Purpose – Financial stability has become a focal point for central banks since the global financial crisis. However, the optimal mix between monetary and financial stability policies remains unclear. In this study, the “soft” approach to such policy mix was tested – how often monetary policy (in inflation reports) analyses financial stability issues. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.
Design/methodology/approach – A total of 648 inflation reports published by 11 central banks from post-communist countries in 1998-2019 were reviewed using a text-mining method.
Findings – Results show that financial stability topics (mainly cyclical aspects of systemic risk) on average account for only 2%of inflation reports’ content. Although this share has grown somewhat since the global financial crisis (in CZ, HU and PL), it still remains at a low level. Thus, not enough evidence was found on the use of a “soft” policy mix in post-communist countries.
Practical implications – Given the strong interactions between price and financial stability, this paper emphasizes the need to increase the attention of monetary policymakers to financial stability issues. Originality/value – The study combines two research areas, i.e. monetary policy and modern text mining techniques on a sample of post-communist countries, something which to the best of the authors’ knowledge has not been sufficiently explored in the literature before.

Purpose – The aim of this article is to investigate how the use of financial instruments influences the development of Regional Development Funds (RFR) in Poland and to assess the maturity and coherence of the regional development financing system in this country.
Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on the multilevel governance literature and on data collected during 26 in-depth interviews in regional, national and international institutions.
Findings – The authors demonstrate that the use of financial instruments stimulates new kinds of cooperation between several institutions and contributes to the establishment of RFR. The authors also show that the Polish regional financing system is still developing and formulate recommendations about necessary improvements.
Originality/value – The main contribution of this article, in addition to taking up a new, relevant topic for the regional development policy in countries benefiting from European Union (EU) cohesion policy, is the application of the multilevel governance (MLG) concept to explain the development of the Polish regional development financing system. Moreover, the significant added value of this study comes from the use of data collected during 26 in-depth interviews (IDI) in regional, national and international institutions on the use of
repayable instruments in regional development policy.

Purpose: Industry 4.0 (I40) is an open window of opportunity for Turkey, a developed country, to eliminate technological dependence and produce with maximum productivity. However, I40, which corresponds to the fourth wave of industrial revolutions, brings both opportunities and challenges. In this context, this study aims to reveal the foresight of managers in the Turkish white goods industry (TWGI) regarding the advantages and challenges of I40 and compare them with the literature.

Design/methodology/approach: The Delphi method was used for the study. Data were collected from managers of companies that are members of the White Goods Suppliers Association (BEYSAD). Seventy managers from 55 companies participated in the first round, and 19 managers participated in the second round of Delphi.

Findings: The results show that the most frequently cited advantages are productivity/resource efficiency, data and information-enabled effectiveness/productivity, quality 4.0 and competitiveness/strategy. The most frequently mentioned challenges are financial resources/investment, employee qualification/training, technical/processual challenges and organizational transformation/leadership.

Research limitations/implications: The sample was limited to the managers of the TWGI.
Practical implications: Players in similar ecosystems and policymakers should consider the advantages and respond to potential challenges when creating roadmaps, taking the necessary steps and positioning themselves in the marketplace. In particular, the TWGI – Turkey’s showcase in international markets – should consider the undeniable benefits of the I40 transition to increase innovation.

Originality/value: The findings for the first time highlight the advantages and challenges of I40 in an industry in Turkey, and they will benefit the TWGI, which is among the leaders in Turkey in terms of digital maturity and innovation in its journey to I40.

Purpose: The article considers country-level governance factors (legal/regulatory system and financial development) and ownership concentration that impact the value of non-financial firms in Central European nations, specifically by describing a study done in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

Methodology: A fixed effect panel data regression analysis was applied to a strongly balanced panel data using a collection of six diverse Central European countries’ non-financial firms across the sample period of 2010–2020.

Results: According to regression analysis, the legal and regulatory system as well as financial development have a positive relationship with firm value. The firm’s value rises as the legal and regulatory system improves. Furthermore, the growth of financial markets adds to the firm’s value. However, our study reveals a negative relationship between ownership concentration and firm value, which indicates that ownership concentration is too high to allow for effective supervision, implying that more ownership concentration lowers firm value, as the expropriation theory suggests.

Originality: The study examines the value of a firm by incorporating both country- and firm-level factors, which broadens the current literature’s insight.
Implications: Overall, our findings add to the literature on the value of non-financial firms by providing new significant information. Some of the recommendations may be beneficial to the long-term success of non-financial companies.

Purpose: The main purpose of the article is to determine the key success factors of enterprise risk management systems, understood as the characteristics of these systems that have the greatest impact on the effectiveness of their functioning.

Methodology: Bearing in mind the most accurate determination of key success factors of enterprise risk management systems, I used several research methods. The conducted research was divided into four stages: (1) literature review, (2) financial statements analysis, (3) individual in-depth interviews, and (4) anonymous surveys. The research embraced enterprises operating in Poland.

Findings: Based on the literature analysis, in-depth interviews, and conducted surveys, a list of risk management systems’ success factors was created and sorted in the order from the most important ones – that have the greatest impact on the success of risk management – to the least important ones.

Additional analysis of financial statements of all WSE-listed companies allowed me to discern that few of the surveyed companies use mature modern ERM systems, and it enabled me to identify a group of companies that qualified to participate in the survey. Moreover, a statistically significant positive correlation appeared between the degree of key success factors’ implementation and the overall ERM implementation’s impact on the organization, while a statistically significant negative correlation emerged between the overall impact of ERM implementation on the organization and the degree of ERM implementation goals’ achievement, but also between the degree of the implementation of key success factors and the degree of the ERM implementation objectives’ implementation. Moreover, I noted that the fact of using individual features has no significant impact on the assessment of a given feature by respondents.

Implications: All factors included in the study are success factors of risk management systems. However, the surveys’ results suggest a different level of individual factors’ significance, thus a different degree of these factors impact on risk management success.

Originality/Value: The article presents an original set of key success factors in risk management systems, created based on my own research. The obtained research results can be used by managers willing to implement or develop risk management systems in their organizations.

Purpose: The goal of the article is to systematize the literature related to the role of stakeholder engagement in corporate social practices and related disclosures by identifying the main theoretical lenses, research methods, and topics undertaken by authors of articles under scrutiny.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The article systematically reviews and discusses existing studies in the area of management, social and environmental accounting, intellectual capital, ethics, and accounting. We identify and subsequently analyze 68 articles published over the years 2010–2020.

Findings: According to the study findings, stakeholder theory is most often used as a theoretical background. The survey is the most popular research method, while stakeholder engagement in social practices is the most common research problem investigated by the articles’ authors. Corporate stakeholders’ communication on social media is a new topic that emerged in the literature in the studied period.

Research Limitations/Implications: Our analysis is restricted to articles published in journals included in the ABDC Journal Quality List that are ranked B, A, and A* in a 10-years period.

Practical Implications: The article’s findings may be useful for researchers and practitioners who deal with corporate social practices, disclosures, and stakeholders’ roles in these processes.

Originality/Value: The paper offers an up-to-date literature review, identifies the main themes, research gaps, and provides relevant guidance for future research.

Purpose: The article analyzes the possible methods of public debt management, which not only aim to meet regulatory requirements but also obtain a market premium in the form of an optimal level of the yield on government bond yields that will be profitable for the issuer. The study analyzes the situation in the public finance sector in the countries that form the Visegrád Group (V4). The authors evaluate the main regulatory requirements of EU law in the area of numerical fiscal rules and their impact on the yield on basic securities such as ten-year government bonds, which directly influences the cost of servicing long-term public debt.

Methodology: The study uses desk research method for theoretical reasoning to verify the research hypothesis. The study seeks to answer the question of whether the application of national and EU fiscal rules in V4 budgetary frameworks contributes to lower yields on ten-year bonds and thereby reduces the cost of public debt. The authors utilize time series and cause-effect analysis as well as quantitative research for the systematization of statistical information and regression analysis for the examination of statistical dependencies.

Findings: The basic parameters subject to financial assessment within the fiscal rules index are (1) the deficit of public finance sector and (2) public debt with its servicing costs. In 2005–2016, the ratio of the public finance sector deficit to GDP was shaped in such a way that most V4 countries required the institution of excessive deficit procedures and further disciplinary regulations. The assessment of the situation in the public finance sector in the area of budget deficit and public debt does not translate into the yield on government bonds of non-Eurozone countries. Model-based testing indicates that the financial markets – when deciding to evaluate or purchase government bonds of non-Eurozone countries – failed to acknowledge the implementation of fiscal rules in these countries and its possible effects.

Originality: The study focuses on a unique comprehensive analysis of national fiscal rules employed in individual V4 countries and their impact on the yield on government bonds throughout the entire EU membership of the V4. What holds the greatest cognitive value in this article is the answer to the question of whether Eurozone membership impacts the valuation of a country’s public debt.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the content of disclosures presented by public companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on the internal control and risk management systems in relation to financial reporting.

Methodology: The study contents were formulated with the use of literature studies. Content analysis studies and disclosure index studies were used for the study of narrative disclosures. The research was of a qualitative nature.

Results: The results showed that the companies listed on the Polish capital market are still at the stage of formulating reporting practices in the area of control systems over financial reporting. It should be noted that the diversity in information presented within disclosures about control systems over financial reporting is considerable. For some companies, the disclosures are formulated at such a high level of generality that no firm conclusions can be drawn. Detailed items of disclosures presented by particular companies can be identified in the reporting practices. The findings may provide the basis for constructing an index of disclosures about control systems over financial reporting.
Scope of research: The study examined disclosures about internal control and risk management systems in relation to financial reporting presented by public companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Originality: Disclosures about internal control and risk management systems in relation to financial reporting are a relatively new issue in Polish practice. The literature studies carried out as part of the research indicate that this issue is a research gap.

Purpose: The goal of the paper is to analyse the determinants of the level of ROE (return on equity) for two groups of banks, interrelated by capital links, and their banking sectors.

Methodology: For the case study, we chose companies that, in 2011–2013, were designated by the Financial Stability Board as global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) and their subsidiaries operating in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) as well as their banking sectors. We sought to identify differences in the performance drivers, taking into account bank-specific and country- (or sector-) specific factors.

Findings: We found no significant differences in the level of ROE among the analysed groups; however, we identified a different set of determinants and their impact on ROE.

Purpose: To analyse the issue of public debt in Poland and examine its effect on other areas of socio-economic life as well as government policy.
Approach: The question of public debt is placed in its historical context by looking at how it grew during the Communist system and influenced the transition period. The article draws on a range of secondary economic statistics and considers in detail a number of public policy issues, such as the reform of the pension system.

Findings: One result of the large debt incurred by the end of the 1970s was that Poland became indebted to creditors in the West. This dependency helped to shape its economic policy at the end of the 1980s. The transition to a market economy placed new burdens on the country’s public services, primarily due to the resulting large deactivation of labour. Furthermore, the creation of a compulsory private pension system at the end of the 1990s diverted significant funds out of the government’s budget and swelled the country’s public debt. Since the outbreak of the economic crisis, Poland has avoided a recession by increasing public investment by utilising available European Union funds. However, due to internal and external limits on the size of its public debt, the government is being pressured to reduce this spending. In order to create more fiscal room, the government has partly dismantled the compulsory private pension system as a short-term solution to the growing debt crisis.

Value: In the wake of the global financial crisis and economic turmoil in the European Union, the matter of public debt has taken on increased importance. This paper considers this question from a long-term perspective in a country that has been relatively successful during the international economic downturn. By examining public debt from this broad perspective, we can better understand the economic situation in Poland and the European Union, whilst also shedding light on some of the surrounding academic perspectives and public policy debates.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to present the extent to which indicators applied by logistics
providers in Poland measure logistics-related processes and performance in the context of implementing
the concept of management accounting in the enterprises that were researched.

Methodology: The research methods used by the authors included a literature review of mainly
German and Polish publications and survey research conducted in 2011–2013 among logistics
enterprises in Poland. This study served as the basis for verifying four hypotheses and formulating
conclusions.

Findings: The main results of this study showed that management accounting systems are implemented
in about half of then logistics providers in Poland covered by the survey. 75% of all enterprises
conducted indicator analysis to evaluate logistics processes, costs and performance, and
90% of the indicators used by these enterprises were of a financial nature.

Research limitations: The main limitation of the research was associated with conducting the survey.
The low return rate of completed questionnaires did not allow for a detailed analysis of the undertaken
subject to be conducted. Moreover, the research results cannot be generalized to all logistics
companies in Poland.
Originality: The study was the first review of the application of indicators in logistics companies
in Poland in relation to the implementation of the management accounting concept. The study
provides knowledge about how Polish logistics enterprises use indicators as an important management
accounting instrument.

Purpose: Recently, magic has been given increasing attention by psychologists for what it can reveal about how the human cognitive system works. This paper examines whether these same cognitive processes are at play in another arena, specifi cally, the presentation of fi nancial accounting information.

Approach: The authors reviewed the fi ndings of cognitive scientists from their studies of magicians and applied these to the activities of professional accountants.

Findings: Specific cognitive processes which magicians and accountants take advantage of, explicitly for one and implicitly for the other, are the same: good continuation, habituation, and attentional capture.

Value: Further research regarding such interactions between accounting and cognition has potential for enhancing our understanding of both. Certainly at this particular point in accounting history, as standard setters seem to be moving ever closer to implementing some version of a principles-based accounting regime versus our current rules-based accounting regime, it is worthwhile to contemplate the conscious and subconscious effects of cognitive processes on how individuals perceive financial information.

Purpose: The paper discusses issues associated with using funds that support the development of entrepreneurship – the purpose of the paper is to answer questions regarding the purposefulness and effectiveness of financial instruments from EU funds aimed at the development of emerging businesses (startups).

Methodology: The paper analyzes previously conducted research studies in the fi eld of the discussed topic, it systematizes and describes the fi nancial instruments from EU funds supporting self-employment and startups in their early stages of activity. It also provides an overview of evaluation reports concerning these instruments.

The paper also contains a case study: an analysis of the effectiveness of a selected project supporting the development of entrepreneurship (co-fi nanced from EU funds), in which the method of evaluating the net effect of the support in the short term has been used.

Findings: An analysis of previously conducted research studies has shown that properly designed State aid targeted at those starting up their own business is sensible, as it provides them with seed capital and it helps them survive the most diffi cult period of the so-called “startup”. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies to confirm the positive impact of business support interventions carried out using EU funds. The methodology of evaluating the net effect used by the Author in the conducted study has made it possible to identify the actualsize of the – positive – impact of the selected project on the growth of self-employment.

Limitations: The study revealed some limitations – the method and time of the study allow to capture the phenomenon on a micro-scale, in the short term. The institutions that are involved in the process of allocating funds should develop a comprehensive methodology that implements the idea of evaluating the net effect, allowing to assess the effectiveness of the support at regional and national level in the long term.

Originality: The originality of the paper consists in applying the theories and results of previous studies to the Polish practice of supporting businesses at their early stages of development as well as applying the method of evaluating the net effect, which allows to determine the actual impact of the intervention.

Purpose: Modernity consists of many confl icting aspects: It brings many empty promises, yet has resulted in new institutions that create bridges between the values and interests of millions of people who seek freedom, prosperity, quality of life, strengthened democracy and social justice. In this paper I attempt to a gain and loss account against modernity, because institutional rules are not only conducive to cooperative interactions, but to hostile interactions as well. People are not always guided by moral commitment, but rather more often driven by cold calculation or coercion.

Methodology: Modernity has at least three defi nitions. The fi rst defi nition is based on ideas that took over the imagination of the era. The second defi nition is based on an analysis of the behavior of people who respond to reason as well as emotion and believe that they act more rationally than their ancestors or the traditional “others”. The third defi nition is the one closest to my heart, consisting of the use of institutional categories.
Institutions offer practical ways of connecting ideas and people. The challenge for them is the result of deepening local and national interdependencies, but increasingly often also regional (e.g. European) and global. Interdependencies are the result of the scientifi c and technological revolution, global markets, global governance mechanisms, the emergence of new social forces and cultural confl icts (against the background of reconciling identity and differences).

Conclusions: The most important task is to identify the mechanisms of complex systems so that people know how to act under conditions of uncertainty, risk and crisis. Hence, the expectations toward institutions often exceed their abilities. Even though new institutions are being created and old ones are being fixed, we are witnessing and participating in, institutional paralysis and the decay (e.g. corruption). In this situation, it is imperative not only to improve control methods (e.g. legal), but also to resort to normative systems (values and identity) and knowledge (competence and skills). The source of this paralysis is often man himself, convinced of his own maturity and equipped with all sorts of rights, but manipulated on a scale not yet seen in the past. We are experiencing our own struggle as to what roles are closest to us, e.g. consumer, investor, or citizen?

Research Implications: Modernity is an emblematic, but confusing term. Therefore, the most important task is to identify the activities of complex systems, so that people know how to act under conditions of uncertainty, risk and crisis. People – agencies must operate in structures that defi ne the boundaries of their actions. The main task of social sciences is to identify the conditions for the construction of successful confi gurations of agencies and structures.

Originality: Sometimes the “old” is better than the “new”, but to adopt this as a principle of life would be a mistake. It is better to think that the “new” is a metamorphosis of the “old”, sometimes expected, sometimes not. Based on the example of capitalism – fi rst commercial capitalism, then industrial capitalism, and today financial capitalism – I demonstrate how the mechanisms of institutional morphogenesis work, with emphasis on structured cooperation and organized conflict.

Purpose: The paper aims at identifying the major information gaps related to the financial sector that have emerged during the last years, including the explanation of the reasons and consequences of these gaps.

Methodology: The analysis is conducted using the descriptive methodology based on real developments in the financial sector. This analysis identifies substantial institutional changes within the financial sector combined with the introduction of new financial instruments that significantly increased information gaps related to financial developments.

Findings: We found that one of the main reasons for the breakdown in the financial liquidity market was the sudden buildup of a systemic risk caused, among other things, by substantial information gaps and limitations in the transparency of financial markets. The low transparency of the financial markets has been caused by institutional changes and new financial instruments introduced within the financial sector. They were introduced by the financial institutions themselves to facilitate very risky financial activities that were very profitable for them in the short term, but – as it occurred – very disruptive for the whole financial system and the whole economy in the longer term.

Research limitations: The analysis is limited only to the consideration of the causes and consequences of statistical gaps substantially reducing the transparency of the financial sector. A more comprehensive project should also explore and provide an appropriate proposal for remedy data and – even more important – a proposal to setup a macroprudential policy framework.

Originality: The original contribution of the paper is the link between specific institutional changes within the financial sector as well as new financial instruments and the emergence of particular information gaps.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to confirm the thesis that the amount of public funds expenditure has no impact on the effectiveness of state functioning, which – to a greater extent – is dependent on the efficiency of these funds. In the article, the author claims that in the case of the European Union there is no explicit evidence concerning the efficiency of public funds in Member States – both on the micro and macro level.

Methodology: A literature review conducted on the basis of collections of academic and scientific articles and an analysis of particular solutions implemented in the European Union and in OECD Member States as well as concerning the consolidation of public funds in the context of the effectiveness of state functioning.

Originality: The author of this work – on the basis of the (performed) analysis presented in the article, explains that the optimal fiscal policy should use appropriately selected tools allowing to achieve the best (optimal) method for the management of public funds, in particular the external and internal position of the economy of the given country. The key factors that decide on the effectiveness (excluding non-financial factors) are neither
universal (absolute) nor relative extent of public spending. The author concludes that the level of effectiveness is either dependent on the structure of this spending and procedures connected with public expenditure planning, executing, accounting and reporting processes, or the level (quality) of the effectiveness and efficiency evaluation system.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to define the factors that contribute to the use of the category of accountability not only in the formal meaning (public finance discipline), but also for the needs of public management (effectiveness of public finances).

Methodology and findings: The article indicates that one of the conditions to ensure the effectiveness of public finances in the fight against the crisis is the use of accountability rules relating to the process of public finance management. The article is based on the concept of quality of public finances and institutional arrangements used for the management of public finances.

Originality: This article presents two dimensions of accountability: first is the traditional approach to accountability equated with responsibility for public finance discipline; second is the modern approach in which accountability is a kind of public authority program built on the commitment to achieve the purpose and the need to account for the results. The article indicates that the category of accountability can be regarded as part of the public financial management system, both at the national and supranational level.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to show the conditions of the EU against the realities of the global economy in the post-crisis era, an indication of which are the determinants of the development of the competitive advantage of the Community.

Methodology: An analysis of the determinants of growth at different stages of the process of EU integration with particular emphasis on optimum currency area criteria for the euro zone crisis, under asymmetric demand shock.

Findings: The last global crisis has highlighted the structural weaknesses of the EU, which in times of economic prosperity can be compensated by a system of transfers and the mechanism of credibility borrowing. With such a strong crisis Europe needs more growth.

Research limitations: The costs of this crisis affect the Community, significant for both public finances and the standard of life, but are also visible on a global scale, which is difficult to estimate.

Originality: An ex ante perspective on the determinants that will not only restore EU’s position in the world, but also did not miss an opportunity to play a significant role in the rapidly changing global economy, the twenty first century.