Purpose – Coopetition is ubiquitous in the economy, but managing effectively this type of relationship between firms remains a challenge for many organizations. This paper investigates the coopetition within corporate groups and focus on factors that determine the simultaneous competition and cooperation between subsidiaries therein.
Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on a dataset of 121 corporate groups listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), this paper theoretically advances and empirically validates the impact of 18 factors which determine the coopetition relationship.
Findings – This study’s findings confirm the importance of an organizational design among external and internal drivers of intrafirm coopetition. However, the role of an environmental uncertainty as a driver of intrafirm coopetition is not proven. Furthermore, the paper finds that internal determinants explain the phenomenon of coopetition between subsidiaries within a corporate group more than determinants related to the environment.
Originality/value – The paper contributes to the coopetition theory by empirical identification of drivers of intrafirm coopetition and advances the corporate groups studies by exploring internal relationships (cooperation and competition) and the determinants therein.

Purpose: To analyze search funds as a new group of investment vehicles in Poland that constitutes a group of potential investors for family companies facing the lack of succession.

Methodology: The theoretical part presents family businesses, considers the problem of succession in Poland, and analyzes the literature on available forms of divestment of a family business owner.

Moreover, the article presents the roots of search funds creation and their characteristics, which reveals these investment vehicles as theoretically perfect for family businesses without successors. The empirical part presents a study into the sale of a Polish family business to a search fund, which was the first and only search fund deal in Poland until the end of 2020.

Findings: The study revealed that the sale of a family business to a search fund should be included in the catalog of possible forms of divestment of a family business owner facing the lack of successors.

Originality: The article fills a gap in the literature on family entrepreneurship in the context of
selling a business to a search fund in Poland, which has not yet been indicated as one of the methods for owners to exit a business.

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 article aims to examine the impact of women’s decision-making power in families on their gender stereotypes about business executives in the promising but insufficiently explored regions of Central Europe (CE) and Central Asia (CA).

Methodology: The study utilized multiple linear regression and Spearman’s correlation coefficients to analyze survey data (No=6,869) from Central European (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) and Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan).
Findings: Central Asian women demonstrated stronger gender stereotypes about business executives compared to the Central European sample. Equally shared power in decision-making with a part-ner has a positive impact on weakening women’s gender stereotypes about top managers. Men’s unilateral decision-making correlates with their spouses’ higher gender bias, whereas independent women’s decisions do not reveal a relationship with their gender stereotypes.

Research limitations: The study does not control respondents’ marital and mother’s status and excludes one of the Central Asian states, namely Turkmenistan.

Research implications: Policymakers can use the present findings to forecast how familialist pol-icies reproduce gender stereotypes and inhibit gender equality. The research complements the specificity of the vicious cycle linking gender roles and stereotypes in the context of CE and CA and expands the “family cage” phenomenon.

Originality/value: First massive research on gender stereotypes about business executives embrac-ing the Visegrad Group and four Central Asian states. The study discovers the internal aspect of family impact on women’s views of top managers that has been neglected before.

Objective: The objective of the article is to fill a research gap regarding the impact of psychic distance on the initiation of relationships by managers from Poland-based firms and to analyze the psychic distance’s influence on firm performance.

Research methodology: The article is based on quantitative research conducted among managers from 201 Poland-based companies operating in foreign markets. The study used a structured questionnaire consisting mainly of closed questions. The dataset contained companies representing all sizes, industries, and ownership status from all over Poland.

Findings: Two types of companies were identified following managers’ (un)willingness to initiate relationships with actors located in psychically distant markets. The study conclusions reveal that psychic distance matters for Polish managers and that business activities conducted in psychically distant markets are often perceived as more complex than in close markets. These activities involve additional risk, but they bring companies better performance.

Limitations: The limitation of the study is that the measurements are based on the subjective perceptions of psychic distance. The research was conducted in Poland only.

Originality: The article is a pioneer work on the psychic distance paradox among Polish managers from a diversified group of companies (from small to multinational). The article seeks to identify to what extent Polish managers perceive psychic distance as an important factor in the decision-making process concerning the initiation of relationships with foreign partners.

Purpose: This study investigates the determinants of audit committee (AC) formation in a semi-mandatory setting of a European economy, in which ownership and control are predominantly in the hands of families and business groups, and the voluntary practice of forming an AC has not been widely accepted.

Methodology: This research uses a sample of Polish nonfinancial firms listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) in 2008–2015. The study implemented logistic regression to test the role of the supervisory board (SB) and companies’ compositional characteristics in AC creation.

Findings: Primary analysis provided evidence of an inverted association between commonly accepted determinants of AC formation – such as the number of independent members on the supervisory board (SB) – and accounting and finance expertise of the SB members. The study also revealed that companies with foreign ownership are more likely to have an AC.

Originality: This study indicates an important relationship between the existence of other SB committees as a meaningful determinant of AC formation. This article is valuable for supervisory bodies and regulators as they provide insights into factors that influence audit committee formation.

Purpose: The study aims to identify the main directions of intragroup cooperation, along with crucial areas of cooperation in business groups, and develops theoretical models of cooperation in a business group.

Methodology: The qualitative approach is applied in the study that is based on the cross-case analysis of four business groups operating in Poland.

Findings: Results indicate that business groups cooperate mainly vertically (cooperation between the core company and affiliates) in operations. Horizontal (among affiliates) and vertical cooperation in other areas – marketing, R&D, finance, and human resources – are not so intense. The study enables us to propose a theoretical framework of cooperation models in business groups based on two dimensions – the direction of cooperation and the number of cooperation areas. It leads to the identification of four models: two-sided loose cooperation, two-sided tight cooperation, multi-sided loose cooperation, and multi-sided tight cooperation.

Implications: Identification of main directions of cooperation in business groups, along with areas of cooperation have implications for both researchers and managers. Findings of the study and the theoretical framework of cooperation models in business groups can be used as a basis for the further theoretical exploration of the organization and functioning of business groups in the economy and a strategic decision guideline for managers.

Originality: The literature focuses mainly on the interorganizational cooperation between dispersedly owned standalone entities. Studies on intraorganizational cooperation in business groups are limited. The study aims to provide a better understanding of cooperation between entities in business groups.

Purpose: The fundamental objective of this article is to discern whether business model maturity is perceived through the prism of the ability to deal with unexpected challenges, overcome unprecedented threats, and use emerging business opportunities (agility) or – perhaps – more as a feature of the organization, which makes a business model less vulnerable to unpredictable external changes or sets it in a better position to make it respond effectively to these changes (flexibility).

Methodology: The reconnaissance of opinions requires the creation of a catalog of desiderata that significantly identify agility and flexibility. Theoretical and design layers will use a method of reconstruction and interpretation of the subject literature supported by a discussion within a group of deliberately selected experts. This will be reflected in a set of parameters, on the one hand, characteristic of the categories of agility and flexibility and, on the other hand, reflecting business model maturity.

Findings: The conducted research allows us to state that mature business models – as implemented by the surveyed companies – are perceived rather through the prism of the strategic ability of enterprises to quickly adapt to unforeseen and sudden changes on the market (agility category).

Originality: The article includes not only academic postulates of agility or flexibility but also practical tips that enable constructing guidelines for decision-makers and managers of the agricultural machinery sector. The study carries a charge of a theoretical and empirical study. It takes into account knowledge and expert experience.

Purposes: The main goal of the paper is to determine the signifcance of selected sources of strategic information, used by Polish farmers in decision making. In addition, an attempt was made to determine the factors impacting the evaluation of those sources among the traits of the farmer and his farm.

Methodology: Data was gathered using the questionnaire method and analysed with standard tools of descriptive statistics.

Findings: The farmers deemed personalised sources of strategic information the most important, especially agricultural advisers, input suppliers and buyers of agricultural products. From among institutional (non-personalised) sources, local government and the chamber of agriculture were signifcant. Business information agencies and survey companies are the least important sources for farmers. The characteristics of the surroundings of the farm – specifcally, its geographic location and the size of settlement where it is located proved to have the widest impact on the evaluation of the sources included in the study. From among the organisational factors, only farm size has a signifcant impact.

Research limitations/implications: The study was confned to a representative group of farmers in Poland. A closed list of sources of strategic information was used.

Originality/value: The study results contribute to the knowledge on the functioning of Polish agriculture and may also be used in comparative studies, characterising this sector’s diversity within Europe. They can in turn contribute to properly focusing on supporting the policy of balanced agriculture development in the EU.

Purpose: The paper analyses etatist and liberal economic attitudes in Poland, their changes after the last economic crisis, and the differences in this respect between socio-occupational groups with a particular focus on managers, professionals, and business owners, on the one hand, and other working and non-working groups, on the other hand.

Methodology: Individual-level data from three representative surveys conducted in 2012,2 2016, and 2017 on stratifed random samples of the whole adult Polish population are analyzed. Findings: Despite public legitimization of economy based on private ownership and the free market, Polish public opinion still shows strong preference for public ownership and state interventionism. This preference slowly diminishes. It differs between various socio-occupational groups: managers, professionals, and business owners are more liberal than others, especially non-working people and farmers.

Research implications: Since strengthening the regulatory and controlling functions of the government in economic life is the recent tendency in Poland and other countries, the slowly growing liberal attitudes may counteract this direction. So far, however, the Polish public opinion strongly supports governmental intervention in the economy.

Originality: So far, no one wrote a similar analysis of changes in etatist and liberal economic attitudes in the post-crisis Poland.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to find out whether the online shopping behaviors ROPO and Reverse ROPO Effect differ between Poles and Germans.

Methodology: The author conducted quantitative research among Polish and German students (129 questionnaires). The measures for this study were hypotheses that tested in mean and comparative analysis.

Findings: In the context of online consumer behavior, the results indicate that consumers display different preferences for ROPO or Reverse ROPO Effect. These differences trace back to cultural differences, particularly different uncertainty avoidance levels, and different stage of e-commerce markets maturity.

Research implications: E-commerce markets constantly evolve and so does online consumer behavior. While immature e-commerce markets follow their mature counterparts, their respective online consumer behavior also evolves, currently displaying different tendencies in ROPO and Reverse ROPO Effect between markets.

Limitation: Respondents that cover all age groups would be more representative of the respective countries of analysis. Moreover, instead of a cross-sectional, one should conduct further research with a time-series study to capture trends in behavior adoption, which effect from the evolving nature of the e-commerce retail market.

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 purpose of this article is to present the findings of the author’s own studies on the
influence of owner-occupied property valuation by historical cost on fixed assets value of entities
at risk of bankruptcy.

Methodology: As part of the implementation of the study, objective desk research was carried out.
Empirical research was carried out on a group of 100 companies on which the courts had declared
bankruptcy. The study sample constituted 14% of all bankruptcy cases in 2011 and was a significant
representation of the national phenomenon.

Findings: The findings indicated that historical cost values of owner-occupied properties in most
cases are significantly lower that estimated fair value when business activities continuation is
threatened. The historical cost valuation also does not provide useful information about the market
value of property, plant and equipment of entities at risk of bankruptcy that do not possess real
estate.

Research limitations/implications: Information about market value of fixed assets of entities at
risk of bankruptcy is essential in making the decision to begin bankruptcy proceedings and estimating
the ability to repay debts to creditors.

Originality/value: The results are a part of the author’s own study concerning assets valuation
when business activities continuation is threatened. The results emphasize the role of fair value
estimation of property, plant and equipment when an entity is at risk of bankruptcy.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to make the reader acquainted with the linguistic identity of modern companies, taking into account its complexity and the multiplicity of factors creating its character. The author presents the theoretical aspects associated with linguistic heteroglossia in companies of the 21st century as well as the practical possibilities of using organizational multilingualism, showing the opportunities and challenges associated
with the dialogism of organizations.

Methodology: The issue of heteroglossia in the business environment is discussed to show the various aspects determining the linguistic dimension of organizational identity, paying special attention to corporate polyphony at the individual and group level as well as its implications for creating the linguistic performance of modern companies. In terms of the theoretical dimension of this paper, based on the postmodern and systemic traditions
in management, it presents the relation “language-individual-organization”. The practical part of the paper presents the challenges associated with managing a heteroglossic organization.

Findings: The conducted discussion on the issue of heteroglossia characterizing linguistic identity allows to show the various aspects and factors of the investigated phenomenon, which are present on both the individual and social level. The described issues associated with organizational multilingualism point to effective ways of managing linguistically diversifi ed organizations.

Practical implications: The investigated topic can be interesting not only for those involved scientifically in management, linguistics and widely-understood social sciences, but also for practitioners working in companies with a complex cultural and linguistic structure. The described theory followed by the discussion help understand how heteroglossia may infl uence the development of organizations as well as its potential and how to avoid mistakes in managing organizations with a multidimensional linguistic capital.

Originality: Taking into account the already-conducted investigations on corporate linguistic identity, the paper offers an approach that has not yet been investigated.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of corporate posturing and deception in the area of social and environmental responsibility, its main types and causes and to assess the actual scale of the problem.

Methodology: The paper discusses major issues with references to existing literature and practical examples.

Findings: The main fi nding of this paper is that environmental and social responsibility statements accurately represent corporate commitment in the majority of cases. There are a number of reasons for this state of affairs. The most important of them are: easy consumer and investor access to various sustainability ratings, the rising scale of external verifi cation of social responsibility reports by independent third parties and stakeholder groups, and the rising liability for corporate social responsibility frauds.

Research limitations: The paper explores issues related to the problems and challenges of fair and accurate corporate social reporting. Many questions remain to be addressed.
Practical implications: Social and environmental branding could give companies competitive advantage as a growing number of consumers become more sustainability-conscious. It could also help overcome the increasing skepticism of consumers towards corporate social responsibility practices.

Originality: The paper raises the importance of the different conditions of corporate disinformation in the field of social and environmental responsibility and adds value to the existing body of literature on corporate greenwashing.

Purpose: The aim of the article is to present a strategic model of inter-sectoral cooperation and its conditions, such as social responsibility and trust. The development of organizations depends on them, but also on relationships with business partners. The greater the integrity and social responsibility of the organization, the greater the trust and willingness of the business partners. The importance of trust should also be observed in the Polish reality, not only in business.

Methodology: The aim was achieved by discussing literature and presenting the results of focus discussion in groups. The end result was a conceptual model of NGO (non-governmental organization) – PA (public administration) cooperation (2012).

Findings: The conceptual model of NGO (non-governmental organization) – PA (public administration) cooperation seems to be an interesting and promising solution. It seems to be a significant task of both popularizing assumptions and providing building blocks for models. It could be considered to be a very useful tool. This model should provide a helpful framework for developing local standards that will be useful in inter-sectoral cooperation.

Originality: The novelty and originality of the study is the theoretical and practical presentation of the strengths of inter-sectoral cooperation.

Purpose: The objective of the article is to present the changes that have taken place
in relationships between business partners in the FMCG distribution channels in
Poland after 1989 and to identify the consequences for competitiveness in particular
groups of commercial enterprises. The scope of analysis covers relationships between
chains of large trade facilities and FMCG manufacturers and wholesale enterprises,
inclusive of cash and carry, as well as between goods suppliers and receivers.

Methodology: The article is prepared on the basis of relevant literature on cooperation
of enterprises in the distribution channels, as well as on the results of surveys
carried out by the Institute for Market, Consumption and Business Cycles Research
(IBRKK) in the 1990s and in the first years of the 21st century. It also includes
mid-2011 survey results among independent commercial enterprises and companies
operating in the chain as well as among FMCG producers. In individual periods, the
same research method is applied - face-to-face interviews, carried out among representatives of the surveyed firms. They were based on a questionnaire, which was
expanded in subsequent research periods with new aspects of cooperation between
enterprises, i.e. creation of private labels, training and consulting for business partners,
and integration processes.

Originality/value: The description and analysis of the phenomena and processes
occurring in relationships between subjects in various channels of FMCG distribution
covered multiple criteria. These include selection of a business partner, enterprise
position in its contacts with business partners, expected and achieved benefits
of cooperation, impediments and abnormalities occurring in contacts between the
goods supplier and the commercial company, and new areas of cooperation.