Background. It is more and more evident that long-term sustainable management cannot be
carried out based only on financial data. Corporations operating in a market economy
environment do not only aim at profit maximization as they have already realized that their
performance depends on the sustainability of the environment and society. Financial
motivations are the engine of corporate management, however, corporations can still serve
common wealth. Capitalism offers ever so many possibilities, opportunities for corporations
to be socially responsible.
Research aim. This study was carried out to examine the CSR attitudes and commitments
of the management of a corporation operating in the capitalist environment as well as to
study their exact CSR practices.
Method. The research is based on the questionnaire carried out among domestically and
internationally owned SMEs in Hungary. The so-called snowball sample method was used.
Key findings. The study attempts to find and reveal the reasons for the gap between the
manager attitude and CSR practice based on the VoC.

Background. Enterprise and industry restructuring is a multi-aspect and complex issue. Considering a large number of decisions accompanying restructuring and the variety of structural transformations, it is also a process burdened with numerous, often conjugate risk sources. The difficult situation of the Polish hard coal mining industry constitutes an additional application premise to undertake the subject study of the effects of employment restructuring in mining enterprises.
Research aims. The main purpose of this article is to determine the scale of achievement of the basic goals of employment restructuring in the two largest mining enterprises that consist of 24 hard coal mines.
Method. The research period includes the years 2005-2012 and encompasses the time when two subsequent government industrial restructuring programs were introduced: Reforms in the hard coal mining industry in the years 2003-2006 as well as Activity strategy of the hard coal mining industry in Poland in the years 2007-2015. Research concerning the level and efficiency changes was conducted individually for each mine that was part of the particular mining enterprises. When identifying the effects of the completed employment restructuring, a comparison was made related to the unit production costs in the individual mines, with the average purchase price of 1 GJ by the commercial power industry in the years 2005-2012, determining at the same time a group of mines that are periodically or permanently economically ineffective.
Key findings. The effects of evolutionary employment restructuring, in the form of efficiency and increased effectiveness, were obtained only in a few of the 24 hard coal mines examined. A failure of restructuring was induced by an ignorance of sector risk, connected with an inflow of cheaper and better quality imported coal under the European Union’s, decarbonization policy, as well as a lack of flexibility in adjusting to changes in the environment, caused by a lack of understanding and acceptance of the necessity for employment restructuring among employees and trade unions.

Background. From a processual standpoint, institutionalization constitutes a cognitive perspective in the context of organizational change. As a natural and spontaneous process, institutionalization may be observed from the point of view of changes in routines and day-today activities implemented in the course of a company’s operations. Actions of spontaneous nature may give rise to changes in practices institutionalized as routinized modes of action. This research perspective is known as the processual approach in management.
Research aims. The objective of the study is to recognize the process of institutionalization of spontaneous changes in an enterprise.
Method. The research involved an in-depth interview.
Key findings: A well-defined brand identity is akin to an institution providing foundations for a shared understanding of the enterprise’s strategy and the implemented practices. In this sense, brand identity imposes some definite constraints on the organization and on its day-today routine functioning, thanks to which the enterprise maintains continuity and can be successful in a season-driven sector (fashion industry). This is accompanied by the institutionalization of practices, which may be less definite, but equally important. This is caused by sector-specific change and by the need to introduce changes in the cyclical process of fashion collection development.

Background. Research on organizational culture has received significant attention recently. However, a limited number of studies examine the alignment of organizational culture with the strategic goals of the company and its impact on effectiveness..
Research aims. The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of organizational culture on the company competitiveness. The article describes a process of planned cultural changes conducted from November 2012 to February 2014, and its results in such areas, as innovation, efficiency, quality, the company identity and external image.
Method. The theoretical framework is supported by a case study of one of the biggest telecommunication companies in Poland. The author's observation is supported by informal interviews and company data analysis (Competing Values Framework, Employees commitment to change survey, Customer satisfaction survey, internal reports, etc.)
Key findings. The case study shows that organizational culture aligned with a strategy is the inner strength of the organization, significantly improving its competitiveness. One of the most important elements in the process of change is the correct diagnosis of the difference between the current and the desired cultural characteristics. In this case, the important cultural gaps covered such areas, as the company structure, procedures and internal and external communication.

Background. The development of robots with increasingly sophisticated decision-making and social capacities is opening the door to the possibility of robots carrying out the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the work of human beings and other machines.
Research aims. In this paper we study the relationship between two traits that impact a robot’s ability to effectively perform management functions: those of autonomy and sociality.
Method. Using an assessment instrument we evaluate the levels of autonomy and sociality of 35 robots that have been created for use in a wide range of industrial, domestic, and governmental contexts, along with several kinds of living organisms with which such robots can share a social space and which may provide templates for some aspects of future robotic design. We then develop a two-dimensional model that classifies the robots into 16 different types, each of which offers unique strengths and weaknesses for the performance of management functions.
Key findings. Our data suggest correlations between autonomy and sociality that could potentially assist organizations in identifying new and more effective management applications for existing robots and aid roboticists in designing new kinds of robots that are capable of succeeding in particular management roles.

Background. The subject of strategy execution is one of the current areas of research, and the role of managers responsible for a proper organization of the implementation process is mentioned among many barriers. Therefore, it seems reasonable to carry out analyses of both tasks and competencies that are essential for implementation effectiveness.
Research aims. The aim of this paper is to examine whether there is a relationship between individual tasks (which determines the success in the strategy implementation) and the level of effective implementation of this process, as well as to analyse the correlations between the competencies of managers and the effectiveness of the strategy implementation.
Method. The survey was conducted using the paper and pencil interview approach, and then Kendall's tau-b correlations were calculated. The respondents in the survey included managers from 200 companies listed in prestigious rankings, i.e. from companies achieving development success.
Findings. The surveys proved that in relation to the strategy implementation, adequate actions taken by managers were much more important than their competencies. Therefore, the strategic awareness that manifests itself by the assignment of tasks and decision making power is more important than their knowledge and additional skills.

Background. Absorptive capacity is defined as the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends. It is regarded as an important factor in both corporate innovation and general competitive advantage. Absorptive capacity explains how firms can create and capture value from in-sourcing external knowledge.
Research aims. The systematic literature review has indicated some discrepancies in the field of absorptive capacity operationalization of its dimensions.
Methods. The article summarizes both theoretical and empirical literature on absorptive capacity. Moreover, based on that literature some proposals for the operationalization of absorptive capacity were formulated.
Key findings. One of the interesting and quite new research areas within these processes is the absorptive capacity, and, to be more precise, the dimension of absorptive capacity. Generally speaking, absorptive capacity literature focused on the capacity to make use of existing knowledge, placing emphasis on the capacity to assimilate and transform it and the necessity for a firm to accept external knowledge as a legitimate resource for innovation. It is one of the fundamental learning abilities that organizations can develop to detect knowledge and information outside the organization that may be useful to them and then to internalize and adapt that information to their specific needs and exploit it for market goals. However, despite its positive impact on growth, quality and content of knowledge, the absorptive capacity has not been investigated in a holistic way so far. The article summarizes both theoretical and empirical literature on absorptive capacity. Moreover, based on that literature some proposals for the operationalization of absorptive capacity were formulated.