Purpose – The authors aimed to examine how the level of digitalization in Poland and Ukraine affects the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the countries’ gross domestic product (GDP).
Design/methodology/approach – The study involved a comparative analysis and statistical modeling of the impact of key economic factors on the contribution of SMEs to Poland’s and Ukraine’s GDP in the 2010–2020 period. The authors used principles of the theory of economic growth and calculated the coefficient of digital competitiveness as a composite indicator consisting of a number of global indices.
Findings – The study revealed significant differences between both countries, which can be attributed to a higher level of digitalization in Polish SMEs. The authors used the Polish experience to recommend how to reform Ukraine’s digital economy in postwar recovery.
Originality/value – The contribution of SMEs to Poland’s GDP is higher than that of Ukraine’s because of the higher entrepreneurship rate in the Polish micro and small enterprises (MSEs) sector. The authors found that a unit change in the integrated coefficient of digital competitiveness is related to the greatest change in the contribution of SMEs to the country’s GDP when the other factors in the model equation remain fixed.

Purpose: The article presents research on enterprises from various economic environments, namely the mature Finnish market and the Polish post-transformation one. Thus, our study examined how the external (international) environment affected the internationalization and business opportunities of Polish and Finnish SMEs.

Methodology: Data for the Polish sub-sample was collected from January to February 2021 using the mixed CATI/CAWI method. We used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) to check for measurement invariance, and chi-square independence test and logistic regression to verify the hypothesis.

Findings: Perceiving the environment as hostile hinders internationalization for Poland only and not for Finland. According to theoretical premises and earlier studies, entrepreneurial marketing orientation (EMO) increases the probability of internationalization in both countries. However, countries differ in terms of which EMO dimensions – and to what extent – influence internationalization.

Implications: In turbulent times, such as a pandemic, respondents might take the worst moment of turbulence as a reference point while assessing environmental hostility and appraising it as favorable. Perceiving the environment as hostile hinders internationalization in some sets only. In a mature economy, resources such as human capital, managerial experience, and access to finance may help to mitigate the negative influence of environmental hostility on internationalization. Respondents in both countries perceived the EMO dimensions in a similar way, so the EMO scale proved to be invariant and useful in a different country setting. Nevertheless, the EMO dimensions that are the main drivers of internationalization were country specific.

Originality: The article presents a study on the influence of environment characteristics on the internationalization of enterprises from various economic environments, i.e. the mature Finnish market and the Polish post-transition one. Thus, the article fills the literature gap regarding comparative studies of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) acting in different country sets.

Purpose: The study’s purpose was to examine the management of agri-food enterprises’ resource-saving development to minimize potential imperfections in managing material and human resources and improve data quality.

Materials and methods: A combined analysis was used to display the potential relationships between the agri-food sector achievements and basic indicators of natural resources’ sustainability and resilience to risks. The analysis covered Ukraine, Romania, and Poland. The analysis allowed for developing a general management scheme, including a management transformation comparative description in the economic growth context.

Results: The study revealed that Ukraine is clearly not on the path to progress in manufacturing enterprises and agriculture, as most of its indicators do not meet global nutrition goals. At the same time, Ukraine remains an export-oriented country. Its agri-food enterprises’ activities focus on external markets, corresponding to the priorities of the country’s agricultural policy and sustainable development goals of the United Nations organization.

Conclusion: The obtained results provide knowledge about and understanding of processes that occur in the agri-food enterprises’ organizational structure in countries with different development levels. The awareness of these processes is crucial for effective enterprise management in the resource conservation context.

Review of the book Piątkowski, M. (2018). Europe’s Growth Champion. Insights from the Economic Rise of Poland. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Purpose: The three goals of the article are: first, to show some arguments surrounding the notion of capitalism in theoretical perspective, and also somewhat bashful connotations since it was intro-duced in Poland after the fall of communism; second, to present some historical facts about the rise of capitalism in Poland in comparative perspective, mostly European; third, to look for cultural categories necessary for analysing the peculiarities of Polish socio-economic development as the part of so-called „the second Europe”.

Methodology: I go back to the history of European patterns of capitalist formation: Anglo-Saxon, French, German, Russian in order to show the Polish trajectory as strikingly different. Before enter-ing the Polish case, I present Mary Douglas and Aaron Widavsky’s proposal – how to analyze four cultures: individualist, egalitarian, hierarchical and fatalistic (authoritarian).

Implications: The main finding is that economic interests are always socio-cultural constructions, hence all definitions of the real life decisions (on public vs private, risk, externalities etc.) that the people make, must frame them within working life of given culture as the combination of universa-lism and particularism (of above-mentioned four cultures).

Purpose: The primary purpose of the article is to present the specifcity of Russian boards of directors, critically analyze their main characteristics, and consider their relations to selected corporate governance mechanisms in Russia.

Methodology: The article was prepared based on specialist literature, which pertains to the theoretical aspects of the boards of directors’ activity and the changes in the corporate governance system in Russia. The qualitative research on the boards of directors’ key characteristics in the Russian public companies was based on SPARK data.

Findings: The central features of the boards of directors in the Russian companies depend on the key events in the Russian economy – such as fnancial and economic crises – changes in the companies’ ownership structure, including the participation of the state in ownership, as well as on their activity on the Russian and international fnancial market.

Research limitations: Research limitations resulted mainly from the lack of access to all the data about the directors of the companies under examination, including their independence from or obligation to the state institutions.

Originality: The research on the Russian joint-stock companies – that is, corporate governance in Russia with its mechanisms – is a relatively new issue in the Polish specialist literature. They may be an important trigger for comparative studies in the feld of corporate governance in Central and Eastern European economies.

Purpose: The scientifc purpose of the study is an attempted synthesis of interpretation of “the virtual economy” and “the virtual environment” in the Polish and foreign literature on the subject. The cognitive purpose thereof is to offer an identifcation and a qualitative analysis of the factors that determine the development of e-entrepreneurship using an example of business practice. Methodology: The theoretical basis of the study is a scientifc research of leading scholars on the theory of entrepreneurship in the context of virtual economy. An exploratory, qualitative case study methodology has been applied for the purpose thereof. The research has been conducted using the example of Currency One SA, operating on the currency exchange market in virtual economy. The application of the empirical method of a case study has made it possible to characterize the essence of e-entrepreneurship and present the studied phenomenon in business practice. Findings: Research results reveal an existence of interdependencies between the intellectual potential of staff members and the market success of a company. Explanation of the critical success factors, showing the implementation of innovative ICT solutions and stages of company development, illustrates how the existing theory is experienced by practitioners in virtual economy. Furthermore, the paper confrms the positive impact of e-entrepreneurship on the effectiveness of the company subject to analysis, and presents virtual economy as a completely new sphere through which it is possible to offer new products and services. Research implications: The rationale for conducting research on case studies is the need to orient the practice towards a better understanding of modern economic reality. The study may provide a starting point for empirical quantitative research, as well as act as a contribution to the discussion on entrepreneurship in the rapidly changing virtual economy. Originality: This paper comprises not only a set of notions related to and the concept of e-business models, but also offers new arguments in the discussion on the framework for entrepreneurship in virtual economy. The conducted research is an original attempt to explain the essence of the studied phenomenon and to illustrate its progress in a changing business environment.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present the concept of social value added (SVA) as a tool for measuring the effectiveness of the activity of not-for-proft cultural institutions. Findings: The modifcations presented in this article make it possible to adapt economic value added (EVA) to the needs and specifcity of not-for-proft public cultural institutions. Applying a modifed EVA parameter, that is SVA, in cultural institutions may facilitate the process of management and the measurement of effective utilization of resources of these entities.

Methodology: A direct application of the measure of economic value added (EVA) in the case of evaluation of non-proft activity of cultural institutions would be impossible because of the specifcity of such organizations, which – as distinct from standard enterprises – are not oriented on generating fnancial gains. The article covers several successive modifcations of EVA, which lead eventually to the measure of social value added (SVA). This parameter represents the difference between the social impact of an evaluated institution and the social cost of capital involved in the conducted activity. A positive SVA means that the activity carried out by the institution subject to evaluation is socially viable. The method of SVA calculation presented in the article has been supported by a numerical example.

Originality/value: Published sources seldom tend to cover the tools improving management process or making it possible to measure the effects achieved by public cultural institutions. The solution discussed in this paper is a contribution to the body of reference literature in the said scope.

Objective: The aim of the present study is to examine whether the European Union budget comprises significant resources for financing measures relating to social cohesion. The analysis is based on the contents of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
Given the constraints of space and for the sake of clarity of the argument, the author focuses on the role of the EU budget rather than all measures aimed at social cohesion undertaken by EU institutions or targeted by policies of individual Member States.

Methodology: Documents, studies and reports published by the European Commission constitute the main source of information. In addition, the author has taken into account macroeconomic data demonstrating the deterioration of the social situation since 2009, as well as the instruments that the European Commission has deployed since 2013 in order to respond to post-crisis challenges.

Conclusions: It can be roughly estimated that more than 40 percent of total resources within the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 shall be allocated to the social cohesion policy. Opportunities afforded by the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy include primarily the definition of objectives whose priority is indisputable and the introduction of the hitherto neglected analysis of certain socio-economic indicators, classified by country or region and, in certain cases, examined in more detail than required by the European Commission. The monitoring of objectives is conducive to the introduction of new solutions and implementation tools, as exemplified by the new instruments within the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, as well as the adjustment of available funds in light of the most pressing challenges. The European Semester has facilitated the task of comparing progress in strategy implementation by individual Member States, as well as the provision of recommendations for each of them and an individualized approach.

Research implications: This article contributes to the discussion on further integration of the European Union's social dimension, with particular emphasis on the need to work out a common approach to immigration policy.

Originality: The author presents her own opinions regarding current events in terms of the post-crisis social cohesion policies of the European Union, taking into account the European Commission’s financial instruments.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present the regulatory obligations imposed by the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (hereafter: President of UKE) on telecom enterprises with significant market power in the retail and wholesale telecommunications markets.

Methodology: The decisions addressed to TP Group entities were analyzed as well as the financial statements presenting the economic volume achieved for the period 2006–2013.

Findings: In the analyzed period for entities of the TP Group were applied a range of regulatory obligations, that should result in disabling the use of their monopoly position and transfer their position between telecommunications markets. Regulatory obligations imposed by the President of UKE on TP Group entities did not affect to a signifi cant extent the situation of the group. Fluctuations of analyzed fi nancial fi gures seem to be primarily
the result of internal management decisions rather than a comprehensive range of sector-specifi c regulation in telecommunications. These researches indicate the need for a deeper analysis of the perception of the effects of regulatory actions by stakeholders in the telecommunications sector.

Originality: The text provides an interdisciplinary approach to the issue of regulation of infrastructure markets.

Purpose: The article introduces a concept of the economic imagination, describes economic public attitudes and discusses the character of the contemporary economic imagination of Poles.

Methodology: Representative survey conducted on the stratifi ed random sample of 1022 adult respondents by means of CAPI (computer assisted personal interview). Statistical analysis of data.

Findings: The features perceived by public as economically benefi cial to the entire economy, particular enterprises and individuals have been ranked by the representative survey and statistically grouped into more general clusters. Those considered as good for the economy are grouped into such factors as “investment and competition”, “statism (etatism)” and “progressive taxation”. The features considered as benefi cial for the enterprises are grouped into “human, social and economic capital”, “law obedience and good social relations” and “limited free market”. Personal characteristics perceived as benefi cial for individual’s economic success are grouped into “honesty, perseverance and good social relations”, “skills and diligence” and “nepotism and instrumentalism”. Intensity as well as determinants of such general value loaded convictions, and their impact on acceptance of democracy have been revealed as well.

Implications: Economic imagination has to be analysed as an important factor of socio-economic system’s legitimization.

Originality: Distinction and empirical defi nition of economic attitudinal syndromes at three different levels: macro-economic, enterprise and individual constitute a novelty in socio-economic research. Discussion of their determinants and wider implications constitute a new contribution to the theory of social legitimization.

Purpose: In this paper I investigate the information fl ow between the credit default swap market and the stock market as well as insider trading in the credit default swap market.

Methodology: For my analysis I use the event study methodology. Using the event study methodology I calculate abnormal stock returns and abnormal credit default swap premium changes. The analysis is based on 175,874 observations collected for 92 companies between the years 2001 and 2010.

Findings: The results show that the information fl ow from the credit default swap market to the stock market is the most signifi cant in terms of negative rating outlooks. The information fl ow is much less signifi cant in relation to negative surprises during announcements of annual fi nancial results and rating upgrades. Evidence of insider
trading is also most evident with reference to negative rating outlooks. Additionally, a distinctive feature of the credit default swap market and the stock market is the asymmetric response to negative and positive credit information.

Research limitations: The event study methodology does not consider other potentially important reasons for the information fl ow between markets than the ones actually investigated. The credit events and credit risk information used in this research are just a proposal and can be extended by future researchers.

Originality: This paper discusses a new research area. The main research area in terms of insider trading is still the stock market, with special focus on the US market. I decided to explore the insider trading phenomenon in the credit default swap market. I only considered contracts that are quoted with reference to European underlying assets. This part of the financial market is attractive in terms of economic research as credit derivatives are more commonly used not only in North America but also in Europe.

Purpose: The article aims to assess the informative value of the financial statements of public enterprises, auxiliary enterprises and budget institutions which have been transformed into public sector enterprises (IGB). The goal of the article is also to interpret the data included in financial statements, from the property and structure management point of view.

Metodology: The main research tool was the economical analysis of the chosen elements of the financial statements of public sector enterprises. Review of the data which describe the public sector enterprises which conduct business activities was done. In relation to “Center of Logistic Services” entity, the method of case study was used.

Findings: The analysis shown in the article implies that the legal and organisational changes have not improved the public finance sector operations in this area. It results from the fact that the changes in management, way of thinking should be directed to managerial model.
Research implications: The article is the first author’s insight into the problem of public sector enterprises. There is no doubt, this type of research should be continued in many aspects.

Originality: The author presented the interesting and current problem concerning public finance sector. Stated in the article theses and the analysis of the financial standing of the public sector enterprises is one of the opinions in the debate on the expected direction of changes in the organisation of public finance sector.

Purpose: The main objective of the article is to assess the impact of new regulations introduced in the EU and the euro area in the face of the economic and financial crisis.

Methodology: Literature review related to the functioning of the euro area, roots of the global crisis and financial market integration. The critical literature review was focused on two issues: identification of the causes of fiscal and macroeconomic imbalances in the euro area and assessment of the implemented instruments designed to prevent them.

Findings: The basic feature of the six-pack measures and the European Semester, which complements them, is deeper coordination of macroeconomic, structural and competitiveness policies among Member States. Adopted measures are a big step towards strengthening the economic pillar of the monetary union. However, the progress and quality of their implementation will be critical in improving economic governance in the EU.

Research implications: identification of strengths and weaknesses of the adopted reforms allows for using these results in the assessment of the balance of costs and benefits of the future functioning of the euro area as well as the implications for macroeconomic policies in the countries intending to join the euro area.

Originality: The author tries to provide an overview of the roots of the crisis in the euro area with the assessment of the reforms aiming to prevent similar crises in the future. The arguments presented in the article are against the view that the main reason for the crisis was a weak fiscal policy of the euro area countries.

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to present a model of the network of relationships of an enterprise with entities around it in the virtual environment, with particular consideration of internet communities against the background of its earlier forms, along with a presentation of the crucial factors, which have influenced its shape. An additional aim is to identify the key factors that determine the relationships of the network.

Approach: The article is theoretical. The basis for discussion are literature studies in economics and management.

Findings: The results of the discussion indicate the manner in which new information communication technologies change the form and nature of relationships between companies and their external environment. The author puts forward a proposal concerning the development possibilities of these mutual relationships in two opposing directions, i.e. cooperation and destruction.

Originality: A model of business relationships in the virtual environment is presented. The author also suggests the key internal and external factors determining the form of the mutual relationships in the virtual environment