The objective of the paper was to determine the influence of balance of payments transactions and other flows on the international investment position (IIP) of the EU member states in the period 2000–2012. The evaluation of presented factors’ significance was based on the relationship between alterations imposed by them separately and total net IIP changes, and correlation indices. Research conclusions show that in the period 2000–2012 other flows’ importance to the total net IIP changes of the EU members increased, at the expense of the role of balance of payments transactions. Other flows influenced at most the net IIP changes of EU member countries distinguished by great financial openness and the most developed financial markets. On the other hand, transactions played a key role in foreign assets and liabilities balance changes of the countries with relatively low degree of international financial integration and less developed financial sectors.
 

At the end of 2013, the European Union and China announced the start of negotiations on a bilateral investment agreement. It will be the first agreement signed by the European Union as a partner, and not by its member states. However, almost all of the UE member states have already signed this type of agreements with China. This raises the question of the added value of new contracts entered into by the European Union. Will the new agreement be able to attract new investors? The aim of this study is to demonstrate how the agreements concluded by the EU countries have influenced the volume of stock of foreign direct investment. This paper proposes an analysis of BIT and FTA & EIA agreements and then presents the results of an empirical study based on FDI stocks of the European Union countries.

The aim of the paper is to assess the place of the European Union (and its individual countries) in the global value chain (GVC) in years 1995–2011. The analysis is mainly based on the index figure called the rate of participation in global value chain. It was calculated based on data drawn from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD). GVC participation rate indicates the share of a country’s export that is a part of multi-stage trade process. It is composed of the foreign value added in a country’s own export (upward/backward linkages) and the value added supplied to other countries’ export (downward/forward linkages). The participation rate is a useful indicator of the extent to which a country’s export is integrated into international production networks. The research results show that the foreign value added share in the EU export increased by 9 p.p. in the period in question. The new EU member states experienced a notably greater growth in foreign value added share in export than the UE-15. The major beneficiaries were: Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. The main reason for that progress was a dynamically growing participation of these countries in the production fragmentation process.

The aim of this paper is to present the impact on the European Union’s trade structure arising from the Eastern enlargements. The effects of economic integration resulting from the participation of a certain country in the EU’s internal market were reviewed at the beginning. Afterward, the intra- and extra-EU trade structure by member state and product group with the CEE countries’ share in it in years 2004–2012 was analyzed. The group-average clustering was the method used to show the similarities in their share in the EU trade structure. Ten years after the Eastern enlargements the share of the CEE countries in the EU trade, both geographic and sectoral orientation of their trade flows, is rising, but still is rather low comparing to the EU-15. The main reason for this situation is their very large economic distance from the EU-15.

The recent financial crisis showed that the institutions of the European Union (EU) and its member states are poorly prepared for solving current problems of banks, which are experiencing financial difficulties in European markets. In order to be able to further provide services for citizens and companies, member states’ governments had to support banks with public finances and provide guarantees on an unprecedented scale. It did help to avoid a collapse of banks and a disturbance of the economy, but only by putting the burden on taxpayers and thereby causing deterioration in public finances. An agreement about the right course of action in the face of these difficulties experienced by cross-national banks has not been reached either. The major situation changer should be the European Banking Union (EBU), also called the Integrated Financial System, which is in the process of being created. The foundations for it have been laid during Lithuanian presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2013. For Lithuania and all other EU member states, joining the banking union will mean handing over important national state powers to the European Union institutions.

The aim of the article is to present the characteristics of the long-term interest rate as one of the determinants of convergence as well as to use it in order to assess the convergence of Polish economy
in relation to the euro area. As research methods, an analysis of literature and an analysis of statistical data were utilised. The research period starts in May 2004 and ends in December 2013. The long-term interest rate seems to be one of the most important measures of the economies’ convergence. The main reason is that its level is influenced not only by market conditions but also by determinants having their origin in the quality of economic policy (inflation target, authorities’ credibility, the situation in the public finance, etc.). Despite the relatively high value of the long-term interest rate in Poland in the analysed period compared to other European Union member states outside the euro area, one can observe a long-term downward trend in the difference between its level in Poland and the monetary union’s average. This phenomenon may indicate a gradual deepening of the convergence and increasing readiness of Polish economy to adopt the euro.

The potential costs and benefits concerning Poland’s EMU accession have recently been the focus of renewed attention in an ongoing public debate. On one hand, it is usually argued that floating exchange rates allowed Poland to emerge unscathed from the recent financial crisis due to Polish zloty depreciation. Moreover, it is expected that the main long-run cost of participation in a common currency area will be the loss of independent monetary policy. On the benefits side, it is frequently argued that joining the EMU will bring about increased trade flows. However, recent empirical analyses show that both of these textbook arguments in favor and against the common currency in Poland are incorrect, since many of these expected phenomena have already taken place. Therefore, the article aims to confront these arguments with the empirical facts in the literature on the subject. The reviewed evidence shows that the benefits and costs of joining EMU should be discussed not only as a theoretically expected future, since in fact most of them have been already realized in practice, partly due to the self-fulfilling expectations of Poland’s euron adoption.

Poland’s membership in European structures forced Polish food producers to adapt to the solutions applied under the Common Agricultural Policy. One of them is the operation under quality schemes, which play a part in the income diversification and increasing rural activities, and constitute an important attribute that could prejudge the competitiveness of Polish food producers. The geographical position of the country, rich cultural heritage, and unpolluted environment support the development of food quality markings. National food producers participate actively in quality schemes set both at the Community and national levels. The purpose of this paper is to determine the place of quality policy in the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU, with particular emphasis on food quality schemes as well as on other forms of distinguishing high quality products after Poland’s accession to the European Union, and to examine the range of their use by domestic entities. To achieve this objective, a descriptive method and an analysis of literature were utilised.

The diversity of tax systems in the EU encourages tax competition, which generally means providing foreign investors with better and more convenient solutions. National business may also consider the possibility of relocating to another country that offers better conditions for doing business, for example through lower tax burden or tax preferences. The purpose of this article is to assess the Lithuanian tax system in terms of its competitiveness compared to other tax systems in the European Union taking into consideration the amount of the total tax burden, nominal and real rates of corporate income tax, and pro-investment tax credits. The competitiveness of the Lithuanian tax system is also verified by an assessment of friendliness to entrepreneurs based on the Paying Taxes reports.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have regained independence and accession to the EU have brought great transformations in economic and social life of the Baltic States. One of the determinants of these changes is international emigration. For many years Lithuania has maintained the highest rate of migration in the EU. Latvia follows close behind. The aim of this article is to determine the causes of such state of affairs and to assess the changes in emigration in the Baltic countries during the studied period, according to the level, structure, and destination countries. The study is based on the data acquired from statistical offices of the countries in question and the EU. The main reason for emigration of the inhabitants of these countries is striving for a higher level of prosperity. Economic theories of migration divide these reasons into „push factors” and „pull factors”. The former include low standards of living in the country of birth or government policy, while the latter – good economic prospects in the destination country. Considerable impact on emigration was made by the crisis that started in Lithuania and Latvia in 2009 and resulted in over 15% decline in GDP. Young and middle-aged people constitute the main part of the emigrants in the studied countries and the nature of their migration is primarily profit-making.

The paper aims at analysing the effects induced by the process of the Polish medical professionals’ migration to the United Kingdom following Poland’s accession to the European Union and their situation in the UK. Before all else, the major theories of migration will be presented in the context of the mobility of the Polish medical personnel. Then, the characteristics of the migrants and a sample will be presented. Finally, based on the conducted qualitative study, selected effects and consequences of their migration for societies and economies are going to be scrutinised.

All goods which crossed the customs border of the European Union and were approved for marketing can circulate freely within the common market. Therefore, it is important to ensure the safety of cross-border movement of goods and the control at the borders, as well as the cooperation of customs administrations in the Community to prevent, detect, and prosecute violations of customs regulations. The main aim of this article is to demonstrate the rules of the introduction of goods and customs service to the single market of the European Union. Particular attention was paid to the directions of changes taking place in this field as well as to the actions taken under the single European market undertaken both to ensure the safety and to facilitate and accelerate the trade, by simplifying and reducing the formalities for customs clearance. These actions are the result of changes taking place in the practice of international trade, aiming towards the implementation of a fully automated electronic environment while ensuring the security of trade deals and commodity turnover, protection from the risks of globalization processes, such as, among others, protection against the influx of goods infringing intellectual property rights.

A significant change affecting the dynamics of the importance of the SME sector was the crisis that began in 2008. Previous few analyses showed that the SME sector is more resistant to changes in business cycles than the large enterprises sector. The authors take an attempt to verify the hypothesis about smaller (than the large firms’) sensitivity of the SME sector to the changing economic conditions. The analysis was conducted basing on the available data from the years 2008–2011 about countries belonging to the euro area. Considerations concern the size and structure of the population of enterprises, the size and structure of employment by firm size classes and structure of created value added. The analysis does not allow for the adoption or rejection of the hypothesis about the independence of changes in SME sector and business cycles. Results do not confirm the SME sector greater resistance to the recession. Economies dominated by SMEswere visibly less successful in dealing with the bad situation after 2008. Certainly this does not mean that the deeper crisis was caused by smaller enterprises. In contrast, it can be concluded that in this group of countries, the SME sector has not proved to be a better economic stabilizer than in the other analyzed economies.

In the paper we analyze the Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the European Union indicating its specific character. It comes with the parties’ particular characteristics (i.a. one party to a contract, the EU, is a collective entity).Weexamine both parties to the agreement and their position in the international trade in goods and services. The point of reference is global economy and BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). We also examine the EU and the USA trade relations. The examination covers the years 1995–2012.Weprove that the unification allows both the EU and the USA to take advantage of their significant role in the world trade to increase their impact on the global economic order. EU-US free trade and the agreement conclusion shall allow to intensify trade in services, and FDI flow shall allow to increase the advantage over BRIC countries (primarily China) and to make their economies independent from the instability of the emerging markets.

The research article analyses the bases and mechanisms of regionalism in the post-Soviet Central Asia resulting from the disintegration of the previous system. The main objectives of the paper are: identification of the most crucial determinants and constraints on the new regionalism and building of the regional identity in the above-mentioned territory, examination of the main noneconomic areas of integration and cooperation between different Central Asian countries, and analysis of the mechanisms of their interdependence in the context of their independence and particular interests. The author attempts to answer the following questions: how the above regionalism may influence the post-Soviet space and geopolitical power of countries in the region? Whether and how can external players foster the development of regionalism? The case study of Central Asia is developed through the empirical analysis and interpretation of data and documents of the regional organizations and national agencies and the analytical theoretical research on regionalism.

Processes of international regional integration in the post-Soviet area raise many doubts and controversies. Since the collapse of the USSR and formation of new countries in its place in 1991, numerous initiatives have occurred, that often to a greater extent attempt to maintain the previously-functioning political and economic ties between these countries, instead of creating a new quality of mutual relations between them. An additional difficulty in this respect lies in large disparities in terms of economic and political potential and natural resources owned. Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), since its inception in 2001, has assumed ambitious economic goals. The Eurasian Customs Union, founded in 2010 on the territory of the EurAsEC, integrates three of the five members of the group: the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The purpose of this article is to attempt to answer the question about the actual extent of economic integration between the countries which formed this customs union and the prospects of transforming the area into a common market.

The idea of political federation in East African region has a long history. It was particularly popular during the early post-colonial era, when Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda were searching for possibilities of federation. Instead, a regional integration organism was formed, called the East African Community (EAC), which operated between 1967 and 1977. A renewal of federalist ideas in the region could be observed since 2001, when the EAC became active again. The paper presents the idea of a political federation and analyses the attempts of its implementation by East African countries. A descriptive analysis performed from a historical perspective led to the conclusion that despite the time span and many economic and political changes a practical implementation of federalist ideas in East African Countries remains very difficult, especially by the initial date, set in the year 2015. Therefore, a question arises about the sense and real possibilities of achieving such a serious integration target in the reality of underdeveloped African countries.

One of the most important players present in the global crude oil market is the OPEC, created more than half a century ago. Its activity encountered various challenges which explained both successful and unsuccessful adjustments of its strategy. The aim of this paper is to show that the global economic crisis 2007/2008 contributed to the weakening of the OPEC’s position on the international crude oil market. Changing market conditions, including the creation of a new balance of power between traditional producers, exporters, importers, and consumers of crude oil, and the imbalance of supply and demand for crude oil are largely down to the economic crisis, which affected the international crude oil market and the OPEC itself. In the first part of the article, the long-term evolution of the OPEC’s position on the international crude oil market, especially in the aftermath of the economic crisis 2007/2008, will be analyzed. Afterward, data will be presented concerning price volatility of the international crude oil market as a response to the economic crisis 2007/2008 and its implications for the current market situation, and an attempt will be made to forecast how it might change in the coming years.

The China–Japan–Republic of Korea trilateral free trade agreement may become a critical pillar of Asian regionalism, determining future trade and political regime in the global scale. Undoubtedly, this trilateral political dialogue is to be accompanied by parallel talks over competitive, trans-regional projects involving Asia–Pacific partners, with special regard to the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). However, given the common challenges of the three analysed countries, in particular the unfavourable demographics, reindustrialization, and inefficient domestic demand, it should be noted that the said trilateral dialogue is facing very serious obstacles resulting from, among others, their historical ballast and territorial claims, as well as the intra-regional competition for leadership between Beijing and Tokyo. The aim of the article is to study both multilateral determinants and implications of the future China–Japan–Republic of Korea FTA.

The aim of this paper is to present the possibilities of development of trade, production, demand, and prices in agri-food sector of the ASEAN countries in view of changes caused by implementation of the new agricultural agreement negotiated under the WTO auspices. A general equilibrium model Global Trade Analysis Project was used in the research to make ex ante projections. Based on the GTAP simulation it can be concluded that having cost-price advantage and taking advantage of freer access to the markets of the highly developed countries, the ASEAN nations may increase the volume of agricultural production and export. In consequence, they may benefit from the liberalization.

Agricultural issues are among the most difficult topics in the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the United States. The purpose of the article was to identify the scale and scope of differences of opinions on the major issues of the negotiations related to agriculture and to try to assess the possibility of reaching a compromise that takes into account both the existing constraints and potential benefits. Research results, based on the study of literature and analysis of source documents, revealed significant differences in approaches especially in matters of food safety and protection of geographical indications. A compromise is therefore very difficult to obtain, despite the considerable potential benefits resulting from the increase in bilateral trade. It seems that it would be relatively easy to determine the issues of tariff reductions on agricultural and food products, whereas a compromise with regard to non-tariff measures, in particular certain sanitary and phytosanitary barriers, would be the most difficult to reach.

This paper aims to present the essence of financialization and outline the main problems associated with the intensification of this phenomenon in the world economy. Financialization, understood as the dominance of the financial sector over the real sector, which is most evident in the United States, was one of the major causes of the global financial crisis. Basing his analysis on Polish and foreign literature and statistical data, the author presents the main causes, intensity, and consequences of financialization in developed countries. Special attention is paid to the negative consequences of financialization in the world. It is unlikely to stop the process of growing financialization. However, action in favor of greater regulation of financial markets, which could stabilize their functioning and protect the real economy from the painful effects of successive financial crises, should be taken.

Demographic changes have an impact on the economic situation of all West European countries. Aging of the population and falling fertility rates are challenges that every government on the continent must deal with. The analysis was based on data concerning demographic situation in Germany. It is the most populous country of the European Union, which has been struggling with crucial demographic changes for several decades. The German government has an active pro-family policy, which mainly aims to increase the number of births. Yet, according to forecasts, the population of Germany will decrease, reaching 80% of the population of 2012 by 2060. The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes of demographic changes in Germany, their effects on the public finances, and the potential effects of the implementation of measures to neutralize the unwanted economic phenomena. The main conclusion is that the public finances of Germany will have to cope with new demographic situation, which may involve the need to further reform the pension system, develop a comprehensive family policy, and the activization of the elderly.

So far, the process of internationalisation of the currency has been perceived as a phenomenon concerning advanced economies. This conclusion has been drawn on the basis of the experiences of the international monetary system, which in its evolution has been based on advanced economies’ currencies (USD, EUR, GDP, or highly internationalised DEM and JPY) fulfilling the functions of international currency. However, over the last decade emerging market economics have gained importance in the global economy due to their strong economic development, which has resulted in the new phenomenon, namely the internationalization of emerging market currencies. Undoubtedly, among factors giving dynamics to this process was the global financial crisis revealing the necessity of multi currency monetary system as a condition of enhancing its stability. In effect, many authors started to analyze in their studies the risks, merits, and demerits of the internationalization of emerging market currencies. Among these currencies are: Chinese renminbi (RMB), Indian rupee (INR), Brasilian real (BRL), Russian ruble (RUB), and sometimes the currencies of South Africa, Korea, and Turkey. The article aims at presenting – on the grounds of the traditional, theoretical view as well as empirical studies – prerequisites, scope, and prospects of potential evolution of emerging markets currencies’ internationalization. The main conclusion is that although Chinese RMB is the most advanced in the process of internationalization currency, other currencies (RUB, BRL) may also be of significance. However, the process described above is supposed to be of long-time horizon and of strong regional impact.

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the transformation of the stock market in the People’s Republic of China (i.e. concentrated on stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen; the stock exchange in Hong Kong was omitted) from its beginnings in the early 1990s, through rapid development over the next two decades, up to the financial crisis of 2008 (the period examined is 1990–2012). The paper presents a short history of the Chinese stock market before and after 1990. Other topics covered include unique stock classification system, comparison of the two stock exchanges, main market participants (including barriers for institutional and foreign investors), and legal/regulatory environment evolution. The next part of the paper consists of an analysis of the main stock market’s development indicators (in both absolute and relative terms). The findings conclude that, in the said period, Chinese stock market has undergone a deep transformation, especially when its size and liquidity are being considered. However, there are still many aspects in which it remains underdeveloped, particularly in the supervision system’s area.

The purpose of this paper is to present the conditions of realizing of credit transfers in European Union and fast credit transfers – Express ELIXIR – in Poland. This article presents main rules of Payment Services Directive (PSD) which was implemented to Polish law in 2011, benefits for bank customers regarding the transparency of conditions for cross-border in European Economic Area and internal credit transfers, and the maximum time taken to execute these transfers. It also presents the analysis of the innovative bank’s payment services in Poland – real-time credit transfer service called Express ELIXIR. This system was introduced in June 2012 by The National Clearing House (KIR). By March 2014 eight banks in Poland were offering this service. The main conclusions are as follows: Single European Payment Area – self-regulation of banking sector, European Union directives and regulations introduced in 1997–2014 – have ensured transparency for consumers and fee and execution time reduction of credit transfers in European Economic Area. In Poland, KIR has been systematically developing its services. In 2012 it has introduced Express ELIXIR – the system which enables clearing immediate payments. Research method applied include the analysis of scientific papers, European legislation, and statistical data.

The SME sector has been attracting attention of Polish and European public authorities for many years. In 2013 Polish government implemented the guarantees and sureties programmes designated particularly for the SMEs. The primary goal of these programmes is to improve the access to external financial sources for entrepreneurs, especially those who belong to the SMEs sector. The purpose of this article is to present those recent activities and, furthermore, to provide their preliminary assessment. The article is based on literature studies as well as on the analysis of the primary documents and operational framework of the selected programmes.

Companies have been present in the sphere of international business for hundreds of years. The main aim of this article is to show that there are still many problems with defining what the multinational or transnational company is and how to measure the level of its internationalization. The article is mainly based on the analyzed information from books and articles dedicated to this subject. From the theoretical point of view, the main problem is that although many indices of internationalizion have been developed so far, including synthetic ones, like the TNI index proposed by the UNCTAD, scientists still have real problems with preparing indices which would be at the same time synthetic and incorporating relevant and practically used information on the companies’ activities across countries.

The increasingly frequent non-linearity of internationalization processes of modern enterprises, manifesting itself in skipping certain stages of internationalization, externalization of selected activities, temporary withdrawal of certain markets, etc., lead to the situation in which the number of possible trajectories of internationalization increases, and thus the explanatory power of existing theoretical models weakens. The purpose of the article is the evaluation of theoretical achievements regarding specific moves in the internationalization processes (such as de-internationalization, re-internationalization, or establishing quasi-hierarchical relationships) and the indication of interdependences and problems, necessary to consider while formulating new theoretical proposals and measures of internationalization. The study draws on results of an in-depth critical literature review.

The purpose of this article is to present the necessary modifications in the competitive strategies of companies operating in the dynamically changing environment as well as to demonstrate that it requires taking into account the recommendations resulting from the interdisciplinary nature of the modern theory of the firm. Analyses were based on studies of suggestions for companies in the global and knowledge-based economy. Research indicates that contemporary companies should base their business models on multi-layered economic and intellectual capital which would enable them to connect global and local perspectives, thus allowing them to create a internal and external and institutional and behavioral systemic competitiveness. This article is divided into three parts. The first one presents sources of contemporary interdisciplinary theory of company, the essence of alternatives theory. The second one presents the evolution of the concept of enterprises’ competitiveness under the influence of changes in the global economy. The third part discusses recommendations of changes in the strategies of the competitiveness of enterprises in the globalization age.

The economic crisis of recent years affected not only the business and financial results of enterprises, but also the value of their investment outlays. The purpose of the article was to analyze and evaluate changes in the value of investment outlays incurred by enterprises with foreign capital in Poland in the years 2007–2012. The analysis allowed to indicate groups of enterprises with the highest dynamic of vulnerable to the economic crisis. The analysis was carried out taking into account the size of the companies and the origin of capital (domestic and foreign). The highest growth rate of investment outlays characterized a group of micro companies with foreign capital. Despite the crisis, the value of imports and exports in the companies with foreign capital did not decrease as much as in the case of investment. Companies with the participation of foreign capital presented a higher growth rate of revenues.

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the impact of foreign direct investment of Polish enterprises on their competitiveness as well as to identify areas of greatest benefits from an international involvement in the form of FDI depending on the location of foreign affiliates. The article presents the results of a research carried out in 2012 through direct interviews among Polish companies – direct investors. Results revealed that the activity of Polish enterprises in the form of FDI has a positive influence on their competitiveness and the FDI impact is considered to be dependent on the location of a foreign affiliate only in relation to competitors in foreign markets. In addition, the benefits of internationalization, identified by the surveyed companies, vary in the cases of developed and developing countries.

The relationship between innovation and international competitiveness is widely discussed in the literature. The focus of this paper is on analysing the relationship between the introduction of product, process, marketing and organizational innovation, and export of firms in Czech Republic (N=1824), Hungary (N=964), and Poland (N=2795). Reverse causality – the effect of export on firm’s innovation performance – is also investigated. The survey is based on data from Community Innovation Survey (CIS) questionnaire. Chi-squared test with column proportions and the Bonferroni correction was applied to verify statistically significant differences between firms from surveyed countries. The logistic regression models were construed to identify the relationship between each type of innovation and firm’s international sale’s orientation. A positive relation between innovation and export on all foreign target markets for firms in the three surveyed countries has been revealed. The influence of firm’s export on innovativeness is weaker.

Research and development activity of the contemporary enterprises is characterized by two processes: dynamic development of the R&D internationalization process and open innovation model of performing innovations. In this article the Author takes on an attempt to identify the relations and interactions between these phenomena. The performed analyses shows that implementation of the open innovation by multinationals is the factor which stimulates the R&D internationalization process because of the possibility of obtaining external sources of innovations from global economy. Realizing the open innovation model, corporations internationalize the R&D by both locating their R&D units abroad and engaging in international research cooperation. In view of this, the internationalization of business R&D becomes the evident sequence of open innovation. On the other hand, the process of internationalization of the R&D may not stimulate open innovation. The asymmetry in knowledge and technology transfers caused by the orientation of the R&D units towards absorption of external sources creates a deficit in transfers from these subsidiaries to external parties in location country.

The article concentrates on a presentation of the core of the country image and the country-of-origin effect as well as the influence of these elements on the building of the competitive advantage of business entities on foreign markets. The attention is focused on the example of Poland and Polish companies. The author tries to find out whether the image of Poland, as it is perceived abroad, may be a potentially problematic element in the expansion of Polish enterprises onto foreign markets. It seems that “Polishness” constitutes a rather neutral element of the export offer on the European market; some Polish enterprises even noticed a positive influence of the associations related to Poland. The author also submits a thesis that this rather disadvantageous perception of Poland and Poles based on the stereotypes rooted in the past is gradually improving. Upon writing this article, the results of surveys prepared by Polish institutions and universities as well as the results of an unpublished survey carried out by the author were used. Empirical research entitled “Foreign Expansion of Polish Foodstuff, Cosmetic, and Apparel Branches on German, Czech, Russian, and Ukrainian Markets” was carried out in Poland in the mid-2012.

The aim of the paper is the analysis of the relationship between the perception of the success factors in international collaborative relationships and firm’s international experience. The results of an empirical study on the sample of 278 Polish exporters and importers cooperating with partners from China and Germany are presented and both the differences in success factor perception depending on foreign partners’ home country, and the correlation of the perception of the success factors with the international experience of the firms are discussed. The study revealed that the firms working with partners in China have somewhat more international experience. The importance of the majority of the success factors in relationships with German partners did not differ significantly from those in collaboration with Chinese firms. However, some consequential differences were observed. Internationalization experience is not strongly related with the perception of international cooperation success factors.

The paper is aimed at the analysis of the concept of firm’s embeddedness and its influence on firm’s competitive advantage in the context of resource-based view of a firm, business networks theory, and international business theories. Embeddedness is characterized by the number of functional areas of the firm involved with external partners and the number of these partners, intensity and sustainability of linkages, and interdependence of relationships’ actors. The right level of embedding is crucial for augmenting and exploitation of the knowledge available to the firm. Therefore, embeddedness has been recognized as a significant determinant of firm’s sustainable competitive advantage in international markets. The paper discusses the specific issues related to relationship management, incl. those connected with the level and nature of embeddedness in transnational corporations (TNC). Analysis covers both the internal embeddedness, i.e. in linkages within the internal TNC network, and the external embeddedness, i.e. in relationships of headquarters or foreign subsidiaries with independent actors in a host country.

The Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) functioning since the year 2009 at the European Union market are constantly increasing their competitiveness in the area of international goods turnover not only at the EU market but also at the international one. The European Union has already signed agreements on the mutual recognition of AEO certificates with Switzerland, Japan, and the USA, and is currently negotiating such agreements with China and South Africa, which undoubtedly increases the certificates’ role in the international relations. It is the purpose of this article to present advantages resulting from participation in the AEO system for this group of business entities with regard to customs transactions carried out by them, due to facilitations granted in the international goods turnover. The author conducts an analysis of the applicable facilitations and she estimates their potential influence on gaining a competitive advantage on the EU and international markets.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the role that contemporary international fair conforms to the exhibitors and how Polish exporters perceive and utilize its informative role. International fairs are among the most complex and effective ways of prospecting foreign markets. Among the many advantages of participating in a specialized international fair, maintaining, updating, and intensifying relations with existing customers and distributors, and finding new customers are some of the key features. Furthermore, the participation itself is a perfect pretext for carrying out a market research, getting information about the competition, and testing the acceptance of a new or innovative product among visitors. The participation in an international fair can prove highly beneficial for the company. Nevertheless, it is usually a costly activity, and for this reason the selection from the multitude of fairs of the most relevant for the participating company is an action to be done wisely and bearing in mind several selection criteria. The results of a research conducted in Poland offers valuable insights into how Polish exporters perceive and utilize nonselling activities during the international fair including carrying out general market research and meeting existing and new customers and distributors.

The internationalization of production is getting more and more common among large Polish corporations, yet small and medium-sized enterprises rarely take the risk of conducting their operations on the international markets. Reasons for not taking actions abroad, especially in non-European countries, are very diverse. The purpose of this article is to attempt to answer the question whether cultural differences constitute a barrier for Polish companies to invest abroad, and if so, to what extent. Considerations have been carried out on the basis of empirical studies conducted on a group of Polish foreign investors. It turns out that Polish companies do not perceive cultural differences as a very significant barrier for international expansion. It should be noted, however, that the vast majority of businesses are still focused on European markets, culturally similar to Poland. In addition, the companies are not always aware of how cultural differences can affect their economic activities. Companies do not realize that a better understanding of partner’s culture can help avoid many problems and function more efficiently on the foreign market.

Standardization of production, reduction of technology costs, and access to information mean that international enterprises compete not only in the fields of their ability to establish relationships with potential customers but also their understanding of the customers’ expectations arising from their cultural conditioning. Being competitive in foreign markets often requires in-depth understanding of other cultures, openness, and ability to function beyond the stereotypes. The capacity to interact effectively with people of different languages and cultural backgrounds is one of the most important skills of a salesperson or a businessperson planning to internationalize their business. Employees aware of cultural differences may substantially improve the company’s international performance. The aim of this paper is to discuss the change in the importance of non-economic factors influencing international competitiveness of companies, with particular reference to intercultural competence. To achieve this aim, the authors analysed both Polish and foreign literature, with emphasis on competitiveness theories. The following paper also presents representative techniques of assessing the above-mentioned competence.

It can be assumed that globalization, leading to the unification and assimilation of many processes which take place in the world economy, technology, and culture will transform the contemporary world into a global village, and thus the problem of cultural differences will be marginalized. If the easiness of acquisition and transmission of information via Internet as well as fast and cheap movement of people offered by economic airlines are taken into account, it can be concluded that the discussion about culture shock and reverse culture shock experienced by expatriates is unjustified. However, in practice, the phenomenon of culture shock still occurs, and its course and scope depends on expatriate’s personality, his preparation for work and life in a foreign country, and the degree of cultural diversity. Culture shock extends the period of adaptation to a new culture, has negative impact on well-being, achievements, effectiveness, and reduces job satisfaction. Some managers cannot adjust to work and life in a foreign cultural environment and decide to return earlier to their home country. The ones who are able to overcome culture shock and adapt to new conditions of work and life can experience reverse culture shock after coming back home, because in the meantime everything has changed. Culture shock also applies to inpatriates, local managers delegated to the headquarters. Complete elimination of negative consequences of culture shock and reverse culture shock is not always possible but there are some methods of reducing negative effects of this phenomenon. Hence, the purpose of this article is to identify the essence and the course of culture shock, and indicate the ways leading to the reduction and mitigation of its consequences. Studies and analysis of literature illustrating culture shock and reverse culture shock were conducted to achieve the aim of this paper, and the monographic method was utilized to the presentation of the results of the research.

Steady development of technology, specifically of the Internet, fundamentally changed the conditions in which enterprises operate. Barriers for expansion abroad have been significantly lessened. One of the most important consequences of currently forming Internet-based economy is a process of reduction of the advantage the international corporations had over smaller, innovative companies that used modern information and communication technologies. Appearance and development of this kind of subjects – micromultinationals (mMNEs) – suggests a need to modify the traditionally used internationalization models. The aim of this paper is to analyse the workings of mMNEs in the Internet-based economy and to single out their most important characteristics, basing on the chosen examples. In order to fulfill this goal, an analysis of source texts was conducted, along with implementation of comparative analysis, deduction, and descriptive method. MMNEs are new, distinct entities that came into being as one of the consequences of market changes due to the emergence of Internet-based economy; their expansion poses a lot of challenges and needs further deep research.

In the modern business world there is a visibly growing importance of multi-cultural mergers. It is the result of a number of benefits that come to the companies forging such agreements and should be analyzed in the context of the development of competitive position on the market and development strategy. Mergers and acquisitions present businesses with new challenges. Advantages and disadvantages of mergers for companies depend on many factors, such as the type of orientation that companies use, the market situation, the differences in business culture, the costs of mergers, and changes in the financial condition of the company created as a result of a merger. The purpose of this article is to present the benefits and risks for companies resulting from mergers and acquisitions in the international market. The attention will be focused on the biggest cases of mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the world in recent years. These investments will be analyzed and evaluated according to certain criteria, which will help to determine the effects of these solutions, both beneficial to the companies and generating threat.

The method of lean management is very successful in Polish enterprises. In today’s turbulent world, many companies want to increase their efficiency and reduce costs. The lean gives them the opportunity to do so, eliminating all activities that do not bring value from the point of view of the customer, and implementing standardized processes and procedures that contribute to the activities of workers in continuous improvement – kaizen. The purpose of this article is to present the theoretical and empirical effectiveness of lean management in Polish companies basing on the conducted research. The article consists of two parts. The first part is theoretical and based on studies of the literature it describes concepts of lean, kaizen, standardization and visualization, their main objectives and principles. The second part presents the solely empirical research, the responses of managers, specialists in lean or kaizen activities in Polish enterprises on the tools of lean, standardization and visualization.

The main goal of this paper was to identify the strategy of chains of large scale retail outlets selling FMCGand to classify the main strategic groups in this sector in Poland. The first stage of the study was based on secondary sources. In total thirty in-depth interviews with managers representing the sector ofFMCGretailers were the main source of information describing companies operating on this market. Identified strategic groups are generally similar to these classified in countries of Western Europe, but some differences appear. Members of various groups representing clearly defined formats, for example supermarkets, differ sometimes remarkably. The main elements of differentiation are the product range and the sales area.

Customer loyalty is of great significance to any company, because it is the loyal clients who allow the business to generate stable income. The matter of customer loyalty has been the object of scrutiny for scientists, marketing specialists, and promoters of other beliefs for some time already. It has seen diversification of theories and spiral development, thereby drawing in ever new elements, including the issue of electronic environment, which provides a broad range of possibilities for establishing circles of loyal clients. The objective of the article is to determine and analyse the factors which affect the attraction and retention of loyal customers by the means of electronic environment and electronic marketing activities. The authors employed quantitative and qualitative research methods: grouping, analyses, statistical methods, etc. The theoretical and methodological framework of the article is formed of scientific studies and publications, publications in mass media, and professional literature, as well as the statistical information from official sources and the information obtained as a result of the authors’ researches.

Customer loyalty is of great significance to any company, because it is the loyal clients who allow the business to generate stable income. The matter of customer loyalty has been the object of scrutiny for scientists, marketing specialists, and promoters of other beliefs for some time already. It has seen diversification of theories and spiral development, thereby drawing in ever new elements, including the issue of electronic environment, which provides a broad range of possibilities for establishing circles of loyal clients. The objective of the article is to determine and analyse the factors which affect the attraction and retention of loyal customers by the means of electronic environment and electronic marketing activities. The authors employed quantitative and qualitative research methods: grouping, analyses, statistical methods, etc. The theoretical and methodological framework of the article is formed of scientific studies and publications, publications in mass media, and professional literature, as well as the statistical information from official sources and the information obtained as a result of the authors’ researches.

The world economic crisis, which began in 2008, affected negatively not only national economies but also the intensity of international movements of goods, services, and production factors. This article focuses on the impact of the last economic crisis on the FDI inflows into Poland. It is aimed at answering the research question whether the economic performance of Poland and its main economic partners affect the FDI inflows into Poland, which fell sharply in 2008 and also slightly decreased in 2009. Despite the increases in the FDI inflows during 2010–2011, they did not achieve the level from 2007. Additionally, the vulnerability of the FDI inflows into Poland to economic performance in Poland (host economy) and its main investment partners (home economies) is confirmed by Granger-causalitytests. According to them, in the case of Poland, there is a one-waycausality link between the growth in realGDPand the FDI inflows (case of growth-driven FDI).

The global economic slowdown, brought about by the financial crisis in the U.S. economy (2007–2009), resulted in a significant drop in the world trade and had an impact on the Polish economy. While the world exports fell by 22,9% in 2009, the decrease noted in the Polish one was lesser (20,5%), which can be interpreted as an evidence that companies in Poland made effective use of their comparative advantages. The aim of this paper is to analyse structural changes in Polish export: its main commodities, markets, and technological intensity in the period 2008–2012 along with an identification of sections characterized by the most dynamic growth. For the purpose of this research trade data disaggregated by goods according to the Harmonised System (HS) were used and the evolution of revealed comparative advantages (RCA) was covered. Polish export facing the consequences of the global slowdown did not, however, bring about any significant improvement of structural competitiveness of the economy in terms of its technological intensity. This means that there is a great deal of challenges related to a scenario in which the existing developmental gap would be preserved.

This year ten years have passed since Poland became a member of the European Union. The full liberalization of capital flows between Poland and the EU, the OECD, and the EEA was one of the key changes resulting from this membership. The purpose of this article is to analyse selected indicators that define the external stability in the light of the growing involvement of foreign capital in the Polish economy, which is a consequence of that opening. The indicators examined in the article do not give a clear reason for concern; however, there is no doubt that Poland exceeds the thresholds defined by the EU to the current account balance and net IIP referred to the GDP. This means that there is a need to monitor the consequences of rising presence of foreign capital in the Polish economy from the point of view of the conditions of its external stability in the coming years.

The purpose of the paper is to discuss the evolution of India’s assistance programmes for economic development of partner countries. The recent rejuvenation of India’s aid is in line with the broader phenomenon of the re-appearance of so called ‘emerging donors’. The bulk of publicity is on China and there are still gaps in scholarly writings on India. The paper herein aims to address those gaps, providing insight on the scope and geographical reach of India’s aid activities, the selection of modalities and sectors supported as well as changing patterns of aid administration. The literature review and interviews were conducted to fulfill this goal. The re-appearance of India as a development assistance donor was the consequence of a decade of rapid economic growth. The rejuvenated programmes are more diverse, focused not only on Nepal and Bhutan but also on other countries within India’s extended neighborhood. The point of gravity was moved from infrastructure support towards capacity building. There are continuous attempts to centralize aid administration. India’s foreign aid programme is still growing and seeking strategic long-term orientation.

The 21st century has witnessed new price relations in international trade, which are expressed by amuch more dynamic growth in prices of primary commodities than manufactured goods. It is related, among others, to the increasing role of China in the world’s economy. On the one hand, this country has been dramatically increasing its demand for primary commodities, while on the other hand – it has been dynamically raising its supply of manufactured goods, thus contributing to world-wide relative decreases in price levels. The new price relations also affect the international trade of African countries, accelerating the export of countries rich in resources and food, and increasing the role of these commodities in the total export of the entire continent. As a consequence, China becomes an ever more relevant player in Africa’s export and economy. The aforementioned processes are accompanied, however, by a phenomenon known in the literature as „deindustrialisation of developing economies” reflected in the increasing share of primary commodities in total export. An indirect effect of these tendencies is a more dynamic growth in export and GDP in countries having strong economic relations with China and a less dynamic economic growth of countries related economically and institutionally with more developed countries (particularly the European Union).

The pursuit of enterprises to achieve economic success in the global market, advanced technologies and innovative methods of management in every area of business, set new directions for the development of service activities of the customs authorities. The aim of this paper is to present the benefits of the implementation of the innovative business services by the Customs Service. Analysis of the reasons of implementation of the modern forms of customs services and characteristics of individual solutions allow to conclude that the flexibility of customs clearance is a source of significant commercial and financial benefits for operators on the international market, and, thereby, an important determinant of the growth of their competitiveness. Moreover, the simplified system of the customs clearances increases the efficiency of the billing and collection of customs duties, thus ensuring regular revenue for the state budget. In this paper, following research methods were used: a descriptive method, an analysis of literature, and statistical inference.

The paper analyses factors and conditions which determine the level of cooperation between Lithuania and Poland and which,according to their effect,are divided into driving forces and ob­ stacles. The maindriving forces are associated with the Euro-Atlantic: objectives of both countries that affect the developmental trends and with the EU membership. They include different bi­ lateral and multilateral agreements, participation in the institutions operating within the Baltic: Sea macro-region,and in the pursued strategies,as wellas the possibilities to benefit from the EU regional policy instruments. The obstacles for cooperation are associated with specific peculiari­ ties of economic development of both countries.They cover the peripheral nature of Lithuanian economy as well as the inequality of economic potential of both countries.Inaddition,the "emo­ tional charge", hindering the realization of the idea of strategic: partnership,is also considered as an obstacle for further development of the discussed cooperation.

The present paper, which is conceptually embedded in environmental management theory, focuses on the question of monitoring and reporting environmental performance in the hotel industry. Its principal aim is to analyse the functioning, characteristics, and advantages of the performance assessment systems that are currently used in facilities belonging to international hotel chains. Specifically, the study, drawing on the content analysis technique, substantiates its claims by referring to concrete examples from the hotel industry (Scandic, Marriott International, Inter- Continental Hotel Group, Hilton Worldwide). Crucially, emphasis is placed on the practical problems related to the operation of such tools. The paper concludes by providing a number of recommendations on how to implement and run environmental performance assessment systems in hotels. In this way, it expands a fast-growing research on the practical dimension of hotel operation, thereby being of special interest to hoteliers and hotel managers.

Horses have accompanied mankind for centuries in various fields of activity. One of them is horse racing. The purpose of the article (based on the analysis of the literature) is to present the elements determining that Thoroughbreds racing can be regarded as a global phenomenon. Among them, a special role is played by the dissemination of this form of racing, related to the history of this breed as well as the possibility that these horses are a global „product” because of global standards. This is a consequence of the system for developing and standardization of breeding in the world. The IFHA also plays an important role, being an international organization with a global reach, integrating all states and taking care of the maintenance of appropriate standards irrespective of race implement.