Corporate networks in Poland: interlocking directorates and business systems

Abstract

Aiming at filling a gap in the literature, which has been concentrated on USA and Western-European Countries, this paper analyzes the Polish corporate network based on interlocking directorates among 125 top companies in the country. To determine the characteristics of the network and its implications for the business system the exploratory Social Network Analysis is conducted. It is found that the Polish network is fragmented and the interlocks appear mainly along companies from financial and chemical sectors. Basing on comparison with Germany it is suggested that the Polish network will be growing in size and density in the future.