This paper explores the relationship among socio-political culture and the economic environment. It places the entrepreneur at the forefront of the Transitional Economy and identifies the entrepreneur as a catalyst for change and progress. Within wider world changes, this discussion and interrogation of entrepreneurial development in the Transitional Economy provides new knowledge from the perspective of both the authors and the perceptions of 638 respondents who contributed to the research. The concluding model makes explicit that the constructs Freedom and History serve as moderators for entrepreneurial development in the Transitional Economy and suggests that the strength of an individual is created by societal construct. The progress of entrepreneurs is enhanced where there is political and economic freedom to operate, informed by historical knowledge.
Weaknesses in the institutional environment of Central Europe challenge the sustainability of economic development. Institutional theory stipulates that institutions drive economic development, and institutions are configured by individual values and practices. The World Governance Indicators, the Corruption Perception Index, and the Doing Business Indicators indicate weaknesses in the institutional environments of the Visegrád countries. This paper explores the micro level perspective of institutions, focusing on values and practices, in terms of leadership and ethics. A survey of 868 private and public sector managers from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia provides evidence that leadership practices and ethical values are congruent, suggesting a positive influence on the institutional environment. The results also provide evidence for the presence of the gap, spanning between the micro and the macro level factors affecting sustainable economic development. These results imply that a bottom-up view of sustainable economic development is more suitable to the Central European context, and promotion of sustainable economic development needs to focus on the micro level factors.
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