“ÜBERHOLEN OHNE EINZUHOLEN”? – SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SME SUPERVISORY BOARDS IN EAST AND WEST GERMANY

摘要

This paper explores the similarities and differences between SME supervisory board structures and processes in East and West Germany. On the basis of two separate exploratory surveys it is shown that the East Germany companies are not lagging behind their West Germany counterparts but have rather modernized their corporate governance structures towards a more liberal shareholder-oriented approach in recent years. The empirical findings are further discussed and interpreted with respect to cultural, historical or situational factors. By this, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the dynamic developments that the East German corporate landscape has experienced during the transformation process since 1989.