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The purpose of this article is to study how two different managerial environments of the state‐controlled economy in Belarus – “private small business management” and “state or privatized large enterprise management” – influence middle managers' implementation of decisions. Two kinds of data are analyzed: “should” option or presented data, and “would” option or managers' preferred in reality option of activity.

The research was completed in two stages: survey research based on open‐ended questions and face‐to‐face structured interviews based on the principle of controllable projection. A total of 193 decisions are analyzed.

Managers of large and state enterprises should present an appearance of active tactics, but in reality they would prefer tactics of delay or no‐action. Managers of small private businesses should present all varieties of tactics except a tactic of inaction. In reality, they would prefer to act directly, or less often, to wait or not act at all.

The effect of other organizational factors than the size and form of ownership should be subjects of future research. The comparison of decision implementation tactics of mid‐level managers in large and small organizations, in state‐owned and private companies in countries with different economies should also be studied.

The findings of this paper have managerial implications for companies willing to open subsidiaries or establish partnership with enterprises from countries with a state‐controlled economy.

The paper is original research that proves the influence of the business environment and characteristics of a company on a middle manager's behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to place students in the reality of business in an emergency environment and encourage them to go “out of the box” in analyses of ethical issues.

Information concerning the business environment in Belarus is gathered based on literature research and field studies, interviews with entrepreneurs, owners and employees of financial firms operated at the black financial market, and the representative of Belarusian official financial institutions. All names and the name of the company Destinator have been changed for the sake of security of the company and its owners.

The case describes the activity of small businesses in the transition period and discusses why entrepreneurs moved their businesses into a black financial market. The case also raises the moral dilemma between helping entrepreneurs and avoiding illegal operations.

This case can be used in undergraduate and graduate courses for analysis of business ethics in the context of a hostile business environment, for studying the criteria of ethical decision‐making process in an unfamiliar business environment, and for examination the peculiarities of the business environment of the post‐Soviet country.

The paper provides original field study of the micro enterprise in the emerging market and gives opportunities to consider ethical issues of entrepreneurial activities in the transition economy.

Competition and entrepreneurship are driving forces in the development of economic systems. They create jobs, new opportunities to generate value, and lead to the fulfillment of personal career and life goals. As such, it is important to understand the basic economic and cultural factors that influence these activities in developing economies. We undertook a series of analyses in an examination of a heterogeneous sample of economic zones in Southeast Asia. Results illustrate relations between national culture, human development, and business and growth competitiveness. Implications hold that human development and power distance are enablers of entrepreneurial activities in these cultural and national settings. Our contribution is instrumental to development of public policy and regulatory guidelines for facilitating entrepreneurial activity in the developing economies of Southeast Asia.