Editorial

Welcome to the second issue of the International Journal of Management and Economics this year (volume 58). In this issue we offer five empirical papers in management and one in-depth literature review in economics. Taking into account a geographical approach – this time five out of six papers are of Polish origin, but often with an international context or with findings which not necessarily are specific only to Poland, but also might be extended to other markets or economies. In addition, one paper is dedicated to the Iraq and neighboring oil-exporting countries.

The issue starts with the paper by Marzanna Witek-Hajduk and Piotr Zaborek, entitled “Social Media Use in International Marketing: Impact on Brand and Firm Performance”. The paper investigates how engagement in social media marketing of a company's main brand in the key foreign market is related to its brand and firm performance. The findings suggest that social media marketing is generally advantageous but not all areas of it are equally important. The study relies on a survey of a representative sample of 245 medium and large companies from Poland using social media in international branding. Performance metrics include an index of brand performance in a foreign market and return on assets (ROA). The foreign-market use of social media consists of brand-equity creation, sales support, market research and information dissemination. The conceptual model is complemented by two antecedents (brand orientation and consumer orientation) and four control variables (content localization, foreign partner involvement, centralization degree and ownership structure). The analysis reveals the overall effect of social media use in international branding is positive, with brand-image creation and market research being significant contributors to brand and firm performance in the foreign market. Social media effectiveness is also negatively moderated by foreign partner involvement and centralization degree. Firms co-owned by foreign capital turn out to be more successful than their Polish-only counterparts. Of the two antecedents of social media international marketing engagement, customer orientation is significant for all firms, while brand orientation is meaningful only for those with foreign capital.

The second article is about the on-line shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, Marzanna Witek-Hajduk and Anna Grudecka, in their paper “Consumer intentions to purchase on foreign multi-sided digital platforms: The context of the COVID-19 pandemic”, explore the determinants of consumer purchase intentions on foreign multi-sided e-commerce platforms. The study relies on a survey of a representative sample of 810 Polish consumers. It reveals that perceived usefulness, legal protection of online purchases, changes in retailers activity during pandemic, and perceived value were factors influencing consumer decision to purchase goods on foreign multi-sided e-commerce platforms.

The third paper remains in the area of e-commerce, but with the special focus on tourism internet platforms. Elżbieta Wąsowicz-Zaborek wrote a paper entitled “Consumer choice determinants of online intermediary tourism platforms”. It investigates determinants of usage intention (IU) of online travel agencies’ (OTAs) services by consumers and their propensity for word-of-mouth (WOM). The determinants represent two groups of factors: (1) items reflecting the perceived quality of OTAs’ platforms (PQ) and (2) those corresponding to transaction quality (CST). The survey was conducted with the CAWI method on a representative net sample of 591 Polish OTA users. Statistical analysis involved building a covariance-based structural equation model to map out causal relationships between latent variables and test research hypotheses. The findings indicate that both groups of factors (PQ and CST) have a statistically significant positive effect on both IU and WOM. However, the impact of CST was found to be slightly weaker. Interestingly, there were no moderating effects from the respondents’ age, income, and education. The only demographical characteristic of issue was sex, which revealed different regression patterns between men and women.

The next paper, “Behavioural additionality: the role of cooperation with research institutions in fostering technological maturity of enterprises” is by Arkadiusz Kowalski. The author examines how cooperation with research institutions impacts technological maturity of enterprises. Additionally, he assesses the role of innovation policy interventions in this process, as captured by the concept of behavioural additionality, which is one of the externalities of public support for R&D. The focus in this paper is put on one of the specific types of behavioural additionality – cooperation additionality – which takes place in the situation where public support influences the collaboration behaviour of a firm receiving R&D support. The study was conducted with the use of firm-level data collected in a survey on the sample of 464 enterprises operating within national smart specializations in Poland. The findings suggest that public funding fosters the cooperation between scientific institutions and enterprises, thus confirms the cooperation additionality. The fifth article is entitled “Impact of policy regulations on the functioning of hospitals in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative analysis” and it is co-authored by Mariusz Salwin, Dariusz Masłowski, Ewa Kulińska, Karolina Kulińska-Jachowska, and Karolina Pawlas. The team of authors conducted a survey among 165 employees of the Voivodeship Specialist Hospital in December 2020. The study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of the hospital in 2020 in the context of the following research questions: Did the decisions by policy-makers during the COVID-19 pandemic affect functioning of hospitals in 2020? How these decisions and legal regulations affect the quality and quantity of medical services? Were policy-directions taken effective in term of safety enhancement?? How did the medical staff evaluate implemented solutions? The results offer some interesting insights into the perception of legal changes introduced during the initial stages of the pandemic.

The final paper of this issue, “The role of foreign aid in the transformation of Iraq‘s society and economy.”, is by Habi Jader. This study presents the complex situation of socio-economic reforms in Iraq and the role of foreign aid in Iraq's transformation. The paper reveals many interesting facts and draws attention to important challenges which are of economic, social, and cultural nature. The discussion is conducted as comparative analysis to other oil-rich countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

We hope that the variety of approaches and subjects considered in the current issue will interest many readers and will become a good source of inspiration. Enjoy reading!