Purpose: Revenue management (RM) practices are well established in the hotel industry. Peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation is a distinctive alternative to hotels, which in its original intention, is managed by non-professionals. The main research question of this study was how the professionalism of P2P accommodation providers relate to their use of RM practices.

Research method: I performed statistical analysis of 479,282 pricing records for 25,827 properties offered through Airbnb in the period of 67 months (August 2015 – February 2021) in Poland. Two indicators of hosts’ professionalism (the number of properties they manage and the possession of superhost status) were tested against three RM practices (cancellation policy, minimum stay, and dynamic pricing).

Findings: This study clearly showed the intensification of P2P hosts’ professionalization in comparison to previous research. Moreover, it proved that professional and non-professional hosts’ behaviors significantly differ when it comes to RM practices application, but the discrepancies are not equally distinctive. The finding that brought a considerably different result in comparison to previous research was the negative relationship between a multi-unit host and minimum stay.

Implications and future research: This study should serve as a warning for hoteliers about the P2P hosts’ professionalization, as they become equal competitors. There are several future extensions to this study, including holiday destinations, testing other than hosts’ professionalism variables, or shedding light on the evolution of RM practices application could reveal valuable insights.

Originality: This study contributes to the existing research by offering the analysis of very recent longitudinal data and covering professional vs. non-professional P2P hosts’ behaviors in terms of three RM practices in Central-Eastern Europe settings.

Purpose: The article evaluates the associative relationship between international supervisory board experts and foreign ownership, along with the experts’ influence on the financial and operating performance of firms. The study was based on data collected for 257 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2010–2015.

Methodology: The dataset was built as a panel, and then generalized least squares regression models with a fixed or random effect were employed to test hypotheses.

Findings: The findings of the study clearly show that the presence of investigated firms in foreign markets positively affects company performance. Moreover, models with dependent variables ROA and ROS show that supervisory board members with foreign experience positively affect profitability indicators of firms that do not operate on foreign markets. The data analyses reveal that international experts are more effective advisors for companies that conduct no business activities on foreign markets. Furthermore, the results show a positive moderate association between the share of international experts in supervisory boards and the share of foreign ownership in the company.

Originality: The article contributes to the understanding of determinants and consequences of the presence of international experts in supervisory boards and company internationalization.

Purpose: The main purpose of the work is to present the results of the customer retention level in the automotive sector based on the proposed measurement indicators: “serviced and sold” (SESO) and “sold and serviced” (SOSE).

Design/methodology/approach: The study investigates the dealership of passenger cars belonging to one of the European automotive concerns. The following research methods were used in the article: systematic literature review, participant observation, and data mining.

Findings: As a result of the implementation of empirical proceedings, we proposed a theoretical model in terms of data flow in sales and aftersales service processes, thus enabling the design of SOSE and SESO retention indicators and their empirical verification in the examined organization.

Research limitations/implications: The presented indicators can be widely used in the analysis of retention of aftersales service clients. However, the presented research results cannot be applied to other organizations that provide similar results due to the non-probabilistically selected company.

Practical implications: The proposed indicators can be used by other organizations in different industries in assessing the level of retention in manufacturer-user and seller-user relations.

Originality/value: The study provides tools that allow for retention analysis from both the customer and product viewpoint. The concept has a universal value for enterprises that conduct sales and aftersales services under one structure.

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.

Purpose: In order to make an informed choice of the most effective tools for ensuring the development of a competitive economy, it is important to take into account the links between macroeconomic indicators of progress and the most important components of knowledge management. In this regard, the aim of our study is to assess the relationship between knowledge management factors and economic growth in order to select the factors that most determine the positive changes in Gross national income per capita.

Methodology/results: As a result of the systematization of the main international indices, which use knowledge management factors and the authors’ correlation analysis of their relationships with GNI per capita, conclusions are made about the greatest effectiveness at the present stage of action, which results in skills development (such as the ability to work with new technologies and with people, flexibility and cooperation), innovative capacity, access to information and means of communication.

Findings: The perception of these factors as determinants of economic development and the appropriate direction of the levers of economic policy will result in achieving the greatest economic efficiency on the basis of the development of the knowledge economy.

Purpose: This paper provides an empirical evaluation of R&D returns for a series of global companies who lead in innovation within the health care industry.

Methodology: The estimation procedure bases on two specifications: the parametric production function setting, and finite distributed lag model (FDL).

Findings: Using the most recent data on R&D investment by health care equipment and services along pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies, we confirm the positive albeit mitigated impact of R&D efforts on performance indicators (levels of sales). Moreover, we comment on the current phenomena observed in health care industry and offer a policy view for ongoing and future challenges in the sector.

Added value: Since there is a dearth of recent empirical evidence on R&D returns in the broad health industry, this paper offers the evaluation of economic incentives for companies to invest in R&D. These incentives embrace the induced increase in sales and profits levels. The authors participate in a public debate concerning the optimal levels of R&D rewards required to sustain the innovation within the sector.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital management and firm performance for firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Prior works have employed many indicators of the working capital. The results of previous studies, however, have been inconsistent. This study is an attempt to find out the best proxy of working capital in explaining firm’s performance.

Methodology: This study employs regression panels for five measures of working capital to model the data for fifty-four firm-year observations that meet the sampling criteria, covering the time 2010–2014. This study also uses adjusted R-squared as the criteria to select the strongest relationship between measures of working capital and firm performance.

Findings: The findings indicate that all proxies of working capital management met expected signs and statistical significance. Hence, working capital management significantly improves firms’ performance. The proxy of inventory turnovers is the best measure of working capital in explaining firm performance.

Originality: To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study examining the relationship between five measures of working capital management and firm performance in Indonesia or in any emerging markets; hence, this study contributes to the scarce literature on the management of working capital.

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: Summarize the experience of using modern methods in the business plan with the application of economic and mathematical modeling.

Methodology: Theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the basic principles of economic theory, agricultural economics and scientific research of leading home and foreign scholars on the theory of planning.

Originality: This further justifies business planning processes in agriculture from the standpoint of raising economic protection of farmers. The methodology for assessing farm income for planned indicators through the application of fuzzy numbers method in business planning is improved.

Purpose: The theory of endogenous growth suggests a number of relations between income inequality and human capital. However, empirical evidence in this field is scarce. Therefore, in this paper we aim to demonstrate the existence of interdependencies between income inequality and human capital across OECD countries.

Methodology: We present findings of the endogenous growth theory on the mechanisms linking inequality with human capital. Subsequently, we attempt to verify these links empirically using the regression function estimated by means of the generalized method of moments (GMM). The empirical analysis is based on panel data from 1995–2010.

Findings: The results of the study reveal the existence of a negative relationship between income inequality and health indicators (infant mortality and maternal mortality). However, we did not reach an authoritative conclusion about the relationship between income inequality and quantitative indicators of educational achievement.

Research limitations: Research is limited to the sample of OECD countries. Interdependencies between income inequality and human capital could be captured more clearly using a broader sample.

Originality: This paper presents one of few studies testing the relation between human capital and income inequality. The use of high-quality empirical data on inequality (SWIID data) and the generalized method of moments made it possible to contribute new arguments to the discussion of empirical analyses of these economic categories.

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 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: The research objective was to examine to what extent line manager competencies are
linked to intelligence, and more specifically, three types of intelligence: analytical (fluid), practical
and emotional.

Methodology: The research was carried out with line managers (N=98) who took part in 12 Assessment
Centre sessions and completed tests measuring analytical, practical and emotional intelligence.
The adopted hypotheses were tested using a multiple regression. In the regression model, the
dependent variable was a managerial competency (management and striving for results, social
skills, openness to change, problem solving, employee development) and the explanatory variables
were the three types of intelligence. Five models, each for a separate management competency,
were tested in this way.

Findings: In the study, it was hypothesized that practical intelligence relates to procedural tacit
knowledge and is the strongest indicator of managerial competency. Analysis of the study results
testing this hypothesis indicated that practical intelligence largely accounts for the level of competency
used in managerial work (from 21% to 38%). The study findings suggest that practical intelligence
is a better indicator of managerial competencies among line managers than traditionally
measured IQ or emotional intelligence.

Originality: This research fills an important gap in the literature on the subject, indicating the
links between major contemporary selection indicators (i.e., analytical, practical and emotional
intelligence) and managerial competencies presented in realistic work simulations measured using
the Assessment Centre process.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to analyze correlates of access to, use of and skills with PC and Internet tools with social characteristics such as occupational category, income and other indicators of status.

Methodology: The research reported here presents trend analysis and multiple regression results
based on nationally representative samples of Poles collected in 2003 and 2008. The data are from
the Polish Panel Study (POLPAN) collected by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish
Academy of Sciences.

Findings: The results showed that there are lingering disparities in PC ownership and Internet use
by occupational status (employed vs. unemployed) and occupational category. On the positive side,
all groups are more likely to possess a PC or use the Internet in 2008 relative to 2003. The results
further showed sharp disparities across occupational categories for PC skills. For example, while
100% of professionals claimed the ability to receive an email, only 51.5% of farmers attested to
such skill. A regression analysis showed that only PC ownership had a weak positive effect on later
income. Neither Internet use nor proficiency with PCs and the Internet were revealed to have
positive impacts on income after five years. The results of this study challenged the notion of the
digital divide. The analysis showed that, except in the case of access to a PC in the home, which
had a small impact on income growth, PC/Internet use and skills in Poland in recent years do not
have any statistically significant relationship with income. It was concluded that the finding where
two of the three factors are not correlated with income growth is evidence of digital parity or
a growing digital equality among citizens in modern Poland.

Purpose: To present author’s concept of the evaluation of bargaining power in negotiations (in particular business ones).

Methodology: The paper is based on the review and comparative analysis of literature. A universal (general) concept of assessment is applied. The stress is put on presenting characteristic of bargaining power as well as the elaboration of its evaluation criteria and constructing set of indicators (measures) refl ecting those criteria.

Findings: it occurred that an attempt of creating such a concept is effi cient. It can constitute a useful tool of evaluating bargaining power in different types of (business) negotiations, within the process of their planning. Nevertheless presented concept will be a subject of subsequent author’s research, focusing on its improvement, mainly by searching more precise measures of bargaining power.

Originality: in general the suggestion for solving complex and diffi cult problem of evaluating bargaining power is presented, rarely investigated in the literature on negotiations. In particular the set of evaluating criteria and measures of bargaining power is pointed out.

Purpose: The paper presents a review of the latest research on executive compensation and indicates the main problems and weaknesses of the existing solutions as well as trends for the future.

Methodology: In the analysis executive compensation constitutes a crucial element of corporate governance. The analysis is based on a review of the latest studies and research on the effectiveness of executive compensation referring to its size, structure and disclosure.

Findings: The paper presents the latest fi ndings in the practice of executive compensation and it points to the extension of the period of time giving rise to the payment of cash bonuses, the introduction of a range of different indicators, based on which executives are evaluated, simplifying compensation packages, the implementation of deferred payments, the introduction of the “say on pay” rule and clawbacks.

Practical implications: The analysis points out the main weaknesses of executive compensation, which were particularly emphasized in research studies on companies affected by the financial crisis. The paper presents a wide range of suggested solutions that could be implemented in the fi eld of executive compensation in order to provide for a better alignment of the interests of executives with those of shareholders and for the increase in shareholder value.

Originality/value: The paper attempts to identify the most severe corporate governance problems with reference to executive compensation and to confront them with research results as well as the recently proposed and implemented reforms and recommendations.