Less Discussed Dynamics in the Czech Farm Structure Development

The paper provides an empirical study of the dynamics of ownership changes in Czech agricultural companies, which are assigned by unique heterogeneity in ownership forms. Since employee ownership has retained a relatively important place in these structures, neoclassical, as well as institutional theories of labour managed firms are considered. Building upon efficiency arguments, both approaches suggest the dissolution of labour managed firms. The empirical analysis utilized detailed survey data from 2004 and accountancy data from 1997 to 2003. We used cluster analysis to classify companies into homogeneous groups with respect to their ownership structure and stage of restructuring, and analysed these characteristics in relation to performance indicators. The companies were found to be in various transition stages. The results reveal that the most progressed and the most profitable are companies with a significantly higher capital concentration, low number of owners and a low share of employee and external ownership. The least restructured companies with higher employee and external ownership show markedly worse performance figures. The restructuring process is complex and farms have adopted different strategies; restructuring only firm’s liabilities by capitalising transformation debts appeared insufficient for improving performance.