Russia is trailing comparable emerging markets when it comes to attracting foreign businesses. Notwithstanding its current economic downturn, over the past decade the country has shown enormous acceleration of its economy and still is the most powerful market in the region. However, state capture, red tape and black knights prevent enterprises from increased engagement in Russia. International Business Associations help foster transparency and facilitate information exchange to protect against political risk. Read our newest blog entry by Johannes Leitner "Red Tape, and Black Knights. Political Risk in Russia"
In general, economists tend to agree that Ukraine has structurally good prospects to attract foreign capital to its market. It has a significant economic potential as a result of its geographic location between Europe and Asia, a large domestic market, a well-educated labour force and access to a variety of natural resources such as coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, and uranium as well as the very fertile black “chernozem” soil. Currently, however, the country is entangled in a civil war with separatist forces in the East. But is it only the war which deters potential investors or are there other reasons? Read Ewa Martyna-David´s blog entry "Obstacles for Doing Business in Ukraine"
Jutta Sommerbauer, „Die Presse“-Journalistin, hat im Januar 2016 ihr hochspannendes Buch „Die Ukraine im Krieg“ veröffentlicht. Im Mai hielt sie ein Gastvortrag in unserem Wahlpflichtmodul „Black Sea Region“, der bei unseren Studierenden auf großes Interesse stieß. Wir sind sehr glücklich, dass Frau Sommerbauer uns für dieses Kurzinterview zur Verfügung stand!
“STRATOS – Strategic Management of Political Risks in the Eastern Neighborhood and Russia for Austrian Enterprises” is a five year research project and is co-funded by the municipality of the City of Vienna. STRATOS will start in December 2016.
Our two researchers Johannes Leitner and Hannes Meissner designed the application which was evaluated as the best among all new accepted projects by the funding institution.
In the OECD-area states provide security business to be conducted through a legal-institutional framework where state institutions, working in a legal-rational, predictable and effective manner, are often taken for granted. Worldwide, however the situation is very different. Private actors seize public institutions and processes accumulating ever more power and private wealth by systematically abusing, side-stepping, ignoring and tailoring formal institutions to fit their interests. Such forms of state capture are associated with specific political risks international businesses are confronted with when operating in these countries, such as institutional ambiguity, systematic favouritism and systemic corruption.
This edited volume covers state capture, political risks and international business from the perspectives of Political Science and International Business Studies. Uniting theoretical approaches and empirical insights, it examines Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Each chapter deals with country specific forms of state capture and the associated political risks bridging the gap between political analysis and business related impacts.
Save-the-date: Book presentation on 1 March 2017 at the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna!
Please mark the 1 March 2017 for the presentation of "State Capture, Political Risks and International Business"! A panel with contributing authors will be available for discussing with you!
Ein Rückblick mit Bildergalerie auf den Business Talk "Zwischen Aufbruchstimmung und Rechtsunsicherheit: Wohin steuert die Türkei nach dem Putsch?" mit Cengiz Günay, Österreichisches Institut für Internationale Politik, und Johannes Leitner, Leiter des Kompetenzzentrums Schwarzmeerregion.