The adoption of the multi-divisional form in large Czech enterprises: The role of economic, institutional, and strategic choice factors

In the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the region, researchers have noted t he widespread adoption of the multi-divisional form ((MDF) by the former st ate-owned enterprises. In contrast to the accepted explanations in western capitalist societies, the spread of the MDF in post-Communist economies has had little or nothing to do with growth strategies such as diversification . Developing ideas from the existing western literature, the paper examines the role of economic, institutional and strategic choice factors in three large, former state enterprises within the Czech post-Communist context. Th e findings suggest that all three factors are theoretically important, but neither equally nor independently so. In particular, economic factors acted as a major constraint on structural choice only under extreme conditions! while institutional factors and strategic choice are best understood as int erdependent moments in a recursive process of structural enactment.