Zbigniew Pastuszak

Marketing aspects of knowledge‐based management in groups of companies: case of Poland

Purpose – This paper focuses on identifying key factors which condition the occurrence of synergies in multi‐entity companies in relation to the application of knowledge management procedures in the marketing and development function.Design/methodology/approach – The factors have been identified as selected knowledge management subsystems and subsequently validated empirically in the groups of companies under review. The questionnaire used as a research tool included 27 questions on the organisation of the key management processes in the area of marketing and development in terms of knowledge management. The research results are described by means of the correlation and median analysis.Findings – Our observations and research findings appear to support a claim that the management of a multiple organisation that allows identification, selection, organisation, dissemination, and transfer of important information between group members is a crucial determinant of synergies and financial performance of a group...

Establishing interrelationships among organisational learning, innovation and performance

Knowledge and learning ability are critically successful factors in the competitive advantage of an organisation. The knowledge from both internal and external sources should be transferred to all levels of the organisation. The reason is that increasing the performance of organisation focuses not only on improvement thru learning, but also on innovation. This study aims to review the key literatures relating to the relationships among organisational learning, innovation, and performance. The steps of reviewing the literature were performed in accordance to the methodology suggested by Denyer and Tranfield (2009). The findings showed that: 1 organisational learning directly influences innovation 2 innovation directly affects performance 3 organisational learning directly influences performance through innovation. As a result, organisational learning is essential for continuous performance improvement and long-term competitiveness.

e‐Gaps in the economy: a case of Poland

Purpose – The paper aims to present the results of the authors research on the development of the new economy in Poland. It focuses on identifying two types of so‐called “e‐gaps”, and shows the connection between e‐technology and e‐organisational gap.Design/methodology/approach – The factors determined the e‐gaps have been identified based on the authors past research, and on the review of reports and statistics coming from different sources (net readiness indexes, public institutions, etc.).Findings – Despite the unfavourable macroeconomic, exogenous conditions which determine the high level of the e‐technological gap in the Polish economy, Polish enterprises display a relatively lower level of the e‐organisational gap. One of the methods of limiting the scope of the e‐technological gap in economy seems to lie in initiating macroeconomic activities aimed at reducing the setback of particular enterprises and – consequently – facilitating the increase of economic competitiveness, taken as a whole.Researc...

Productivity growth: importance of learning, intellectual capital, and knowledge workers

The research aims to examine the impacts of intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge workers on productivity. This study is derived from the need to gain better understanding on creativity and innovation in a workplace. The study focuses on the national and organisational levels. For the methodology, three premises are developed and tested a correlation test. The results show the impacts from a proportion of knowledge workers on productivity at a national level, especially the industry and service sectors. From the third premise, it is clear that IC positively affects a firm’s productivity. Several implications relating to workplace and life-long learning are brought up. Finally, the possible situation in which the IC can be used as a surrogate when attempting to measure productivity in an organisation is suggested.

A note on organisational learning: continuation and sustainability

Organisational learning (OL) has been considered to be an effective developmental initiative in an organisation that aims to develop, sustain and advance in a global market. There is a wide range of beliefs of about how OL occurs, and whether it is discrete or continuous. The results from the surveys on OL, coupled with literature reviews, helps formulate the proposed model underlying the need for OL to take place continuously. This proposed model is referred to as the driving-enabling-learning-outcome or DELO model. The model represents the next important research issues when focusing on OL. In this study, the model not only attempts to describe OL as a continuous goal-driven process, but also allows the interrelationships with various influencing factors and facilitating effect of an OL framework.

Applications of benchmarking and classification framework for supplier risk management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a supplier risk framework. The framework provides the information about the risk level in which a supplier is classified. This study is part of the company’s one- department-one-improvement policy. This policy encourages all departments to look for way to improve process management. For this study, the Purchasing Department attempts to extend its supplier management practices by integrating the risk consideration. Design/methodology/approach – This work is considered as a case study. The study integrates the benchmarking and classification concepts for this extension. The involvement from the company’s purchasing department is critical. There are several steps that have been undertaken. Included are the selection of the supplies to be considered (i.e. packaging), the analysis of the formal complaints by the ratio-format indicator, the four criteria used for the classification, the risk level identification, and the next steps for improving supplier managem...

Sources of the success of Scandinavian knowledge economies

The article aims to present the evolution of Swedish and Finnish economies from a welfare state to a model of a knowledge-based competitive economy, and to identify factors which determine the competitiveness of these economies in view of the rise of the post-industrial information society. The article analyses selected statistical data on Swedish and Finnish economies relative to other European and world economic systems. The conclusions drawn from our observations and statistical materials collected may constitute a viable basis for more comprehensive research.

Performance of intellectual capital among Thailand’s publicly listed companies

The intellectual capital (IC) supports a business’ competitive advantage to business at present such as skills and expertise, process capability, customer trusts, supplier partnership, and patents. Measuring the IC level has been greatly simplified and is now able to adapt existing accounting information. This study measures and evaluates the IC level for Stock Exchange of Thailand or SET 50 during the period of 2006 until 2010. Its objective is to gain some insights into the IC development of leading Thai companies by applying the value added intellectual capital (VAIC) method. The results show that the average VAIC value for all seven industrial sectors of SET 50 that reflect the successful operations which utilise the intangible assets, especially human capitals, efficiently.

Acquisitions: how should a project be successfully executed?

Purpose – The purpose of the article is to identify and systematize the terms of successful acquisitions on the enterprise market, along with making their classification into the necessary (which enable reaching synergy) and additional conditions (increasing the level of synergy or optimizing the process of obtaining it). Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on direct interviews with the CEO, CFO and COOs. The surveys were carried out between the year 2000 and 2010 in a few tens of companies conducting acquisitions. The aim was to answer the question of whether the individual conditions of successful transactions were carried out and what were the results of acquisitions from the perspective of changes in the expected value (or observed) by the buyer. There has also been used the personal experience of the authors as participants in the acquisition on the sides of both, the buyer and the purchased. Findings – The results allowed us to identify key conditions for success at each stage of ...

E-business reception in low and high internet sensibility level companies

This paper aims to understand and determine the key factors in adopting of the internet-based solutions for business and operation management by both low and high internet sensibility level companies. Those groups were identified and researched with using of the net readiness methodology. We investigated 71 companies in Poland. The level of e-business reception acts as an indirect determinant for the level of competitiveness of a company. According to the analysis, it was found that the high internet sensibility level enterprises are better prepared to the internet solutions reception than the other group of enterprises.