Post-privatization corporate performance: evidence from companies privatized in Poland in 2008–2011
Post-privatization corporate performance: evidence from companies privatized in Poland in 2008–2011

Summary/Abstract: Our study concerns the effects of Polish privatization program conducted in the years 2008–2011. After drawing a broad picture of this process, we investigate the performance of 59 companies from the sample of 458 enterprises that completed the privatization process under this program. We hypothesize that privatization increases a company’s profitability, labor productivity, capital investment, plow-back ratio and leverage. The findings of our study are partly ambiguous (with four hypotheses confirmed and four rejected). Profitability did not improve visibly, although a number of positive initiatives and improvements in performance occurred (such as cost reduction, improvement of operational efficiency, higher investments, improvement of plow-back ratio and changes in capital structure). Our findings suggest that privatization works, though its full effects need time to occur.

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