Operations management in transitional countries

As countries of the former Soviet Block make the transition from state cont rol to market economies, changes in the industrial sector and the managemen t of operations there are imperative. This paper undertakes a comprehensive review of the operations literature on transitional economies and classifi es the publications by topical area. It finds the areas of distribution and work measurement to be more important in the case of economies in transiti on than in other economies. On the other hand, purchasing received lesser a ttention in the research on transition economies. Findings from the researc h literature on transitional economies are presented and research methodolo gies explored. Future research directions are also provided.