Institutional changes and organizational transformation in developing economies

An important component of globalization during the last two decades is the increased participation of developing economies in the global economy both as markets for goods and services as well as production sites. Institutional changes emanating from evolving political landscapes within individual countries and pressures from supra-national bodies have been instrumental in the liberalization of developing countries' economies and their integration into the global economy. A growing body of research has focused on the transformation of state-owned enterprises as they are privatized, with particular focus on the role of organizational and national heritages that enhance or constrain the evolution of these firms within a market-based institutional environment. In this introduction, we review this literature stream, introduce the papers in this special issue, and highlight the theoretical approaches that help explain how organizations in distinct national contexts overcome the pressure emanating from institutional changes in developing economies. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.