EU-EEU Relations and the Ukraine War – Political Risks, Changing Perceptions, and Management Responses of MNEs
External contestation between powers at the international level as well as internal contestation over the course of foreign policy regularly pose major political risks to multinational enterprises (MNEs). Concerning EU-EEU relations, the war in Ukraine, sanctions and countersanctions, and associated uncertainties about the further course of the conflict are major political risks, European enterprises are currently facing. The break in EU-EEU/Russia relations requires strategic management decisions to be taken in the short-, mid-, and long-term.
Hannes Meissner (UAS BFI Vienna) presented his research paper at the 2023 BASEES Conference in Glasgow on 31 March. The paper analyses the perception of political risks deriving from the Ukraine war and changing EU-EEU relations among managers of MNEs. It furthermore deals with their strategic short-, mid-, and long-term management responses in this context. It draws on field research carried out in pre-war Ukraine in October 2021, drawing on 10 qualitative interviews with managers of multinational enterprises of varying sizes, and industries (such as transport, chemistry, construction, technology, infrastructure, telecommunication, finance and banking). In what ways are companies confronted with political risks related to EU-EEU relations? How do they perceive the conflict in general? How do they manage these risks? Additionally, the field research focused on the managers’ perceptions of the root causes of the conflict between Russia and the EU. In addition to that the paper draws on follow-up conversations with four of these managers carried out after the beginning of the war on 24 February, confronting the managers once again with the same questions.
Please follow the link to the presentation: https://www.eucon-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Presentation-BASEES.pdf