross-border intra-finn transactions but also other...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is rightly considered as an engine in transforming Central and East European Countries (CEECs). Without massive inflows of capital, technology and management know-how a sustainable growth is unlikely to happen. Although governments in CEECs make more than air...

Our paper explores the recent trends in outward processing (OP) of German firms in former centrally planned economies (CPEs). We argue that OP is an interesting alternative to cross-border trade and equity foreign arrangements. We present the theoretical framework to understand OP as well as...

Economic theory suggests that multinationals have clear objectives when investing abroad. It lists a considerable number of factors which may influence the decision but it falls short of explaining them. The paper investigates how the most popular hypotheses presented in the literature perform...

Although an extensive amount of literature reviews emerging patterns of east-west co-operation, it is not easy to grasp the state of the art. Too many of the books, articles and papers tend to mark the trees rather than to map the forest. The paper analyses recent trends from the point of view...

The paper offers a vision of the future of cross-border activities between Germany and the Central and East European reform countries. It provides a comprehensive theoretical framework and it presents some stylized facts. It focuses on three prominent areas: trade in goods and services,...

This paper deals with the interactions between outward investments of western multinationals and export performance of their affiliates in transition countries. It argues that multinationals make an important contribution to increasing, diversifying and up-grading trade, because they are able to...

Seven years after the transition from plan to market, it is hard to summon up much enthusiasm for the results of active restructuring of the eastern German economy. Although companies have made considerable efforts to reach the efficiency level of their western German counterparts, the gap is...

Die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung in den neuen Ländern ist im Begriff, sich immer mehr auszudifferenzieren. Standorte, die im Windschatten der Wachstumsknoten liegen, haben dabei das Nachsehen. Der Nordosten Brandenburgs ist einer dieser Standorte. Um zu einer Arbeitsteilung mit den benachbarten...