Polish Business Structures

Polish Business Structures

It is almost impossible to describe with any level accuracy the ‘norms’ in terms of Polish business structures.

This is not very helpful information – but is reflective of the fluid state of the local business environment. Unlike economies such as Germany, France or the USA, Poland does not have a well-established endemic business culture and any attempt to imbue it with one would be pointless. There are basically three different types of business structures to be encountered locally:

1. Ex-state monopoly enterprises. These large operations suffer from a hangover from the former system of central planning, massive levels of bureaucracy and inertia.
2. Foreign capital subsidiaries. Many international companies have branch offices in Poland and these branch offices will usually reflect the approach of the parent company. Subsidiaries of a US firm will often have a strong US influence; subsidiaries of a German company will usually have a strong German feel etc.
3. Local start-up companies. There have been a proliferation of entrepreneur-led companies which will often share the hallmarks of such companies worldwide; fast-moving, lacking in process and with a short-termist approach.

It is absolutely essential that you fully understand the background of the company you want to do business with. If you don’t have access to his information, just go in with a very open mind and keep your eyes open.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Poland only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.