ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the strategic decision-making processes in the Romanian banking industry with the help of a framework for understanding firms’ decisions in highly turbulent environments. It attempts to identify which institutions in the banks’ environment are trying to influence the banks, investigates what types of strategies the external institutions are trying to get the banks to follow, and explains what the response is of the newly independent bank managers. The Romanian banking industry consisted of the national bank that functioned as a central bank and also provided commercial services. Romanian banks need modern technology, capital, skilled staff, and an adequate legal infrastructure. The Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the successor of what, under the system, was the investment bank. Representatives from the Central Bank, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Industry all serve on the board which is supposed to represent its shareholders.
