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East‐West trade of the future will be consortia‐based, with multinationals standing to benefit most from helping Communist countries to exploit their natural resources. But there's still time for smaller companies to get a profitable foothold in Comecon by way of the industrial pacesetter, East Germany. Be warned, though: It takes a lot of patience, and the East Germans are only interested in buying what they have tried, and failed, to produce themselves at an economic cost. Report by John Lawless

Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States are going through deep and dramatic changes and are entering a new era. The development of high‐technology industries is considered crucial to help revitalize the economies of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the eastern provinces of Germany (former German Democratic Republic), Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the old Soviet Union. Moreover, the current status, operation, and progress of the information processing industry represent the most fascinating areas of old East Bloc industrialization. It is widely known that the majority of industries in these countries are obsolete in comparison with the Western countries. Computer and communications technologies comprise this branch of industry where the technological gap between East and West is the widest. Catching up with western countries would take eastern countries ten years for software and supercomputers, eight years for mainframes, six years for microprocessors, and five years for minicomputers. Western countries consider this necessity to catch up as one of the main obstacles to future European integration.

Defines and discusses the climate for marketing activity within Hungarian society. Compares and contrasts conditions and practice in Western countries with those in Socialist countries. Aims to emphasize characteristics of the Hungarian market which might prove useful for the marketer wishing to establish or extend marketing relations.

Reports a recent international study trip (a group of university professors and scholars) giving an opportunity to experience first‐hand the changes involved in unifying the two Germanies, and extending the realm of capitalism and a free‐market system to Russia and to witness examples of the systematic gap between East and West caused by decades of social, political and economic value systems. The visit included the German Chamber of Commerce, a tour of a former East German machine tool factory, Treuhandanstalt – the government organization responsible for privatizing East German businesses, the Free University and Humboldt University, and numerous talks by educational and governmental leaders. Outlines the findings and adds comments from speakers, further analysis on the unification progress to date, and information on future challenges.

Describes the economic situation and general structure of retailing in Eastern Europe. Presents market research data on the organization of retailing and wholesaling in the former Comecon countries with inter‐country comparisons. Reviews future prospects of retailing in these economies.

Discusses the process of international technology transfer. Defines technology transfer and traces its development through the growth of world trade. Analyses factors encouraging the growth of technology transfer – e.g. international relations conducive to trading – and barriers impeding it – e.g. financial restraints. Discusses ownership, control and licensing. Examines reasons why unrelated companies become licensors and licensees. Cites the example of Honda of Japan licensing the manufacture and marketing rights for a modified version of the Honda Ballade (Triumph Acclaim) to British Leyland. Outlines the attitudes of Brazil, the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China and Japan to technology transfer. Concludes that while technology transfer has flourished, there is still a long way to go in refining it.

Discusses various aspects of market research in Eastern Europe, with special emphasis on the Hungarian experience under the New Economic Mechanism. Attempts to show how the manner in which various sources of information can and should be utilized. Highlights differences and similarities between methodology of marketing employed in the East and the West. Presents a cross‐section of case studies to illustrate market research carried out. Suggests that marketing research is an important function in Eastern Europe.

The fundamental political and economic reforms taking place in Eastern and Central Europe pose some difficult questions for the future of the agri‐food industries in Hungary and Bulgaria. A major sector facing the problems of transition to a market economy is wine, traditionally an important source of export earnings. The loss of the volume markets in the former COMECON countries has forced the wine sectors to look to West European markets and the UK in particular, where wine consumption is rising. Hungary is currently a minor source of wine in the UK and has a generally poor reputation in servicing the requirements of the market. Bulgaria now accounts for over 3 per cent of the UK′s total wine imports and is perceived widely to be an example of highly successful marketing. This is due largely to tight control over export activities by a former state‐controlled export body. Since the fall of Communism, this control has been weakened as individual wineries export on their own account – undermining the consistency of marketing effort. Overall both Hungary and Bulgaria have the potential to meet the wine import requirements of the UK wine buyers, although both have to overcome common and divergent problems of transition and are developing from different historical bases.

West Germany's duty‐free trading link with East Germany rankles with other EEC countries who seek a bigger stake in the lucrative Comecon market. But, as John Lawless reports, this ‘special relationship’ was acknowledged in the Treaty of Rome‐and West Germany is firmly opposed to any modification.

National differences in the demand for voluntary external audits have been linked to multiple factors, such as differences in a country's rate of growth, access to external credit, and institutional quality. Audits, however, also have a psychological cost, whose intensity is genetically and culturally hereditary. Using a sample of 3,072 private firms across 34 industries in seven countries, including five countries or regions from the former Soviet Comecon, we find that a country's share of firms choosing to undergo external audits is negatively related to the prevalence of carriers of the G allele in the mu-opioid receptor gene's A118G polymorphism, also known as the “social sensitivity” gene. Furthermore, the relationship between the prevalence of the social sensitivity gene and audits is fully mediated by a national culture's degree of collectivism. The results are statistically and economically highly significant and remain robust to the introduction of a set of confounding factors at the firm and country levels. Our results have practical relevance in recognizing psychological diversity when conducting audits and, more generally, preventing burnout in the workplace.