Purpose – This paper aims to present a study on the effect of income and expense shifting on the corporate income tax evasion – an example of intentional noncompliance practiced by tax agents. The authors expected that the tool used would differentiate the extent of understatement of tax liability.
Design/methodology/approach – Two experiments were conducted in which young (N 5 62) and experienced (N 5 68) tax agents read a scenario placing them in a position of an employee responsible for tax planning and calculations of tax liabilities. The respondents’ task was to decide about the extent of the tax liability understatement using income or expense shifting.
Findings – Research demonstrated significantly higher extent of corporate income tax understatement when using income shifting compared to expense shifting in case of experienced tax agents (Study 2) and on tendency level among young tax agents (Study 1).
Research limitations/implications – Results of the studies might be of interest to managers paying attention to tax procedures within the company, governmental agencies investigating corporate tax evasion, as well as educators responsible for tax agents’ initial training and lifelong learning.
Originality/value – This study concentrates on tax agents who are employed in companies and corporate income tax evasion, which has not been analyzed in the literature so far.

Purpose: This research focuses on firm resources and capabilities used for value co-creation in service innovation. Specifically, I investigated how service innovation is created in an in-ternational engineering company. The aim of this article is to reveal what resources and capa-bilities are employed by a service provider for value co-creation in the innovation project of engineering service and how they vary in particular stages of this project.

Methodology: The research is based on qualitative methodology by a multi-case study strate-gy. Focus group discussion with senior managers and semi-structured interviews with project managers of the studied international engineering company were used as concrete data gather-ing methods. Data analysis was conducted using the content analysis method.

Findings: The research revealed eight value co-creation activities accomplished by the engi-neering company and client during the engineering service innovation project. The activities are as follows: co-identification of the client’s problem, co-evaluation of ideas, co-defining of client’s requirements, co-analysis of environment, co-design, co-testing, and co-adoption, co-production, and co-activities after the launch. These activities are diffused in different project stages and demand a range of resources: expert knowledge, diagnostic, communication skills, trust, experience, technological equipment, human resources. Moreover, they require diverse capabilities: relational, innovative, analytical, negotiation, knowledge absorptive, planning, organizational flexibility, and cross-cultural. The intensity and variety of using the mentioned resources and capabilities differ relying on the value co-creation activity. Expert knowledge, communication skills as resources, and relational and innovative capabilities were empha-sized by the researchers most often. We hope these findings will represent a step toward a more coherent resource-based view (RBV) and service innovation theories.

Implications: The study involved only one Lithuanian engineering company, so the research context may influence the findings. Another limitation is related to the small number of cases and research participants.

Originality: Unlike previous studies that revealed the importance of single resources and ca-pabilities for service innovation, this study determined the range of resources and capabilities employed in different activities of engineering service innovation project stages, especially in the value co-creation activities performed by the engineering company and clients. Moreover, research also identified how resources and capabilities vary at different stages of these pro-jects.

Purpose: The paper examines auditors’ experiences with corporate governance (CG) in general and
audit committees (ACs) in particular in the setting of a Polish two-tier board system and a capital
market characterized by high ownership concentration, which therefore extends the research on
CG practices of an economy beyond the well-researched Anglo-American model.

Methodology: This study adopts a qualitative research approach by using interview data from
fifteen interviews with auditors working with large publicly-listed companies in Poland to examine
the relationships among auditors, Audit Committees, and CG.

Findings: The auditors indicate that the CG environment has changed. However, the institutionalization
of an AC in Poland generally is the subject of coercive isomorphic pressures, which lead
to its decoupling and transition toward a ritualistic role. Moreover, auditors report only some
reliance on CG information in the planning phase and none in the field-testing or review phases.

Originality: The findings differ from those of prior studies conducted predominantly in the USA
and the UK, in which auditors reported far greater reliance on CG in all phases of the audit process.
The two possible reasons for this difference in findings could be the different development stages
between capital markets and different CG systems.

Purpose: Strategy determines the patterns of internationalization. The speed, scale, and scope of
internationalization are important dimensions from the perspective of firms’ behaviors and activities.
The aim of the article is to identify and verify the relationship between the international
strategy and its impact on three dimensions of the studied phenomenon.

Methodology: The article uses a quantitative approach. The survey was conducted on a sample of
355 internationalized firms from Poland, varying in size.

Findings: The analysis with t test and U test (ANOVA) shows a correlation between a company’s
international strategy as a planning instrument and the speed and scope of internationalization.

Research limitations/implications: While considering a firm’s development, especially its international
growth, one should plan the activities related to entering into foreign markets. The results
presented in this article are just a starting point for further analyses. In an attempt to eliminate its
limitations, further research should focus on building a comprehensive model that includes the
remaining components of international strategy and other categories that stimulate internationalization
processes.

Originality: The originality of this article lies in three elements: (i) the article comprehensively
captures the scale, scope, and speed of internationalization at the same time, (ii) the strategy is
introduced as a determining factor of the scale, scope, and speed of internationalization, and (iii)
the article enriches empirical studies about emerging markets such as Poland.

Purpose: The article discusses the pace of internationalization by empirically verifying the speed of internationalization of Polish international firms and identifying which pattern is more frequently used by international startups from Poland: born global or born regional.

Methodology: The article employs a quantitative approach. It builds on a sample of 355 international businesses from Poland (CATI survey).

Findings: By using t test, U test, and ANOVA, the analysis showed a correlation between the compa-ny’s international strategy as a planning instrument and the speed and scope of internationalization. Research limitations/implications: Based on prior studies from other parts of the globe, we assume that among Polish companies the number of born regionals – i.e. businesses that are international from their inception – is growing, while their activity is mainly restricted to the European Union. Among Polish international firms, there are many born global. In the studied sample (selected randomly), the share of born globals was 61.5%, and global startups 43%, which is a very high rate. The results enable to adopt a hypothesis that the number of Polish-born regionals is relatively high in comparison with the traditional path and born globals.

Originality/value: The article describes one of the first studies to (i) capture the phenomenon of born regionals in Poland and (ii) enrich empirical studies on emerging markets such as Poland.

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: This study was of a theoretical character and aimed at presenting various descriptions of the interactions between all possible pairs of four well-known negotiating styles dependent on personality traits.

Methodology: This study was based on analysis of the interactions as well as authors’ experiences from their observations and analyses on human behaviors during numerous negotiations and role-play exercises arranged at the courses for practitioners. The stress was put on analyzing the interactions occurring between people representing both different and the same negotiating styles.

Findings: The attempt at describing such interactions was successful and promising for farther research. The concept constitutes a useful tool for analyzing human behavioral aspects of different types of business negotiations, within the process of their planning, conduct and evaluation. Nevertheless, the concept will be a subject of subsequent authors’ research, focusing on its improvement mainly by searching more precise features of negotiating styles and interactions between them.

Practical implications: The concept can be applied to analyze many real negotiation situations as well as within the experiment to be arranged by the authors to examine those interactions within the hundreds of pairs of negotiators solving particular case studies. Thus the description of such interactions can be treated as a specific hypothesis.

Originality: In general, the suggestion for solving complex, difficult and essential issues of negotiating styles was presented but was rarely investigated in the literature on negotiations. In particular, an original concept of describing the interactions between those styles was suggested.

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 objective of this paper is to describe concepts and assumptions of predictive marketing analytics in reference to decision making. In particular, we highlight issues pertaining to the importance of data and the modern approach to data analysis and processing with the purpose of solving real marketing problems that companies encounter in business.

Methodology: In this paper authors provide two study cases showing how, and to what extent predictive marketing analytics work can be useful in practice e.g., investigation of the marketing environment. The two cases are based on organizations operating mainly on Web site domain. The fi rst part of this article, begins a discussion with the explanation of a general idea of predictive marketing analytics. The second part runs through opportunities
it creates for companies in the process of building strong competitive advantage in the market. The paper article ends with a brief comparison of predictive analytics versus traditional marketing-mix analysis.

Findings: Analytics play an extremely important role in the current process of business management based on planning, organizing, implementing and controlling marketing activities. Predictive analytics provides the actual and current picture of the external environment. They also explain what problems are faced with the company in business activities. Analytics tailor marketing solutions to the right time and place at minimum costs. In fact they control the effi ciency and simultaneously increases the effectiveness of the firm.

Practical implications: Based on the study cases comparing two enterprises carrying business activities in different areas, one can say that predictive analytics has far more been embraces extensively than classical marketing-mix analyses. The predictive approach yields greater speed of data collection and analysis, stronger predictive accuracy, better obtained competitor data, and more transparent models where one can understand the inner working of the model.

Originality: Authors describe the importance of analytics which enhance the decisions that the company makes as it executes strategies and plans, so that the company can be more effective and achieve better results. The key factor that enables to execute marketing strategies accurately and build competitive advantage in the future includes predictive modeling. The ability to predict probable futures allows us to shape the future, rather than
merely survive whatever it brings.

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 article describes the essence of strategic thinking in the context of changes taking place in the process of creating and implementing strategies in organizations. The aim of the article is analyzing this concept – as a synthesis of strategic planning, creative analysis and inspiring vision.

Methodology: The fieldwork of the study was carried out by the PAPI method – additionally, the quantitative study used open and standardized data collection methods.

Findings: The article presents a part of the research results, which confirm that strategic thinking is now becoming a necessary addition to the existing decision-making process, replacing complex and inflexible development plans and compensating the existing deficiencies in the strategic planning process.

Practical implications: It seems that more often strategy will take the form of an informal concept, which evolves during the implementation, replacing complex formal documents, which do not leave any room for flexible adaptation.

Originality: The presented results concern an important topic and make an important contribution to the ongoing debate around the concept of strategic thinking.

Purpose: The article presents the results of research concerning the influence of motives
for choosing a career on the level of work motivation in teaching profession.

Methodology: A survey was conducted among a sample of 111 teachers from 53 schools
located in Mazovian voivodeship. The subject of analysis focused on teachers’
satisfaction from choosing this profession and their level of job satisfaction. The
survey was carried out in 4 groups of teachers characterized by a different motive for
choosing their career.

Findings: The results obtained in the abovementioned survey corroborated the hypothesis
stating that teachers’ desire to do their job (intrinsic motivation) is related to
the effectiveness of motivational systems that do not involve financial rewards.

Practical implications: The results showed by the study can be put into practice
when designing motivational systems for teachers, as well as planning and implementing
recruiting process in case of this occupational group.

Originality: The presented study and its results serve as an attempt to cover the gap
that exists in literature devoted to management. There is a lack of publications that
would showcase empirical evidence proving the significance of intrinsic motivation
in work at school in the context of the effectiveness of teachers’ motivational processes.