Abstract
This article makes a case for holding groups as a type of enterprise structure which guarantees capital and structural security at the time of economic and political transition in the 1990s, which in a way prepared them for the global recession in the early 21st century. The case study of PKN Orlen is presented to illustrate the typical economic developments which accompanied privatisation and commercialisation of Polish state-owned enterprises. A major part of the article addresses management mechanisms which make a holding structure immune to strong economic turbulence which would otherwise be destructive to individual daughter companies.