Title: Managing in Soviet Georgia: an extreme example in comparative management

Authors: Gerald Mars, Yochanan Altman

Addresses: University College, London. ' Institute of Labor Studies, ESADE, Barcelona

Abstract: This historical reflection of an important period of the 20th century – the vagaries of the Soviet-type command economy, accords us the opportunity to discuss the practice and art of management as an ongoing negotiation between different agencies, interest groups, constraints and opportunities. We detail the case of Soviet Georgia|s hidden economy, mediated as it was through locally based personal support networks and illustrating our arguments with a case study of legal/illegal manufacturing enterprise. We conclude with a note on present-day Central-Eastern European economies and a commentary on implications for management in liberal economies as they become more globally integrated.

Keywords: Georgia; Soviet management; comparative management; managerial deviance; networks; risk; hidden economy; second economy; informal economy; command economy; personal support networks; manufacturing; liberal economies.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2008.016928

European Journal of International Management, 2008 Vol.2 No.1, pp.56 - 70

Published online: 30 Jan 2008 *

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