ABSTRACT

This chapter is concerned with the contributions to network formation of both domestic and foreign agents operating in the food-processing industry of some countries of Central and East Europe (CEE). Its primary focus is on what foreign multinational companies (MNCs) are or are not doing in reorganizing and upgrading the CEE industry. These companies are among the most active agents involved in ‘realigning’ the networks that offer the potential for upgrading, but we find that their contribution is incomplete in the sense of not (yet) forging a new coherent alignment. At the same time, they are themselves engaging more intensely in global competition, into which their activities in the CEE countries are being drawn. Moreover, other factors such as the response of domestic firms to these developments in their home market are also significant.