Why Has Viimsi Become the Wealthiest Community in Post-Socialist Estonia? Explaining One Small Community's Success in a Changing World

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a qualitative study of economic development attempts to uncover the critical factors behind the recent economic rise of Viimsi, Estonia, to that of the wealthiest community in the country.Design/methodology/approach – The roles of and interactions among various community stakeholder groups are explored through two sets of resident surveys. From these surveys, and a rich set of secondary material, a narrative emerges as to the factors behind Viimsi’s success since 1991, when Estonia regained its independence from the former Soviet Union and its system of economic central planning.Findings – It was found that among the key components explaining why Viimsi has become the wealthiest community in Estonia are its extraordinary openness in embracing the market system, combined with a consensus-based plan among community stakeholders on balanced development, a dependable government, and a level of solidarity among fellow residents in facing change.Originality/value – This paper describes one small community’s experience in the global world, and offers observations on successful strategies for a community navigating in it.