Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.

It is argued that in the Czech case, there were four social groups competing for a position among the new entrepreneurial elite: communist nomenklatura, socialist marketeers (a large part in the shadow economy) and outsiders, who could be divided into skilled and unskilled ones. The initially large gains of the nomenklatura gradually eroded when new businesses opened to domestic and international competition. In the subsequent wave of ownership restructuring, initiated after 1994, the former nomenklatura was partially squeezed out of the tradable sector, which was occupied by better skilled foreign and domestic entrepreneurs. The future of Czech indigenous entrepreneurship will depend on the uncertain presence of multinationals in the Czech economy and on the pending reforms of public administration, fiscal reform and the search for a more efficient social model.