Strategic choices, export orientation and corporate governance in privatized firms in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus: Theory and empirical evidence’

The fall of the Soviet Union brought new enterprise opportunities whose exploitation required the development of entirely new strategies. Simultaneously, enterprises faced crucial constraints in their governance structures. This paper analyzes the impact of governance structures of privatized firms on one key outcome of new strategies: export intensity. Using a longitudinal, multi-industry dataset of privatized firms in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, we analyze how export intensity is mediated by strategies involving product development, acquisitions and links with foreign partners.