Organisational Change in Agricultural Transition. Mechanisms of Restructuring Socialist Large-Scale Farms

Brem, M. (2002) Organisational Change in Agricultural Transition. Mechanisms of Restructuring Socialist Large-Scale Farms. Acta Oeconomica, 52 (1). pp. 25-55. ISSN 0001-6373

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Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to our understanding of farm restructuring in transition by trying to identify driving forces behind organisational change in agriculture. It focuses on the stakeholders' trade-off between internal transaction costs and switching costs. The article introduces factors determining the level of these two types of costs, such as the original size of the firm, inside-ownership and the type of production for internal transaction costs, and the remaining asset specificity after establishing the formal property rights for switching costs. The theoretical model is tested by data from a recent survey in two regions of the Czech Republic with both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The quantitative analysis characterises the downsizing process of distinguishable restructuring paths of 87 farms. Mechanisms of individual stakeholders' redeployment decisions are elaborated on the basis of five qualitative case studies. The article shows perspectives of further farm restructuring in European transition countries.

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