Central and Eastern Europe After the Boom: Time for a Strategy Change for Foreign Multinational Companies?

Abstract

This conceptual paper contributes to the discussion of the effects of the Great Recession on strategies of multinational companies operating in CEE. The author argues that the original business model that guided the " going East " of Western companies is still valid. However, foreign investors have adapted their strategies for CEE in the aftermath of the crisis: they differentiate stronger between the individual economies, follow a more cautious and selective investment approach, rationalize product portfolios, test new cost-effi cient organizational arrangements and consider increasingly " value-for-money " strategies to tap the mass markets. JEL classifi cation: F23, M16