From public to private: Has employment practice changed in Bulgarian hotels?

This study finds a clear shift towards the importance of HRM strategy and the need for change towards service quality [Vachkova, E., Gaidarov, M. (2001). Management of Human Resources in the Global Society, Banki Investicii Pari, 1. Sofia, Bulgaria, pp. 29–35] in Bulgarian hotels 15 years into the post-socialist era. This is not matched by a significant change in improved employment flexibility, more effective career development, improved communications and management style and, most problematic of all, improved training and development. Although managerial statements about the importance of HRM may be rhetorical, the balance of evidence suggests that the legacy of cultural and institutional effects in Bulgaria remains strong and may have created a vacuum that prevents managers from developing the ability and know-how to initiate change, and by implication, improve firms’ performance.