Purpose: The article explores changes in the institutional autonomy and accountability resulting from university reforms carried out over a period of 28 years under the influence of the traditional public administration and new public management logic.

Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study uses rich empirical material, which includes archival documents as well as 16 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with deans, professors, representatives of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and HEI experts. For analysis, we used the general inductive approach. Institutional logic has been used as the theoretical framework to analyze changes in resource allocation, autonomy, and accountability of HEIs.

Findings: Following the idea of reform as routine, our study shows that the implemented reforms have proven ineffective in comprehensively increasing the autonomy and accountability of HEIs and that they tend to turn into a routine. However, over the past 30 years, a certain increase in autonomy, combined with accountability shifts from input toward output control mechanisms can be observed. An important finding of this research is also the limited understanding of the concept of accountability by the top management of universities and by the ministry’s representatives. Moreover, this illustrates that accountability is understood only as a formal obligation to report to the funding agency and is treated as an integral part of the Polish HE landscape, increasing from reform to reform.

Originality/Value: This article explores the evolution of the Polish state funding systems of universities and analyzes the development from a stable traditional funding model – that was in place before the collapse of the communist system – to a complex multi-tier system and to recent attempts at reforming the HE field, aimed at increasing the autonomy and accountability of Polish universities. More efforts should be made by policymakers to create a sustainable balance between autonomy and accountability in the HE field.

Purpose: Since the higher education environment has become highly competitive, the application of marketing principles to the education environment becomes increasingly evident. In order to attract new students and continue business, the institutional brand also gains on importance. Considering the scant literature on the influence of the perceptions of service quality dimensions on brand equity in general and higher education in particular, this exploratory study seeks to determine whether the SERVPERF dimensions of service quality make significant influencers of the overall brand equity of select (South African) universities, and whether the overall service quality significantly influences the overall brand equity.

Design: The authors conducted a survey among a judgmental sample of 400 students from two selected university campuses, using the SERVPERF scale. The data were analyzed with inferential statistical methods, such as multiple regression analysis, with the help of SPSS.

Findings: Tangibles and Empathy were significant and positive influencers of the students’ perception of the institutions’ overall brand equity and the overall service quality as a significant predictor of the overall brand equity. It also became evident that the overall service quality has a significant and positive influence on the overall brand equity when it comes to the students’ perceptions of the surveyed universities.

Implications: Tangibles and Empathy must be closely monitored and carefully managed, while the important role that service quality plays in the overall sense in increasing brand equity perceptions implies that – in the branding efforts of higher education institutions – management and leadership should pay particular attention to offering high levels of service quality to increase the value of their brands.

Research limitations: Only two campuses from one public higher education institution in South Africa was included in the survey, thus any generalization of the research findings must be circumspect.

Originality/value: Management and leadership of higher education institutions must know the service quality dimensions which promote the brand of the institution and manage them to promote a positive image of the institution since these are the dimensions of quality emphasized by the students.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of team project experiences of students (presence and role of a leader; fairness in team projects; conditions supporting teamwork created by a university) on their attitudes towards teamwork, especially the perception of teamwork effectiveness and the preference of working in teams.

Methodology: In the study the quantitative research was done among master degree Polish students of Management (105 questionnaires). The measures used for the study were developed specifcally for the study referring to the previous research in the feld.

Findings: Results indicate that leaders in team projects and conditions supporting teamwork are connected with the students’ perception of teamwork effectiveness, while the fairness in team projects is connected with students’ preference of working collectively.

Research implications: We conclude that in order to develop a positive attitude towards teamwork, the teamwork projects should be better supported by the instructors (especially supporting the emergence of leader(s) and minimising the problem of free riders) and the university should create a climate that facilitates teamworking, otherwise team projects might negatively influence students’ attitude towards collective work.

Value: On the labour market the teamwork skills are one of the most important skills of employees, as the team-based organizational designs are becoming the norm in work organization. The study is contributing to the understanding of the relations between student experiences and their attitudes as well as the role played by high education in the development of these attitudes. Some previous research in Anglo-Saxon culture countries indicate that team project assignments realised by students during studies might even hinder their attitudes to teamwork and their willingness to work in teams in the future.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to better understand why some SMEs who pursue a niche strategy on the international scale are more effective with a differentiation via innovation while others with marketing differentiation.

Methodology: Therefore, the paper studies the effectiveness of different points of differentiation (innovation, marketing) of hidden champion type of companies: (1) from the perspective of the unknowns of the key success factors in the specifc market segment, and (2) from the perspective of the professional mindset/education of the strategist.

Findings: The results show that differentiation via innovation positively impacts frm performance when there are many market unknowns over key success factors, whereas marketing differentiation positively impacts frm performance when there are few market unknowns over key success factors. On the other hand, when top management earns a business education, the impact of marketing differentiation on frm performance is signifcant, positive, and strong. The effectiveness of differentiation via innovation does not depend on education.

Research limitations/implications: These results mostly consider the hidden champion type of companies, which prefer not to reveal themselves or their data to the public. The transferability of this research is thus limited.

Originality/value: This paper studies the hidden champion type of companies, which usually receive little attention from researchers, through the lens of differentiation via innovation and marketing differentiation as two distinct ways of competing as their effectiveness is contingent on the market unknowns.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to analyse marketing challenges facing Polish public universities. Polish universities must urgently adjust their educational offers to deep declines in internal demand and to increased internationalisation of the educational market. The author explores the impact of management decentralisation in faculties of higher education institutions upon their market orientation, relationships with the external world and commercialisation of educational services targeting foreign students.

Methodology: The study is based mostly on direct observations and an extensive review of international literature devoted to the model of the university of the future and its relationships with the environment. The author has been lecturing on marketing for many years; he also manages educational business programmes at a large public university in Poland where he acts in the capacity of a dean.

Findings: Future universities should develop an array of services based on the relationship marketing with key strategic partners (business, local authorities, students and graduates). The idea of a modern educational service should be based on an individual approach to students expanded with complementary services. Educational services should be developed interactively in cooperation with key stakeholders.

Practical implications: Polish public universities should become more marketing oriented and develop a set of commercial educational services addressed to foreign students and to entrepreneurial and internationally-oriented Polish students.

Originality/value: Conclusions formulated by the author result from his long personal experience and knowledge of the specifi city of the educational market in Poland and across the world and his experience in managing an interdisciplinary faculty of a large public university. The interdisciplinary approach to the subject combines elements of the relationship marketing and interactive development of new educational services.

Purpose: To explain the conventions and conditions for implementing internationalization of a university as a strategic course for its development, as well as to provide universal strategic scenarios for expansion of the university abroad as well as to outline the factors contributing to success.

Methodology: The paper while conceptual in nature, is based on the diagnosis and analysis of the market for university education in Poland. Studies of specialized literature highlighted the main phenomena conditioning performance and trends in higher education which constituted the general background for deliberations and detailed projections.

Conclusion: The author underscores strategic conditions and decision-making procedures for a University’s expansion into foreign markets of higher education. He emphasizes the major opportunities and risks associated with the university going international. The proposals are not only cognitive but also can be the basis for application in the realism of Polish universities.

Originality: The activities of foreign universities in the domestic higher education market is a fact which is existent in many countries. This paper proposes a general concept for the internationalization strategy of a University in conjunction with a scenario accompanied by a detailed analysis and decision-making procedure. In the literature, this aspect of development of the university has been expanded in accordance with the objectives
international marketing.

Purpose: The aim of this article is to analyze the potential of a simulation game
addressing the issue of implementing risk management within public sector organizations.

Design/methodology/approach: Recent legislation obliges public sector organizations
to have a risk management system in place as part of their managerial control
system. The author conducted interviews with key personnel responsible for risk
management within their public organization.

Findings: This preliminary findings of the study, among public sector organizations,
shows that these organizations have a problem implementing the risk management
process. The author after deep analysis of the different educational methodologies
decided to propose an experiential learning method in a form of simulation game.

Originality/value: Usage of simulation game to teach risk management is unique. It
can be helpful for public sector organizations not only to understand the process but
also to implement it and became an effective tool.

Purpose: The article presents the results of research concerning the influence of motives
for choosing a career on the level of work motivation in teaching profession.

Methodology: A survey was conducted among a sample of 111 teachers from 53 schools
located in Mazovian voivodeship. The subject of analysis focused on teachers’
satisfaction from choosing this profession and their level of job satisfaction. The
survey was carried out in 4 groups of teachers characterized by a different motive for
choosing their career.

Findings: The results obtained in the abovementioned survey corroborated the hypothesis
stating that teachers’ desire to do their job (intrinsic motivation) is related to
the effectiveness of motivational systems that do not involve financial rewards.

Practical implications: The results showed by the study can be put into practice
when designing motivational systems for teachers, as well as planning and implementing
recruiting process in case of this occupational group.

Originality: The presented study and its results serve as an attempt to cover the gap
that exists in literature devoted to management. There is a lack of publications that
would showcase empirical evidence proving the significance of intrinsic motivation
in work at school in the context of the effectiveness of teachers’ motivational processes.

Purpose: the essay focuses on some important instruments and measures supporting the desired actual (and not just declared) ethical behavior in banking practices.

Methodology: the essay first used a combination of comparisons to show similarities and differences between 10 banking codes of ethics in EU countries. Then qualitative analysis of indicators and scales assigned to bank rankings was also used to identify some possibilities to promote the ethical behavior of banks in more efficient ways.

Findings: ethical behaviors in the banks, despite a high awareness of moral norms, are largely declarative rather than actual. In order to approximate the actual behaviors to the declared ones, further improvements need to be introduced in the methods and instruments of education (codes of ethics, bank rankings), along with encouraging the implementation of management practices consistent with ethical behavior. This should start with redefinition of the functioning of the bank, i.e. broadening the task of achieving ambitious outcomes by adding respect for ethical standards.

Practical Implications: not every instrument of ethics education can be treated as directly useful in the process of training actual ethical behavior in banks. Some particular conditions must be taken into account that it should fulfill.

Originality: the author has distinguished three levels in business ethics education: ethical awareness and ethically oriented behaviors, both declared and actual. The essay described the necessary conditions for utilization of some educational instruments of ethics in the process of implementing actual ethical behaviors in the banks.. Such an approach has not been found previously in the subject literature.

Purpose: the purpose of this article is to attempt to identify the essential fundamental elements of the traditional mining ethos implemented in the ethical codes, which are
among others the primary tool for ethical education.

Methodology: the article describes basic and detailed (as well as characteristic) components of the mining ethos, and the causes and consequences of the mining professional devaluation after the Second World War and its impact on changes of the mining ethos. Also presented and discussed is the role of the codes of ethics of two Polish hard coal mining companies KHW (Katowice Coal Holding) and GKLW Bogdanka (Capital Group Lublin Coal BOGDANKA). It reviews their practices concerning communication, promotion and monitoring of the ethical principles among employees, suppliers and the local community, as well as tasks and activities of the ethics officers.

Findings: ethical codes took over the role of communication and they constitute a device for continuation of mining ethos. However, according to the expectations, they must be adapted to transforming the work environment and miners’ lives. Ethical codes are contemporary and vitally important devices for development of organisational culture and ethical education in both coal companies.

Originality: the article shows the continuity of mining ethos and its impact on modern business performance and management. At the same time, it describes the ethics institutionalization process and its positive effect for further development of coal mining industry.