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The purpose of this research is to empirically describe the division of strategic roles between owners and managers and its change when moving from the post‐privatisation transition stage of 1995‐1999 to the European integration stage of 2000‐2004.

The design takes the form of interviews with owners and top managers, questionnaire on managers' risk aversion, discussions in focus groups. A peculiarity of the study was a broad approach to owners‐managers interplay in strategy building and strategic decision making.

At least three patterns of role distribution could be observed in the owners' and managers' strategy development cooperation. Corporate governance (CG) culture in enterprises has improved, but the managers' freedom of action in strategy forming, especially in foreign‐owned companies, has not increased with the improvement and stabilisation of business environment, contrary to what could be presumed.

Any limitations are due to predominantly qualitative nature of the research.

The paper enables one to better understand limitations to firms' behaviour caused by CG and to better target respective consulting and training programmes.

The paper presents joint treatment of CG and strategy issues. It is one of the first attempts in post‐socialist countries to determine dynamics of CG beyond publicly traded companies.