The rise of digital technologies has brought about rapid changes in the way innovation is created and diffused, redefining entire industries. This paper investigates the role that innovation plays in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe (CESEE), analysing the innovation performance and investment efforts in different countries in the region. Building on firm-level data from the EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS) and complementary data sources, the paper dives deeper in analysing the financing conditions of investment in innovation as a key driver that may explain differences in investment patterns compared to the rest of the European Union (EU).

This paper makes the case for smart policy development in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE). It uses EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS) 2017 results for CESEE cities to outline local infrastructure gaps and demonstrate the productivity and innovation gaps between CESEE cities and other EU cities. It discusses negative demographic trends in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, and evaluates capital and non-capital regional convergence in CESEE countries. Introducing a Smart Region Index, to allow the identification of gaps in CESEE regions compared with the EU, it also uses EIBIS to provide further conclusions on obstacles to investment for CESEE municipalities and highlights the importance of the use of EU funds.

Reserach suggests that innovation and technical change are crucial for the econimic recovery of the former centrally planned countries in Central and Eastern Europe. This text analyzes the development of innovation systems and technology in this region from various perspectives.

The focus of the study is on the larger food processing companies, which invested in Central and Eastern Europe – namely Nestlé, Unilever and InBev - and analyses the motives of investment and the entry strategies of food MNEs, outlines their contribution to the local development and stresses the national actors as forces to embedded FDI.

A combination of rigorous analysis and case material; this book is an essential guide to trade and industry developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Its scope encompasses globalization, the business strategies of MNCs, agriculture, services and the dynamics of innovation. It also considers the trading relationships of these countries with Russia as well as the influence of trade on the democratization of states formerly belonging to the USSR.

The Central and Eastern European Markets covers a variety of business topics dealing with Central and Eastern Europe and offers a unique picture of these new markets. Chapters contain accurate information on joint ventures, market entry strategies for Central and Eastern Europe, financing for activities in Eastern Europe, and assessing the Ukraine as a market. With direct experience of these business issues, the contributing authors explore these specific topics: how the Czechoslovak telecommunications system was upgraded through a joint venture entry and expansion decisions made by Western firms in the Ukraine and ways in which firms use relationships in the home and host market to reduce the risks of strategic investment decisions investment patterns, strategic market characteristics, and resulting entry strategies of Western firms active in Eastern Europe since the fall of the Iron Curtain macro changes taking place in Hungary, Poland, and Bulgaria and changing market environments specific to each country development trends in the marketing environment in Eastern Europe, options for market entry, and favored market penetration strategies The Central and Eastern European Markets is an ideal source for detailed information needed by students researching business issues in these emerging markets. Professionals planning to enter or seeking to improve their market position in these regions can find specific business-related information and experience in this stimulating volume.

This volume comprises papers presented at the 8th international conference “The Economies of the Balkan and Eastern European Countries in the Changing World” (EBEEC) held in Split, Croatia in 2016. The papers cover a wide range of current issues relevant for the whole of Eastern Europe, such as European integration, economic growth, labour markets, education and tourism. Written by experienced researchers in the field of economic challenges for Eastern Europe, the papers not only analyse recent problems, but also offer policies to resolve them. Furthermore, they offer insights into the theoretical and empirical foundations of the economic processes described. The proceedings of the conference appeals to all those interested in the further economic development of the Balkan and Eastern European countries.

This paper analyses real income convergence in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe (CESEE) to the most advanced EU economies between 2000 and 2016. The relevance of this topic stems both from the far-reaching implications of real income convergence for economic welfare and the importance of convergence for economic and monetary integration with, and within the European Union. The paper establishes stylised facts of convergence, analyses the drivers of economic growth and identifies factors that might explain the differences between fast- and slow-converging economies in the region. The results show that the most successful CESEE economies in terms of the pace of convergence share common characteristics such as, inter alia, a strong improvement in institutional quality and human capital, more outward-oriented economic policies, favourable demographic developments and the quick reallocation of labour from agriculture into other sectors. Looking ahead, accelerating and sustaining convergence in the region will require further efforts to enhance institutional quality and innovation, reinvigorate investment, and address the adverse impact of population ageing.

Twenty-five years into transformation, Central and Eastern European regions have undergone substantial socio-economic restructuring, integrating into European and global networks and producing new patterns of regional differentiation and development. Yet post-socialist modernisation has not been without its contradictions, manifesting in increasing social and territorial inequalities. Recent studies also suggest there are apparent limits to post-socialist growth models, accompanying a new set of challenges within an increasingly uncertain world. Aiming to deliver a new synthesis of regional development issues at the crossroads between ‘post-socialism’ and ‘post-transition’, this book identifies the main driving forces of spatial restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe, and charts the different regional development paths which take shape against the backdrop of post-crisis Europe. A comparative approach is used to highlight common development challenges and the underlying patterns of socio-economic differentiation alike. The issues investigated within the Handbook extend to a discussion of the varied economic consequences of transition, the social structures and institutional systems which underpin development processes, and the broadly understood sustainability of Central and Eastern Europe’s current development model. This book will be of interest to academics and policymakers working in the fields of regional studies, economic geography, development studies and policy.