Managerial learning in the transformation of Eastern Europe: Some key issues

Eastern Europe has experienced economic and political reforms of immense proportions since 1989. The restructuring of economic organizations in the countries concerned has been an integral component of institutional change. Managerial learning has been a key element in this reconstruction process. The problematics of managerial learning in this context reflect the trauma of adjustment that Eastern European societies as a whole have experienced. Western advice has not been inconsequential, nor therefore have the perspectives on which it is founded. It is possible to distinguish between a view of lineal 'transition' towards a given model of the open, market economy and a more open-ended 'transformation' perspective. The implications of these two perspectives are examined, as are other questions addressed in this Special Issue including the definition of appropriate managerial learning for Eastern Europe, the sources of such learning, and the contextualization of the meanings attached to it. The contributions offered by each of the following articles are then summarized.