Past events

Business History and Transformations in Central & Eastern Europe, University of Vienna, October 24-25, 2024

The 6th Workshop on Business History in Central and Eastern Europe (WBHCEE) examined how enterprises and entrepreneurs in the region adapted to political, economic, and social transformations from the 19th century to the early 21st century. The workshop featured panels on themes such as minority entrepreneurship, business and cartels during wartime, economic transformations in Czechoslovakia, foreign and domestic enterprises in CEE, historical revisions of post-1991 Polish enterprises, the transition from command economies to capitalism, and industrial cooperation between East and West in socialist CEE. Keynote speakers Philip Ther and Daniel Raff discussed transformation processes and radical agency in centrally planned economies. Workshop participants presented case studies on wartime industry, socialist economic shifts, privatisation, and corporate memory. The discussions presented enterprises as both agents and respondents to systemic change, emphasising continuity and discontinuity in business history.

Main orginizer: Martin Gumiela

Business Cooperation in the History of Central and Eastern Europe

Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest

26-27 October, 2023

The 5th workshop explored the topic of business cooperation as a vital component of economic development in the CEE region. The focus has been on relations between market actors to understand how cooperation/competition shaped their operational and strategic decisions in changing political and institutional environments. From joint ventures and strategic alliances to mergers and acquisitions, businesses have utilized a variety of cooperative arrangements to achieve their goals. The workshop was attended by 22 participants from different countries. The keynote lecture was delivered by Teresa da Silva Lopes followed by six sessions devoted to issues such as (1) cooperation and politics, (2) cooperation in the interwar period, (3) cooperation in the shadow of the state, (4) cooperation and competition in the industry, (5) cooperation and knowledge transfer, (6) concluding session about future themes in business history.

Main organizers: Ágnes Pogány & Judit Klement

Firms, Wars, and Ethics in the Business History of  Central and Eastern Europe and Russia

Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari, Venice

21-22 October, 2022

The IV workshop drew on historical research on the two World Wars and their aftermaths to provide tentative answers to several questions evoked by the Russia-Ukraine war of 2022. The aim was to explore the relationship between business and geopolitics from a long-term historical perspective focusing on the economic and social consequences of the war, including (de)globalization processes. The workshop consisted of six sessions devoted to issues such as: (1) Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics, (2) Business Strategies and Armed Conflicts, (3) Ethics and Plans for Reconstruction, (4) The Perspective of Business Archivists, (5) Foreign Firms and Armed Conflicts, and (6) Business Behavior during and after conflicts.

Main organizers: Valentina Fava & Giovanni Favero

Varieties of socialism: doing business under the communist regime

Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University Prague

17-18 December, 2021 (Online)

The III Workshop on Business History in Central Europe was aimed to discuss Varieties of Socialism from the perspective of doing business under the Communist regime in individual Socialist countries in Central Europe in all their complexity including: nature of the various form of entrepreneurship in Central Europe during the Socialist era; dynamics of development of entrepreneurship and factors that influenced them; effectiveness of Socialist companies and tools of its measurement; state involvement in business activities and institutional obstacles to doing business; and the ideological narrative that surrounded companies as a part of the economic base of society.

Main organizer: Antonie Doležalová

Uses of the Past by Enterprises in Central-Eastern Europe

Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv, Ukraine

23 October, 2020 (Online)

The workshop aimed to explore the potential of the past as a resource in a business environment characterized by historical discontinuities. In the context of this workshop, we wished to approach the past and interpretations of the past as resources, which are used or can be used by business organizations for their purposes in the present and the future. The workshop focused on questions such as: How do firms use history to preserve their core values in a changing environment? What are the various ways of using the past as branding and marketing? How do business organizations rationalize, use, and abuse their tangible and intangible heritage? How do companies use their corporate museums as a tool for history-making and place-making? How do companies use their corporate museums as a tool for history-making and place-making?

Main organizer: Volodymyr Kulikov

Business History in CEE. Perspectives, Challenges and Opportunities

Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland

25-26 October, 2019

The objective of the proposed workshop is making a first step towards revival of Business History studies within the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The way to do that is trough learning from the best practices and experience of established centres of Business History in Western Europe Such as Copenhagen Business School and EBHA. Seminar will offer a chance to interact with peers from these centres, learn from their experience and discuss the past, present and future of the emerging field of Business History in the CEE region.

Main organizer: Anna Pikos and Tomasz Olejniczak