Croatian Economy between the European Periphery and Semi-periphery: Findings from the History of Croatian High-tech Companies

Sa？etak This paper argues that in the research on the state of the Croatian economy, emphasis should be put on historical contingency and on the geopolitical position of Croatia in order to complement prevailing explanations that accentuate cultural, inner-political or ideological factors. With the critical use of the modern world system theory and advocating eventful sociology and path-dependent analysis, the article analyses the influences of the First and Second World Wars, the Informbiro Resolution, the disappearance of the Eastern bloc and the break-up of Yugoslavia on the development of the Croatian economy. The influence of geopolitical changes on the Croatian economy and the creation of path dependencies were observed through the establishment and development of 19 Croatian high-tech companies (among others; PLIVA, Kon？ar, ？eljezara Sisak, Ericsson Nikola Tesla and Podravka). Twenty semi-structured interviews with the actors of the Croatian R&D sector were conducted and official monographs, archival material and other sources dealing with these companies were analysed. The First World War and the establishment of monarchist Yugoslavia contributed significantly to the emergence of Croatian high-tech industry, as foreign capital was invested in the establishment of new companies in order to gain access to the new market that was protected by high tariffs. Preparations for the Second World War and the war itself enabled the rise of industries connected to the war economy. After the split with the Soviet Union, a specific semi-peripheral position of socialist Yugoslavia allowed Croatian companies to have closer relations with the core countries than was the case with companies from other Central European socialist countries. The disappearance of the Eastern bloc and the break-up of Yugoslavia prevented the companies analysed from using their semi-peripheral status precisely in the period of significant changes in the world economy, i.e. the emergence of techno-globalism. However, some of the high-tech companies analysed have succeeded in joining techno-global networks, among other things because of their semi-peripheral position, or were able to continue their autonomous development