Purpose – The study aims to examine the digital competence of young employees (under 30 years of age) who graduated from the technical university. Self-assessment of selected digital competencies was examined along with the determination of a self-efficacy level in the area of using digital competencies.
Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative research was conducted using the computer-assisted web interview method on a sample of 4532 respondents.
Findings – Young employees’ self-assessment of digital competencies and self-efficacy in the area of using them is high, and it can be assumed that they perceive themselves as digitally competent. Both digital self-efficacy and assessed digital competencies have a positive impact on satisfaction with the university.
Research limitations/implications – The research sample consisted only of employees who graduated from the technical university, but the results may provide feedback on the demand for digital competencies sought in the labor market and constitute valuable information useful in university curriculum development and in vocational education and training.
Originality/value – This is the first study that focuses on the Kozanoglu and Abedin approach to the concept of digital literacy in the context of research on self-assessment and self-efficacy in using digital competencies among technical university graduates, adapting the creative self-efficacy scale by Tierney and Farmer, for measuring digital self-efficacy.
Highlights/value
(1) Young employees’ digital competencies self-assessment is high.
(2) Young employees’ self-efficacy of using digital competencies is high.
(3) Graduating from a DT-focused department has a positive impact on satisfaction.
(4) Digital self-efficacy has a positive impact on satisfaction with the university.
(5) Assessed digital competencies have a positive impact on satisfaction.

Purpose: This article aims to review critical thinking (CT) as a future skill in business.

Design/methodology/approach – The study employed two research methods: science mapping analysis based on bibliometric keyword co-occurrence data and systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines. The application of two distinctive research methods meant that we could obtain a broad picture thematic overview as well as a detailed, fine-grained insight into the content of CT business research.

Findings – Research in CT in business studies is dominated by themes related to education, university and learning that far outweigh CT business application, which focuses on three research axes. These are specific business functions (e.g. accounting, marketing, human resources and identifying business opportunities), certain skills used in business (e.g. decision-making and creativity) and other business-related topics (including ethics, stakeholder relations and individual employee performance).

Practical implications – The article identifies new research gaps related to the link between CT and business performance, a firm’s ability to innovate and company characteristics. Moreover, the article highlights that CT positively influences business decision-making under the influence of cognitive biases and heuristics.

Originality/value – The article provides the first literature review on CT in business research. It uses a novel method of science mapping analysis to show unbiased algorithmic-based insight into the structure of the research, followed by a systematic literature review.

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: The aim of the article is to examine the selected determinants of the expected rate of return on human capital.
Methodology: We conducted an anonymous survey of expected salaries among the Accounting and Controlling students at the Cracow University of Economics, which provided a unique setting for the analysis. On the basis of collected data for the cost of living and the cost of professional education for every participant, we used the human capital model developed by Dobija to compute the perceived level of the human capital of each individual. Then, we compared the expected salaries with the perceived levels of human capital and computed expected rates of return on human capital. The following research methods are used: literature review, statistical tests, econometric modeling.
Findings: On the sample of 754 respondents, we found that male students expect a higher rate of return on their human capital than female students, while older students expect a lower rate of return on human capital than younger students.
Research limitations: Only one field of study was used to measure the determinants of the expected rate of return on human capital.
Originality: We contribute to the salary expectations and human capital literature by identifying a significant gender salary expectations gap that holds even after considering individually assessed costs of living and professional education. Our findings are consistent with the well-known observation that women tend to expect lower salaries than men.

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

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 aim of this paper is to present the results of a survey conducted among managers (N=38) in the framework of the project “Development of the Bounded Leadership Theory”. The research juxtaposes two types of variables: (1) leadership competencies outlined in Kozminski’s theory (i.e. anticipatory, visionary, value-creating, mobilizing, self-reflection) with (2) three psychological predispositions of leaders, such as intelligence, personality and ability to influence others. The tested predispositions represented three groups: non-variable traits, or permanent characteristics (intelligence), partially variable characteristics (personality) and variable characteristics (influence tactics).

Methodology: A total of 38 middle and senior managers, students of the MBA programme at Kozminski University, took part in the survey. Participants flled out a preliminary version of the Leadership Competence Questionnaire, as well as tests pertaining to intelligence, personality and influence tactics. The hypotheses were tested using Spearman’s rho correlation. The research has brought interesting results relating to the correlation between the fve tested competencies and leadership predispositions.

Findings: Permanent and partly stable characteristics do not correlate with leadership competencies, i.e. a high score in leadership competencies is not necessarily synonymous with high intelligence levels or positive personality traits. Correlations have been observed between mobilization skills and influence tactics in the surveyed sample, i.e. legitimacy and personal appeals that leaders have recourse to and, in the case of value-creating competencies, an interesting correlation with legitimacy.

Originality: The study constitutes an important contribution to the extant literature, as – first and foremost – it represents a new approach to the understanding of leadership competencies. Secondly, it reveals correlations between complex skills, i.e. competencies, and permanent, relatively permanent and variable characteristics of contemporary leaders. Thirdly, it is the starting point for further research on leadership competencies.

Purpose: This study empirically investigated the factors that affect customer retention in the airline industry in North Cyprus. These factors were service quality attributes, perceived safety, customer satisfaction, loyalty reward program, relationship commitment and customer loyalty. The study also investigated four different groups for purposes of travel (business, education, vacation and family visit) in the empirical model.

Methodology: A descriptive approach was chosen to conduct this research. A quanhip between customer retention and the related study factors; however, not all of these relations are significant. The results also showed that the different purposes of travel had different influences on the variables regarding the positive and significant relations between them. Some independent variables had a negative effect on the dependent variables.

Conclusions: This research was limited to one group and place: the students of Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus.

Originality: This study connected the retention, loyalty, satisfaction and service quality factors as attributes. In addition, this research was the frst to include other independent factors affecting satisfaction and loyalty in a comparison between four different groups regarding the purpose of travel in the airline industry.

Purpose: The article addressed the problem of relationships between university funding and efficiency on the one hand and the quality of teaching and research on the other.

Methodology: The measurement of teaching and research quality in Polish universities was derived from two sources: 1) evaluation scores of teaching quality given to universities by the Polish Accreditation Committee, and 2) the research category grades given to university departments or units by the Polish Committee for Evaluation of Scientific Units. Subsequently, the quality measurements were correlated with financial indicators and efficiency scores obtained from data envelopment analysis.

Findings: The correlation and regression results indicated that public universities that have received higher scores of teaching quality simultaneously have higher average scientific categories. There was also a substantial relationship between the revenue per student and the revenue per teacher and variables describing quality but the regression analysis exhibited opposite directions regarding the type of quality indicator.

Research limitations/implications: The quality of teaching and research at universities was assessed despite the limited availability of internal information gathered from higher education institutions (HEIs).

Practical implications: The authorities of a university can simultaneously track the improvement of quality or financial efficiency without losing their interdependence when reforms of HEI operations are conducted.

Originality: The study proposed new measurements of quality derived from external evaluation bodies and investigated the relations of these measures with selected financial and efficiency indicators.

Purpose: This study is a contribution to the validation of the Motivation to Lead (MTL) scale proposed by Chan and Drasgow (2001) in order to measure three types of motivation to be a leader: affective, social-normative and calculative. This research examines the psychometrical properties of the MTL scale in the Estonian context.

Design/methodology/approach: The sample of 517 military and non-military individuals from the Estonian Defence Forces, Estonian Police and students from Tallinn University participated in the study. The original MTL scale was expanded by with the addition of ideological and patriotic dimensions proposed by Amit and colleagues (2007). The factorial structure of the MTL Scale was analysed by using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (respectively N = 170 and N = 347).

Findings: The results confirmed that both three- and five-component MTL scales are applicable in the Estonian context; the pool of 35 items was reduced into 25 items with good internal reliability. Moreover, the results showed correlations between leadership self-efficacy and MTL components, and differences between leaders’ and non-leaders’ MTL. The results indicate that the MTL scale can be a reliable and useful instrument to measure leadership motivation in the Estonian military context.

Originality/value: This study is the first to adapt the MTL scale to the Estonian context. In addition, it examines the validity of ideological and patriotic MTL as part of the general MTL construct outside of the Israeli samples.

Purpose: This article informs readers about the theoretical and practical origins of the behaviorally
informed interventions (BIPI), analyzes examples of the BIPI from different policy sectors and
strategies they offer for policy and regulatory design, and discusses applications and implications
of BIPI for public interventions.

Methodology: This paper is based on a review of literature, as well as an inspection of administrative
practices in OECD countries. It encompasses a systematic analysis of scientific papers from
the SCOPUS database and a query carried out at the library of George Washington University.

Findings: The traditional approach to public policy research is based on rational choice theory. It
offers limited support, because by assuming perfect rationality of policy decisions, it overlooks
existence of systematic errors and biases of human decision-making. The authors argue that behaviorally
informed public interventions (BIPI) might contribute to improving the effectiveness of
a number of public measures – regulation, projects, programs, and even entire policies.

Practical implications: The behavioral approach allows decision-makers to better understand the
decisions and behaviors of citizens, as well as to design more effective interventions with minimum
effort by adapting the existing solutions to real decision mechanisms of citizens.

Originality: By combining the concepts of traditional approach with the growing behavioral
approach, the authors aim to propose a new theoretical framework (BIPI) to be used as a tool for
policy design, delivery and evaluation.

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to present and assess professional development opportunities for
older employees in SME.

Methodology: In the process of desk research, the author has discerned a number of characteristics
of training activities conducted by SMEs. The management of older employees’ professional development
is discussed on the basis of selected research findings, i.a. CATI and CAPI surveys conducted
in the framework of the “Comprehensive program of activation of people aged 50+” project carried
out by the Department of Human Resource Management at Kozminski University in 2010–2012.

Findings: The first part of the paper discusses the specificity of training measures undertaken in
SMEs. According to a large body research results available, these include: informality, reactivity,
short-term perspective, focus on solving current problems, “learning by doing”, focus on the development
of specific skills and organizational knowledge, lack of professional organization of trainings.
The core part of the paper focuses on the management of professional development of older
employees in SMEs. The majority of surveyed firms have declared providing their older and younger
employees with the same access to training. However, it does not always mean training is organised,
or that employees aged 50+ participate in it. Moreover, the survey has proven the existence of
significant differences in assessments and opinions among entrepreneurs and employees.

Originality/value: This paper discusses professional development of older SME employees, which
is a relatively new problem; it is based on an extensive body of research. Managing professional
development of older workers is one of the most important challenges faced by SMEs in the twentyfirst
century and it shall require extensive and thorough research in the future.

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: The paper presents results of research on determinants of selection of the moment of starting running own business.

Methodology: The method of questionnaire research (partial) was used in the paper. 60 students of full-time studies in Poland, who were selected at random, took part in the research. The research constitute continuation of the researches on entrepreneurship conducted by the SES students of full time studies at the University in Szczecin since 2003.
Data obtained from presented research were compared in the paper with international material, which was collected in the previous editions (obtained from the Lithuanian, Latvian, Russian, Ukrainian and Hungarian students).

Conclusions: Results of the conducted research let positively verify the hypothesis that actual tendency of individuals to set up own business appears after few years of professional career – what explains quite substantial disproportion between percentage of people declaring willingness for setting up own business and actual percentage of self-employed in the working population. Preferences concerning this scope have infl uence on shaping the level of self-employment in a given country.

Practical implications: The material contained in the paper can be useful for appropriate public services, which deal with support of development of self-entrepreneurship of citizens, because of the fact of paying attention to analyzed relationships.

Originality: The results of presented research constitute an attempt of filling the gaps, which occur in the literature of subject concerning entrepreneurship. There are not papers concentrating on the issues of factors determining moment of choice of setting up one’s own business.

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.

in terms of the benefi ts for the cluster members. The paper examines which mechanisms within the clustersb promote knowledge creation between companies and other institutions.
Methodology: The literature review is based on databases of books and scientifi c articles, such as EBSCO, Elsevier, JSTOR, Springer, and the Oxford Library and Kingston University London Library. The analysis of the literature is focused around the concepts of business clusters, knowledge management in organizations, knowledge management in clusters.

Findings: The literature presented in this paper shows that network forms of organization such as clusters are conducive to inter-fi rm knowledge and skill development. Clusters as a type of network turn out to be a highly structured model of knowledge development, transfer and diffusion, produced by the interaction of social and economic relations within cluster institutions.

Research implications: The article constitutes a combination of two theoretical aspects – knowledge management and business clusters. The theoretical conclusions of the literature review, mostly foreign literature, provide a basis for research in that area.

Practical implications: In the Polish literature on the subject the aspect of knowledge management in business clusters has not yet been discussed. The conclusions of the presented literature analysis provide a basis for research and the development of practical recommendations for cluster managers. Knowledge-based clusters can serve as an example for developing clusters in the world. They are often clustered around research centers,
making it possible to improve the exchange of knowledge between the cluster members and also providing the opportunity to better connect the world of science and business.

Originality: The author has presented a unique mix of theory, knowledge management and business clusters and has demonstrated that one of the benefi ts of business clusters is their ability to generate knowledge by combining existing information and data from internal databases of businesses within clusters with the infl ux of new information.

Formal contacts between the employees of the cooperating institutions provide general knowledge and
best practices based on collective knowledge. While informal contacts are important channels for the transfer of
tacit knowledge, the so-called operational know-how