Purpose -To critically evaluate the obstacles and problems encountered by entrepreneurs while doing business in Albania, which is an economy in a transition. Design/methodology/approach -The research methodology incorporates a survey that uses interview and questionnaire techniques. The sample was determined on a stratified basis (probability-random sampling) involving the random selection of respondents from various strata of the population. Findings -The most important obstacles faced by entrepreneurs in Albania include unfair competition, changes in taxation procedures, lack of financial resources and problems related to public order. Bureaucracy and corruption do not appear to represent significant barriers to entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implications -Responses from the selected strata were not distributed proportionally among the targeted sample. Practical implications -Legislative amendments and new legislation which focus specifically upon small business and enterprise development should be implemented by the Albanian government in order to achieve a transparent fiscal reform and create a more favorable business environment. Originality/value -This research provides a critical evaluation of entrepreneurial activities and the obstacles that entrepreneurs encounter while operating in the Albanian economy in transition.

Most large enterprises have "a global view" in the expansion of their activities and, thus, in the creation of their investment projects. They invest in specific countries when they conclude that the countries in question fulfill their goals. It is not enough that an economy of a country has as a target to become a market economy, to open its borders and to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) flows for the economy to become globalized, but it is necessary for this result to be shown by significant foreign participation and huge FDI and trade inflows into the host country. If this never happens, then the country will not benefit from globalization. From one point of view, multinational enterprises (MNEs) "decide" which countries benefit from economic integration and which countries successfully participate in the huge worldwide globalized economic chain. On the other hand, due to the large investment opportunities that a few countries offer to MNEs and due to the large number of host countries, at the end, MNEs invest only in specific countries. Thus, there are a lot of countries that are isolated from the whole system. Moreover, smaller MNEs in economic magnitude often extend their activities mainly to neighboring countries, in order to maximize their profits and minimize their costs. The share of FDI is not the same in all countries and the FDI inflows in less-developing or poor countries show little growth or no growth at all. Today's FDI orientation is not as global as expected and there is a regional trend in those flows, when at the same time a few countries, especially from specific regions (such as the Balkan region) still live cut off from the world of FDI flows.

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The paper refers to “a theoretical model” created by the author, named Universal Model, in which have been included most of the theories determining foreign direct investment (FDI). What derives from the literature review is that no theory dominates the decision‐making process of FDI. The opportunities a country has to offer change through time, and the different ways in which multinational enterprises (MNEs) evaluate the opportunities led the author to conclude that the concept of globalization is not valid for the theory of FDI. Special attention to the case of Bulgaria has been given. The main reason why the case of Bulgaria is of great interest is the fact that the conditions in the country at the beginning of its transition were some of the worst among the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs). The conclusion is of extreme interest since economists, MNEs and entrepreneurs have a strong interest in countries that open their economies and target their efforts towards stabilizing and liberalizing their macro‐economic environment.

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This paper presents the specific motives behind Greek entrepreneurs' interests in FDI projects in Bulgaria, examining the obstacles that entrepreneurs and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) of Greek origin confronted in establishing FDI projects in Bulgaria in the transition period. Reasons for the great accumulation of Greek investors in the Balkan region, especially in Bulgaria, are analyzed, with special attention given to the difficulties in initiating multinational enterprises in a Balkan country such as Bulgaria.Finally, the paper examines whether the origin of an enterprise, the size of the firm, and the sector that each company belongs to played a role in the company's strategy to enter a Balkan country, and what the pros and cons of such a decision were.

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