This study researches the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on various measures of firm governance, including the impacts on firm boundaries such as buyer-supplier relationships, capital structures and employment effects. Using a unique panel data set of 1,686 firms in six countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, we examine how the crisis affected the financial and employment decisions of different industrial and service sector firms. As the firms included in our sample faced a steep decline in sales and capacity utilization, as well as credit constrain, they were forced to make fundamental and far reaching changes in various aspects of their governance. We find that firms in the majority of the countries used more internal funds to finance their working capital than previously, replacing bank financing as their major source of funding. In addition, fewer firms applied for loans and those who applied received smaller amounts than requested. The high magnitude of financial distress faced by these firms meant that there were delayed payments to suppliers and tax authorities. Accompanied by these changes in capital structure was a significant drop in employment, especially in small and medium sized firms. Furthermore, permanent employees were more affected by the financial crisis than temporary workers. These stresses resulted in major restructuring attempts by the affected firms, some opting to restructure their debts with state aid, while others resorting to insolvency. These developments also resulted in many firms to restructure their relationships with the outside bodies such as suppliers, financiers and/or major customers. For example, there was more reliance on internal funds for meeting their R&D outlays. On the other hand, there was increased emphasis on closer buyer-supplier relationships and concluding long-term distribution agreements to soften the negative effects of credit crunch. In some instances, these relationships were used to further enhance their product offerings. We discuss the implications of these changes for the design and management of different governance regimes and what impacts they might have on firm boundaries.