Applying the Clinical Inquiry Approach to Understand and Facilitate Enterprise Restructuring in Transitional Economies: A Case Study From the Moldovan Wine Industry

Enterprises in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) have had to fundamentally reform how they are managed and operate to cope with the switch from central planning to a more market based economy. In understanding these challenges and how firms are reacting to them, the clinical inquiry approach, a variant of action research, is deemed particularly appropriate. Research following this approach was conducted with a case study enterprise drawn from the Moldovan wine industry. The process encouraged self-diagnosis and intervention and a PSEFI (Problems, Strategies, Evaluations, and Future Issues) matrix was drawn to guide and assess the companys evolution. Reflections on the benefits of the clinical inquiry approach in transitional economies, compared to more conventional business support and research methods are discussed.