Volume 13 (2021): Issue 1 (January 2021)

The current, fast market changes require enterprises to dynamically adapt the way they conduct their business. This poses many challenges for information technology. Market requirements for immediate response to business changes became the basis of the idea of a real-time information processing (RTE) company. RTE provides real-time information to employees and business partners. Integrated IT systems supporting management constitute a common platform – the foundation of a real-time enterprise. The aim of the article is to present the basic problems of building an IT system that is the basis of a real-time information processing (RTE) company. It is a summary of our work on this type of system. The article justifies the thesis about the need to build a system for the RTE's requirements and the conditions of its implementation. Such a system is designed to provide employees and business partners with the information they need in real time. The use of integrated systems such as ERP, CRM, SCM, and so on provides the ability to implement the main business processes of a real-time enterprise. The article presents both literature analysis and the characteristics of own work on designing IT systems for RTE. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of success factors (determinants) in system design and the use of MUST methodology (MUST is a Danish acronym for theories of and methods for design activities). The final part of the article presents a proposal for further work on IT systems for RTE in the context of existing trends such as DARQ technology (Distributed Ledger, Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality, Quantum computing).

The paper concerns research and improvement of production processes in one of the European companies in the rubber industry

The company did not allow the name or country to be given.

The presented research work relates to the category of quality in higher education. This article aims to present the determinants of the quality of education in the context of international standards. The background of the considerations is the Bologna Declaration and the European Higher Education Area. The results of the research carried out with the use of the nominal group method and the data analysis carried out based on the SERVQUAL model for education revealed groups of quality determinants that are not included in the standards of internal quality assurance. It has been found that the principle of autonomy of universities in the European Higher Education Area is a sufficient basis to include the determinants of the quality of education identified by internal stakeholders of a given university in the internal quality of education assurance system.

This paper presents research conducted in the United Arab Emirates with the management of Bareburger, the chain of sustainable restaurants, as well as among its clients. In our project, we are interested in the relation between the offer of sustainability and the culture of conscious consumption. The opinions of industry experts and customers collected in an interview session are analyzed to derive the answer to the research questions. The research focuses on finding the possibility of changing the mindset and habits of consumers and creating an impact on consumer behavior by offering a responsible and sustainable nutrition model. An experiment was conducted to analyze the effect of sustainable restaurants on consumer culture in terms of cultivating healthy food habits. In our case study, we analyze Bareburger, a healthier fast-food chain that originated in the United States, which took the concept of sustainability to a completely new level, from ideation to implementation. Observing this process, we checked whether the unhealthy eating habits that we observe in the Middle East can be changed through the carefully composed model of a responsible restaurant.

For the last several decades, global airline alliances have ensured their market presence in the aviation industry. Scholars have focused on the effects of alliance affiliation for airlines and what the competitive advantages of alliances are. However, these issues have been discussed in relation to operational aspects. The quality of strategic communication can be an important factor in achieving a competitive advantage and realizing a differentiation strategy. This study assessed the differences in quality of strategic communication between the three leading alliance groups (oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance) and a non-alliance group. Comprehensive content analysis was implemented using the letters of chief executive officers (CEOs) of 46 airlines. We found that the non-alliance group has more ideal CEO letters than the alliance groups, and the main topics and quality of CEO letters of alliance group differed. This study provides a novel insight into the competitive advantage of global airline alliances.

The successful practice of innovation in any organization demands the integration and interaction of individual, collective, and organizational climate levels of management. Leadership styles have an impact on all these three levels of management. However, little work has been done to assess this impact, especially in the context of United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based organizations. This study was conducted with the purpose of assessing whether leadership processes, tools, and techniques differ in innovative organizations and, thereafter, propose general leadership requirements for innovative projects in the UAE. This study adopts statistical data-processing methods, such as descriptive statistics, the reliability of the instrument, correlation, and regression analysis. Data obtained through a survey of UAE-based organizations were used for analyzing whether innovativeness (as perceived by employees) is statistically correlated with leadership dimensions. The research results show that the transformational leadership style scores better over transactional leadership when it comes to predicting innovations.

In today's world, the success of modern company in dealing with change depends, to a large extent, on a positive approach toward its knowledge workers. The aim of the present study is to indicate the significance of positive leadership in the implementation of crucial changes in an organization in the environment of knowledge workers. The study has researched the case of a major Polish bank undergoing significant change in the Risk Management Division. Presented research covers the period between 2013 and 2019 and was conducted thanks to the participation of nearly 600 employees. Changes in the level of their engagement were systematically studied. All ten leaders in the division were also investigated, so that ten individual Reiss Motivation Profile (RMP) profiles could be created. Study results have confirmed that team leaders possess characteristics that confirm their preferred style is positive leadership, with a clear servant leadership attitude. The formulated hypotheses have been positively verified. It has been confirmed that the orientation of leaders on positive leadership ensured an effective implementation of crucial changes in the environment of knowledge workers.

Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) may involve significant potential threats to personal data privacy, national security, and social and economic stability. AI-based solutions are often promoted as “intelligent” or “smart” because they are autonomous in optimizing various processes. Because they can modify their behavior without human supervision by analyzing data from the environment, AI-based systems may be more prone to malfunctions and malicious activities than conventional software systems. Moreover, due to existing regulatory gaps, development and operation of AI-based products are not yet subject to adequate risk management and administrative supervision. Resonating to recent reports about potential threats resulting from AI-based systems, this paper presents an outline of a prospective risk assessment for adaptive and autonomous products. This research resulted in extensive catalogs of possible damages, initiating events, and preventive policies that can be useful for risk managers involved in conducting risk assessment procedures for AI-based systems. The paper concludes with the analysis and discussion of changes in business, legal, and institutional environments required to ensure the public that AI-based solutions can be trusted, are transparent and safe, and can improve the quality of life.

This study discusses the use of digital technology platforms (DTPs) in the context of cyber-security in the industrial sector, with a focus on digital industry (industrial) platforms (DIPs). A definition of DTPs is presented, including the author's interpretation, as well as the scope of DTP application in the industrial sector, which includes, in particular, European Digital Platforms (EDPs) and Polish Digital Platforms (PDPs), such as non-ferrous metals PDP or intelligent transport systems PDP. This is followed by a section covering the theoretical basis of the study that highlights the key challenges and risks associated with the use of DTPs as well as the methods for their neutralization in the form of specific concepts and systems that can be employed in the industrial sector. The subsequent section of the study is based on results of the author's own survey which collected information from a total of 120 companies operating in Poland, which were granted subsidies under the Operational Program Innovative Economy for investments involving the implementation and development of DTPs. The survey was carried out using a questionnaire developed by the author, which consisted of 23 questions. In this respect, as shown by the author's own studies, of greatest relevance are hardware failures and Internet outage events. Most importantly, concerns about such risks are some of the major factors underlying the negative attitudes of management staff of industrial companies toward DTPs, and therefore, it is so important to ensure that any such risks can be effectively addressed. They can be avoided through the use of certain concepts and systems such as STOE or CVSS. A typical company may know the model of DTPs in the context of challenges in the field of cybersecurity through this study; in particular, it can improve IT security.

The purpose of this paper is to present differences in the perception of current and desired organizational culture between two different types of workers – academic and administrative staff – in non-public universities in Poland. A synthetic review of the literature on organizational culture at universities and the workplace attitudes of the two groups of university employees was conducted and presented. Research in the form of a survey based on Cameron and Quinn's model was conducted in three non-public universities in Poland. A sample of opinions of 115 workers was gathered and analyzed. It was found in the study that according to academic workers, the present culture was market culture, whereas for administrative workers, it was hierarchy culture. Both groups chose clan culture as the preferred culture. The findings may be useful for higher education decision makers in their attempts to transform universities into market-oriented, yet friendly workplaces. The study's limitations include a relatively small sample of respondents. A further, more comprehensive research into the subject will be worth conducting.

The rapid development of retail and e-commerce is forcing marketing and logistics to be competitive and adapt to the demands of end-customers. At the same time, accurately determining the demand for goods allows to better understand customers and plan deliveries. The purpose of this article is to study the change in patterns of probability of choosing the option to purchase goods among end-consumers with and without the presence of e-commerce. The study consisted of research buyers, determining the probability of purchasing goods from “consumer basket” in the traditional way and over the Internet, which is considered for the example of one of the Kharkiv districts. The results develop e-commerce potential in Ukraine and are intended to determine the motives of consumers when choosing a shopping option.

The study investigated the effect of innovative behavior of managers on the competitive advantage of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa. In addition, the study examined the moderating role of environmental dynamism in the relationship between innovative behavior and competitive advantage. The study adopted the quantitative research design, and the cross-sectional survey method was used for data collection. Hierarchical regression was used for data analysis. Based on a dataset of 140 respondents, the results indicated that innovative behavior has a significant positive impact on competitive advantage. The moderating effect of environmental dynamism is insignificant. Theoretically, the study explains the moderating effect of environmental dynamism in the relationship between innovative behavior and firm competitive advantage. To sustain competitive advantage, it is important for firms to invest in the innovative behavior of managers and employees through training. Management must foster an environment that support the generation of new ideas by employees and the coordination of such ideas to improve products and services.

Inter-industry has various capital structures to take advantage of growth opportunities due to agency differences and information asymmetric problems. This research aims to analyze: (1) the differences in leverage between industries and (2) the impact of shareholders–debtholders conflict and information asymmetric on growth opportunities. The firm-level data used is extracted from Indonesia Stock Exchange's annual reports from 2008 to 2019. Authors used the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings show differences in leverage between industries. However, they are relatively stable and not excessive for assets to prevent conflicts between managers and shareholders with debtholders. Equity is also not used to utilize growth to reduce the discretionary power (dilution) of shareholders. As a result, the use of opportunities and growth is limited. This study identifies agency problems and asymmetric information that determines independent companies' decisions in exploiting growth opportunities.

The quality of online education is of interest to universities around the world. Only high quality and cyclical evaluation are the conditions for obtaining students’ satisfaction with this form of education. In the pandemic era, digital dissemination and open education have become a special obligation of academic education. This paper aims to present the opinions of postgraduate students on the quality of e-learning forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was conducted using an online survey questionnaire sent to all 173 MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) students studying during the pandemic era in Poland's leading Business School, 40% of whom returned completed valid surveys. Students assessed aspects of e-learning such as teaching materials, communication with lecturers, the attractiveness of online classes, networking, strategies, and criteria for evaluating didactic activities, e-learning platform, and support received from the university. The results showed that although most examined aspects are perceived very well or well by the students, there is always some space for improvement. Despite the fact that the study was conducted on a small sample of students, their opinions obtained during the survey provide valuable information to universities about the quality of postgraduate e-learning from its main actors, that is, students. Based on this, the paper presents clear recommendations to universities on how the quality of online education could be managed and improved.

The subject of the paper is the investigation of possible improvements to the process of eyeglass lenses production. The research area concerns the application of modern IT tools to the enhancement of production results, in the context of digitalization of the economy, including industry. The main objective is to improve the efficiency of the realized production process in terms of the defined quality criterion. The applied approach is based on a simulation experiment method. A computer program implementing this method was used. The results show the effectiveness and universality of the proposed approach for the studied class of problems. The main theoretical contribution to the studied field is integration of the buffer allocation issue, defined as an optimization problem, into the simulation experiment method. The practical conclusions show the benefits for the company from the perspective of implementation of the production process.

The purpose of this quantitative research was to investigate the basis and perception of mobile money (MM) service among Nigerian university students. The paper adopted a positivistic ontology and descriptive survey design. Two hundred and fifty students from five universities in the southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria were sampled. Results showed that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived credibility (PCRED), and perceived risk (PR) had significant and positive relationship with behavioral intention. Given the results, these four fundamental issues must be central to inclusive mobile money-based financial service for Nigerian university students. The adoption of the technology acceptance model (TAM) by mobile network operators (MNO) and banks is critical to ensure acceptance of innovative and inclusive mobile-based financial service and success in the university student market.

This article discusses the issue of assessing the quality of cluster management by utilizing Internet customer feedback about companies that are members of clusters. Due to the growing number of Internet users, companies pay greater attention to the opinions published about them. Consumers are also increasingly willing to share their opinions and thoughts about the products they use. As a result, it has become possible to analyze the quality of services and products provided by an enterprise based on Internet opinions. In this article, we analyze the quality of cluster management as reflected in the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) label, as measured by sentiment analysis of Internet opinions. The paper proposes a method for the identification and evaluation of Internet sources used in the opinion sentiment analysis. Sentiment analysis of Internet opinions of cluster and in-cluster business customers was performed, and the results were compared with the level of the ECEI label, which was awarded to the analyzed clusters. The conducted research showed convergences between formalized systems of management quality assessment and the level of opinions expressed on the Internet. The results testify that sentiment analysis can complement the evaluation of cluster management quality.

Insurance companies operate in a turbulent, constantly changing environment. The insurance market plays an important role in the economy. On the one hand, it is characterized by the dynamic development of services based on new technologies and distribution channels, and on the other hand, it is subject to transformations related to changes in the scope of conducting insurance activities – including new legal regulations – and has to counter global challenges, such as the crisis which started in 2007 on the American financial market. In such realities, insurers must manage their investment activities. The article indicates the legal basis of the restrictions applicable to insurance companies in relation to their investment activities. The Solvency II system is discussed and the most important differences from its predecessor – Solvency I – are presented, and there is an analysis of the structure of investments of domestic life and non-life insurance companies.