Why is China different from Eastern Europe? Perspectives from organizationtheory

We draw from recent work in organization theory to explain the differences in reform strategies between China and Eastern Europe. An experimentation a pproach was adopted in China whereas a big bang approach was more favored i n Eastern Europe, The explanation is based on differences in the organizati onal structure of central planning: U-form in Eastern Europe and M-form in China. The M-form is more flexible because it makes local experiments possi ble, contrary to the U-form where this would give rise to major complicatio ns in coordination. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.