CHANGING MARKETING SYSTEMS IN EASTERN EUROPE: WHAT WESTERN MARKETERS SHOULD KNOW

East European marketing progress has followed a series of economic reforms in different countries of the region. Changing marketing systems in these countries can be depicted as a move away from an authoritative to an integrative macro system. Most of the countries are at different points on this particular spectrum. Marketing reforms are more specifically related to both economic and managerial decentralisation. Most marketing decisions are beginning to be made at the enterprise level rather than at the central governmental level. U.S. and other Western practitioners must understand these changes so that they can expand their business with this potentially large market.