Abstract
Business culture in the Balkans is characterized by ‘instrumental friendships’ (Chavdarova, 2007). Due to high levels of distrust in society (Karklins, 2002), business people prefer to deal with people they know and consequently trust, rather than with strangers. Informal relations are also widespread in politics: lobbying tends to be conducted informally — often through relatives and friends of the politicians — and outside the institutions in which the politicians operate (Grødeland, 2010a). The café culture, which is so widespread in the Balkans, is conducive to this informal decision-making: decisions tend to be made over a cup of coffee rather than in more formal settings.
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© 2012 Åse Berit Grødeland
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Grødeland, Å.B. (2012). Networks and Informal Power Structures in South East Europe. In: Sternad, D., Döring, T. (eds) Handbook of Doing Business in South East Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230314146_5
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