Volume 13 (2020): Issue 2 (June 2020)

Subject and purpose of work: This paper discusses the essence and main areas of conditions of local development in the context of the political transformations which have occurred in Poland over the last thirty years. Against this background, an attempt was made to differentiate between the conditions and factors of local development. The purpose of this work is to seek, considering different ways of defining local development and as part of different developmental models, a distinction and consistency between the essence of the concept of “conditions of development” and the concept of “factors of development” and to indicate the universality of general conditions for development at all levels of a country’s territorial division.

Materials and methods: This paper draws on the author’s own thoughts and a critical analysis of the literature on the subject, as well as documents relating to the practical shaping of the strategy and development policy in Poland. It presents the basic ways of defining local development and the model approach to development processes and characterises the main conditions of Poland’s socio-economic development over the last thirty years.

Results: It was determined that in the literature conditions of development are often identified with factors of development, which is not justified. It was determined that conditions constitute a certain potential which determines the possibilities for the progress of developmental processes, whereas granting a driving force to these possibilities transforms them into developmental factors for a given area. The general conditions of a country’s development also define the conditions of development at the lower levels of territorial division.

Conclusions: In the context of the growing role of local development programming and planning, it is important to differentiate between the concepts of “conditions” and “factors” of local development. Local development is shaped by both the overall conditions and factors of development of a country, and the specific local conditions and factors. The effective implementation of local development programmes and strategies requires the skill to convert development conditions into factors.

Subject and purpose of work: The subject of the paper is entrepreneurship development and its determinants, with particular attention to the investment attractiveness of Polish provinces. The purpose of the paper is to identify the level of entrepreneurship development (between 2009 and 2017) and investment attractiveness (between 2009 and 2016) of individual provinces, and to define the correlation between the two features.

Materials and methods: The authors of this paper analysed the literature on the subject and performed desk research using data from reports and studies published by GUS (Statistics Poland), PAPR (Polish Agency for Enterprise Development) and IBnGR (Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics).

Results: In 2017, the number of SMEs* in Poland increased by over 24% in relation to 2009. The results showed a significant inversely proportional correlation between the number of enterprises per 1000 inhabitants and the one-year survival rate for the enterprises. The investment attractiveness of provinces was diverse. The level of investment attractiveness exerted a considerable influence on enterprise development in individual provinces.

Conclusions: The results of the study showed that both the investment attractiveness and entrepreneurship are diverse in individual regions. A significant correlation was found between these two phenomena. Some exceptions to the rule were identified, which can be explained by divergence.

Subject and purpose of work: The subject of this analysis and evaluation is the use of renewable energy sources in Poland, particularly in the Lubelskie Voivodeship, as a peripheral region. The purpose of this paper is to identify the role and evaluate the scale and effects of using renewable energy sources (RES), as well as the availability and absorption of financial resources for RES promotion.

Materials and methods: The data were obtained from the Office of the Ruda-Huta Commune, the Regional Operational Programme Department of the Marshal Office of the Lubelskie Voivodeship in Lublin and the Department of European Funds of the Ministry of Energy, as well as Statistics Poland (GUS) and the literature on the subject.

Results: In Poland the proportion of energy from renewable sources to the total primary energy generated increased in 2012-2018 from 11.73% to 14.46%. A new phenomenon, which has been highly significant for the development of this sector, is the use of innovative, small-scale technologies of energy generation from renewable sources, which created the foundations for the growth of a citizens’ energy sector, based on the initiative of the citizens and their communities. The use of RES contributes to reduced expenditures on the purchase of energy carriers and constitutes an effective method of implementing plans for developing a low-carbon economy and reducing low-stack emissions.

Conclusions: The continuing disparities between the regions point to the need for active structural intervention to maintain economic, social and territorial cohesion, particularly in areas which are considered peripheral and have a very low GDP per capita. One of the preferred directions should be to support the use of RES.

Subject and purpose of work: Ukraine’s dynamics by the competitiveness indicators shows the low macroeconomic status and insufficient innovative business climate, yet it doesn’t contradict the opportunities of economic growth. The research is devoted to adaptation of theoretical and applied organizational models of economy growth on the grounds of innovative entrepreneurship development, activation of public-private partnership and functioning of crowdsourcing virtual configuration of commercial and non-commercial social entities. The major objective of the paper is to examine the evolution of organizational models, to determine the tendencies of organizational renovation of economic system based on scientific and technological progress and to outline the directions of improving the efficiency of organizational-institutional transformations in Ukrainian economy.

Materials and methods: The research is based on universal methods of formal logic and scientific abstraction, basics of innovation science, investment science and institutional economics, systemic, structural-functional and synergetic approaches as well as information sources of World Economic Forum.

Results: The authors’ hypothesis about the correspondence of organizational models to the stages of society’s innovative development is verified. General positioning of Ukrainian economic system in investment-driven classifications is confirmed, аnd activation of mass collaboration model is emphasized in the sector of innovative entrepreneurship.

Conclusions: In order to increase the efficiency of organizational-institutional transformations, the concept of bureaucracy-type administrative management is suggested to be reoriented towards the use of adhocratic model with the elements of virtual communication and total digitalization. Social effect of mass collaboration model is determined to be the stimulator of institutional changes in macroeconomic development.

Subject and purpose of work: The publication comprises the analysis of the most important legislation governing the employment of foreigners in Poland and the data of significance to developing legal solutions in this area. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the suitability of the adopted solutions to the needs of the labour market.

Materials and methods: The performed legal analysis is closely related to the statistical analysis of the transformations of the Polish labour market which have taken place over the last 6 years, with particular attention to demographic and economic data. The authors also applied qualitative methods in the form of observations concerning the adaptation of Polish laws to the demand for hiring foreigners, as well as the presentation of the results of surveys analysing the opinions and sentiments of labour market participants, labour market forecasts published on a regular basis, and inspections carried out by authorised entities.

Results: The systematic decrease in the Polish population and increasing staff deficits reported by employers are among the most important challenges. The deficits are largely supplemented by Ukrainian employees, yet there are growing concerns that difficulties in acquiring new staff may aggravate, as the competition in attracting foreign staff is becoming increasingly perceptible. In Poland, relevant legal instruments concerning the employment of foreigners are mostly stipulated in the Foreigners Act, the Act on employment promotion and labour market institutions, and in secondary legislation to these Acts. The laws are very complex, they lack comprehensive solutions in the field of foreigner employment policy, while competent offices and authorities experience difficulties in fulfilling their tasks.

Conclusions: It is necessary to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy as part of employment policies, taking into account the urgent and actual demand of the labour market for foreigners’ work.

Subject and purpose of work: This article analyzes the factors depicted in the literature as essential for the emergence of far-right parties and assesses the importance of unemployment, immigration and political establishments in the failures of the far-right wing parties in Sweden and Finland in early 2000s.

Materials and methods: Multi-methods approach is used in this study including case studies and a novel technique based on Boolean algebra.

Results: The findings of this paper lead to the conclusion that the correlation between unemployment rates and the electoral strength of far-right parties is weak and does not support simplistic thesis such as high unemployment leads to extremism. Moreover, despite objectively favorable conditions in terms of high immigration rates, the presence of non-European immigrants in a country does not in itself explain the emergence of far-right parties.

Conclusions: The study points to the importance of political factors such as the differences between the mainstream parties and tackling the immigration issue by the Liberal Party in Sweden and the wide ideological span of the coalition government and the role of Finland’s special relationship with the USSR that militated against the emergence of far-right parties in these countries.

Subject and purpose of work: Community Empowerment in Sustainable Agricultural Development and CSR (Study of spice farmers in Maluku Utara). One of the duties of the nation is to facilitate prosperity for its citizens through development. Such development is pursued by the government to reach economic growth by utilizing all agriculture potentials and by organizing community development.

Materials and methods: In this study, the goals are to identify, describe and analyze the empowerment of the spice farmers’ community in Maluku Utara in sustainable agricultural development and CSR. This study is descriptive in nature and uses the qualitative approach, while data analysis relies on the Creswell’s model. Maluku Utara has a resource potential that is needed for sustainable agriculture development and CSR for community welfare.

Results: Through empowerment, which involves several stages, such as enlightenment, capacity building, and enforcement, it is possible to improve awareness, capacity, skill and strength of the community to exploit all potentials. The support given to the spice farmers’ community in sustainable agriculture development and CSR is not at the maximum. Despite this support, there are factors constraining community empowerment in sustainable agriculture development and CSR.

Conclusions: These constraints may come from community, a very low number of agriculture counselors, natural resource inadequacy, and also weather factors at Maluku Utara, all of which hamper the empowerment process.

Subject and purpose of work: The subject matter of this paper includes selected examples of tools applied in systems analysis and strategic analysis in relation to the influence of their results on the forms of cooperation between business entities. The study is aimed at provoking a deeper thought on the outcomes of the lack of a system-based approach on the effects of cooperation, and consequently at reducing the negative experience arising from the lack of understanding of the conditions affecting the expected results.

Materials and methods: This publication is an overview of the issue based on the interpretation and synthesis of the available literature on the subject.

Results: The author suggests that the specific conditions, starting from the impact of the broad geopolitical surroundings, the current government policy, legal regulations, culture circles, market development stage or a partner’s place in the production chain, through customs, procedures, processes, intra-organisational standards, affect not only the culture of the organisation itself, but also its reputation and financial result.

Conclusions: The influence of the new “virtual” sphere of economic contacts, as a vital element of strategic analysis, was stressed.