Industrial restructuring in Ukraine
Résumé
This paper analyses the role played by foreign direct investments (FDI) in the restructuring of large firms located in the two administrative divisions of Kharkiv and Donets'k in Ukraine. On the basis of an empirical investigation, we compare three subsets of enterprises namely the state-owned enterprises, those privatised and those privatised and including FDI in their capital ownership structure. Such a comparison is based on a data processing of a wide questionnaire filled up by 173 managers working in firms including more than 500 employees. This work takes part in the European Research Program INTAS-UKRAINE. First, we study how FDI upgrade transition economic growth then we examine the impact of FDI on restructuring, investment and performance. We show that foreign investors lead to deeper changes affecting not only strategies and performances of large firms but also the speed of the restructuring of enterprises and the interaction between them. Furthermore, we examine how FDI compel the local management and workforce to adopt new form of work organisation and to assimilate new ways of management.