Kozminski University is expanding its research on economic history and industrial development by joining a prestigious international research project focused on economic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe and China after World War II. Prof. Tomasz Olejniczak from the Department of Management will lead the Polish research team in the project "Building Blocks and (Dis)Continuities: Cross-Border Linkages and Transformations in Industrial Enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe and China, 1945-1960."
The project has received funding from Poland’s National Science Centre (NCN) through the international research funding mechanism Weave-UNISONO. The study will be conducted in collaboration with research teams from Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) in Germany and Prague University of Economics and Business in the Czech Republic.
Research Focus: Industrial Enterprises in the Face of Major Political Transformations
The project aims to analyze industrial enterprises in the machinery and vehicle manufacturing sectors within the Soviet bloc and China. It seeks to explore how these companies operated during a period of rapid economic and political shifts, as the economies of Central and Eastern Europe and China transitioned toward socialist systems.
Traditionally, this period has been viewed through the lens of nationalization, isolation, and the severing of prior economic ties. However, this research aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of these transformations. Particular attention will be given to cross-border industrial networks, trade, capital flows, and knowledge transfer, highlighting their role in shaping the early socialist economy.
A New Perspective on Economic Transformation
The project challenges the perception that industrial enterprises were merely passive actors under political control. Instead, it argues that managers, engineers, and trade specialists maintained technical expertise and international networks that had a significant impact on both national economies and international relations. The study will also question the traditional divide between state control and society, illustrating the complex processes of negotiation and adaptation within centrally planned economies.
Case studies will focus on enterprises in Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, and Bulgaria, as well as the People’s Republic of China, providing a comparative perspective on economic (dis)continuity during the post-war transition to state socialism.
International Research Collaboration
Kozminski University’s involvement in this prestigious project further strengthens its position within the international academic community and underscores its contribution to interdisciplinary research in economic history and industrial development. The findings will offer new insights into economic processes during the Cold War era and enhance the understanding of economic transformations in their political context.
