Marlena Dzikowska

Value Chain Module Relocations of Polish Micro- and Small-Sized Companies

Globalization is a process of varied intensity over time that causes changes in the business environment. It stands for the widely acknowledged elimination of barriers and integration associated with transition of firm activities to the transnational level. This is often concomitant with growing interdependence of national economies. The vast changes that have been brought about by the globalization process pose complex opportunities and threats for entrepreneurs. The sourcing strategies, and related to this the issue of value chain modularization and relocation, are a form of organizational innovation created as entrepreneurs’ response to changes in the external environment. Consequently, globalization has changed the way firms have been configuring their value chains (Buckley and Ghauri, 2004).

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Performance of Industries and Firms in Poland. Does Internationalisation Matter

The global economic crisis has significantly altered the landscape of contemporary business markets worldwide. This article aims to verify how severely the economic crisis affected Polish industries and changed the competitive position of Polish companies. The authors put forward a research proposition which states that companies open to foreign cooperation (both exports and imports) were more likely to suffer from economic disturbances than companies that were domestically focused. The outcomes of the study are twofold. First, 24 manufacturing industries were ranked to check which of them suffered the most and the least as the result of the economic crisis. Secondly, using the CATI method 701 companies operating in the above ‑ mentioned industries were surveyed. The analysis details how the competitive position of these companies was shaped depending on their degree of internationalisation. The obtained results were afterwards compared with a previously conducted literature review, and the article attempts to present the impact of the global economic crisis on both industries (mesoeconomic perspective) and individual companies (microeconomic perspective).

Towards a Strategic Shift? On the Evolution of Poland’s Position in the Global Economy in 2003–2012

Poland, like other economies of the region of Central and Eastern Europe, embarked upon a process of radical economic transformation since 1989, leading to the introduction of a market-based economy. This process was accompanied and driven by a gradual opening of the economy to different forms of international economic activity, including notably a dynamic growth of foreign trade. The paper provides an analytical account on the increasing internationalisation of the Polish economy, pointing to the existence of a certain paradox. On the one hand, the process of catching up with advanced economies requires higher growth rates in terms of GDP. However, the said internationalisation also makes the economy more dependent on the economic situation in other countries. The analysis also indicates that a strategic shift in sectoral and geographic terms occurred in Polish exports. The paper concludes with recommendations for economic policy.

Are Firms in Corporate Groups More Resilient During an Economic Crisis? Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector in Poland

Corporate groups are specific types of business networks that generate particular advantages for firms. They allow corporates to reduce costs, develop the pool of resources and increase the flexibility of operations and responses to external shocks among others. The above mentioned benefits are of even greater importance during times of economic turbulence. Their involvement in a corporate group should theoretically allow firms to perform better. The aim of this study is to verify whether corporate group membership truly translated into a firm’s higher input competitiveness and a firm’s better performance during the recent economic crisis. First, we try to investigate if the input competitiveness is higher in the case of firms being members of corporate groups. Second, we test whether the involvement in a corporate group matters for the performance of the firms. Using critical in-depth literature studies and conducting the primary empirical research using the CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) method we strive to verify the following hypothesis - the higher a company’s input competitiveness during the economic crisis, the better a competitive position the company achieves. The empirical research encompasses more than 700 corporates from the manufacturing sector in Poland during the global economic crisis and shortly afterwards. To investigate the issue we use the following methods of statistical analysis – cluster analysis, non-parametric tests and correlation coefficients. The results of the study show that firms involved in both Polish and international corporate groups were more resilient during the economic crisis than those which were not.