Business and Democracy in Spain

This work deals with the political transition in Spain from authoritarianism to democracy and its impact on business. It addresses the fundamental questions of how business was affected by the transition and how business, in turn, influenced the course of democratization, through collective action, and how it influenced the marketplace through the aggregate of individual business decisions. The work has a strong empirical base. Data was collected from the chief executive officers of 260 Spanish companies and the managing directors of over one hundred affiliates of the top-ranked business association, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (the CEOE).

The work is particularly timely in light of the transitions occurring in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Unlike many earlier political transitions to more open systems, in Latin America and Southern Europe, the dynamics of economic change concurrent with political change is getting much greater attention in the East European transitions. The East European systems are attempting simultaneous political transitions with movement from command to market economies. Some East Europeans have studied the Spanish experience to garner lessons for their own efforts.

ROBERT E. MARTINEZ is with Strategic Planning at Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, Virginia. Previously, he served as the Associate Deputy Secretary of Transportation at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he managed the portfolio for intermodal transportation. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Maritime Administrator at the Department from early 1990 to 1992. In this role, Martinez helped manage the sealift for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He has worked as a consultant on Spain and Latin America, and he has published articles on business and politics in Spain and on maritime policy, sealift, and intermodal concerns.