Polish SMEs Research Articles

The role of cost accounting in SMEs from a sustainable development perspective

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to answer the following questions: Are enterprises from the SME sector in Poland prepared to report on sustainable development? Is the utilization of tools provided by contemporary cost accounting adequate to meet new challenges? Methodology/approach: A review of the literature on sustainable development and accounting from the perspective of sustainable development was conducted. The theoretical considerations were supplemented with a survey carried out between April and June 2024. The research methods included critical analysis and synthesis.Findings: The results indicate that interest in implementing modern cost accounting methods, which are among the most important cost management tools, is increasing among SMEs. However, it remains insufficient. Over half of the respondents do not use any decision-oriented cost accounting, and only 29% have a developed cost reporting system tailored to the needs of financial reporting, budgeting, cost accounting, calculation, and analysis.Research limitations/implications: In accordance with Directive 2022/2464 of December 14, 2022, on Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSRD), small and medium-sized enterprises listed on stock exchanges will be subject to reporting from 2026. How-ever, the research shows that Polish SMEs still show little interest in modern cost ac-counting methods as tools to support the management of sustainable businesses. There-fore, it is necessary to conduct further research on the implementation of problem-specific cost accounting in SMEs, which would support the decision-making process in this area.Originality/value: Previous empirical studies primarily utilized the case study method. The conclusions drawn from our analysis fill a research gap and can be utilized by both practitioners and academics. The contribution to the development of the discipline lies in identifying the level of adoption of modern cost accounting methods in SMEs.

The Employee as Prosumer: Exploring Prosumption Behavior in Polish SMEs – A Case Study Analysis

The Employee as Prosumer: Exploring Prosumption Behavior in Polish SMEs – A Case Study Analysis

The impact of organizational learning on Polish and Finnish SME’s market performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. A comparative study

Abstract This article focuses on the role of small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) organizational learning (OL), measured by a scale of commitment to learning, and their economic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research is based on two samples of firms from Poland and Finland. Interviews with owners and managers of Polish and Finnish SMEs were conducted in December 2020 and January 2021. The results show that OL was quite high among the analyzed firms, with the exception of Polish non-exporters. Unlike the “pre-COVID-19” sample of Polish SMEs, the results of the two “COVID-19” samples showed no significant relationship between the applied measure of OL and firms’ market performance. The analyses indicate a significant impact of COVID-19-related disruptions on market performance measures for both Polish and Finnish enterprises. Thus, we conclude that firms’ turnover and profits have been affected by turbulences on particular markets and firms’ ability to benefit from various assistance programs offered by governments.

Strategic working capital management in Polish SMES: Navigating risk and reward for enhanced financial performance

This study examines the impact of operating capital management (WCM) strategies on the monetary execution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Poland, with a particular focus on finding the correct equalization between liquidity and benefit. The review utilizes relapse investigation to survey the effect of forceful and conservative (WCM) techniques on the benefit and fluidity of 4,891 Polish SMEs from 2012 to 2021, as measured by an informational index of budgetary and operational information. The results demonstrate a noteworthy connection between WCM improvements and budgetary results. However, aggressive actions do not just mean higher earnings; they also involve heavier financial risks. On the other hand, cautious methods are linked with stronger financial stability but may lead to lower profit. According to the survey, when cash conversion cycle (CCC) days fall by 1%, return on total assets (ROA) can increase by approximately 1:0 percentage points. This demonstrates again that WCM is very important in improving company profits. These findings have implications for academics, practitioners, and government officials.

Behavioural Factors Affecting Corporate Environmental Sustainability. Evidence From a Field Study Among Polish SMEs and Implications for the EU Environmental Policies

Considering climate change problems that European countries are currently struggling with, the aim of this paper is to examine the behavioural factors that affect corporate environmental sustainability (CES). Based on the relevant academic literature and reports behavioural barriers and enablers for corporate environmental sustainability are identified using the ABCD (attention-belief formation-choice-determination) framework. Selected issues are further investigated in a survey among a representative sample of 350 small and medium-sized Polish enterprises and discussed in a broader European context. Our research reveals what goals and motivations Polish SMEs employ to make green investments, how they asses their environmental efforts compared with peer companies, what sources of environmental information they consider as trustworthy, as well as what factors they believe most strengthen the firm’s determination for sustainable development. The contribution of this paper lies in shedding light on the starting dispositions of entrepreneurs as targets of public policies promoting environmental goals in the EU. Such insights are instrumental in designing and implementing effective policy interventions.

Artificial Intelligence in Small and Medium Enterprises: A Quantitative Research in Southern Poland

This study investigates AI adoption among Polish SMEs, addressing the gap in understanding AI readiness and perceptions in this crucial economic sector. With SMEs comprising 99% of Polish enterprises, their AI adoption is vital for economic competitiveness. The research employed a survey of 92 entrepreneurs in Southern Poland in late 2023 and early 2024.

KM Challenges in Small KIBS Companies: Multi-case Analysis in Two Countries

Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) – i.e. companies like e.g. computer services, consulting, engineering, business communication, and R&D support - are key players in the modern economies. They stimulate the innovativeness of businesses and societies. Their competitiveness is based on knowledge, which is their key production factor and also the kind of “goods” they sell. The large majority of KIBS companies have a small or medium size, which leads to major challenges because they manage their cognitive assets in a substantially informal and undeliberate way. They face several obstacles to managing knowledge, partly due to their limited resources, but also to the knowledge-intensive and intangible nature of their business processes and outputs. Such challenges, when not successfully identified and faced, may negatively impact competitiveness. The paper illustrates the findings of a qualitative investigation aimed at exploring the main KM challenges that KIBS SMEs face. These challenges were analysed with specific reference to the key KM processes, i.e.: knowledge acquisition, knowledge documentation and storage, knowledge sharing, knowledge application, and knowledge protection. The research is a multiple-case study based on interviews to key informants of 23 Italian and Polish KIBS SMEs of different sectors. The analysis made it possible to find recurring issues and highlight differences. The study provides food for thought for researchers and practitioners willing to clarify what KM processes need proper solutions for the effective management of knowledge in small KIBS.

Sustainable Leadership Practices Based on the Logic of the Honeybee Pyramid—Comparison of Hungarian and Polish SMEs

The popularity of sustainability as a research topic in different areas of organisational functioning is marked by the number of studies on the topic. Significantly less research is addressing the factors that fundamentally influence the functioning of organisations. Among these factors, this paper will review the criteria for sustainable leadership. Competition in the economy has made it necessary to build sustainability capabilities in all areas of business, of which the practice of sustainable leadership is a fundamental requirement for making strategic decisions. This paper aims to examine the thinking, leadership styles, and decisions of leaders of organisations in everyday practice based on the pyramid logic of sustainable leadership. In this research, structured interviews with managers of Hungarian (32) and Polish (28) organisations were evaluated using the ‘Voyant tools’ 2.6.9. software. The results show that there is a significant difference between the Hungarian and Polish leadership mindsets, with both samples only partially meeting the expectations of what can be considered a sustainable leadership style in the spirit of the ‘Honeybee’ approach. Out of the 14 basic elements of the pyramid, the leaders of both nations reach the desired level in five cases. This study provides useful lessons for SME managers in developing sustainability management practices.

The Polish SMEs as Intelligent Organizations in an Era of Digital Transformation

The Polish SMEs as Intelligent Organizations in an Era of Digital Transformation

Employee job satisfaction in Industry 4.0 era: insights from the Polish SMEs

Purpose: The aim of this article is to identify the key factors influencing the achievement of job satisfaction by employees in Polish small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises during digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach: The research covered employees of Polish small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises and was divided into three main stages. In the first two stages, the subjects for the research were selected, i.e. those companies that have achieved a high degree of digital maturity. Then, in order to identify and recognize which factors are most important for achieving employee job satisfaction in the Industry 4.0 era, a survey questionnaire was used for the study. Findings: Empirical research indicates the most important factors related to job satisfaction in manufacturing SMEs with a high degree of maturity level are: job security, autonomy, and empowerment. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation is the selection of the sample, i.e. Polish SMEs, as well as the last economic conditions and the global crisis, which can have an impact on the research results and limit the generalization of the results. Practical implications: The conducted empirical research contributes to the science and practice of management by providing insight into the premises and factors related to achieving job satisfaction in small and medium-sized industrial enterprises in the Industry 4.0 era. Originality/value: The results of this article may be useful for understanding the phenomenon of achieving employee job satisfaction in the Industry 4.0 era, as they identify key factors in this area. Keywords: job satisfaction, SMEs, Industry 4.0. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Knowledge management orientation as a driver of competitive performance: Evidence from Polish SMEs in the aviation industry

Knowledge management orientation as a driver of competitive performance: Evidence from Polish SMEs in the aviation industry

Internationalization and innovation orientation as factors of employee learning and development adaptation during Covid-19: Evidence from Polish SMEs

Internationalization and innovation orientation as factors of employee learning and development adaptation during Covid-19: Evidence from Polish SMEs

Talent management practices and the performance of firms: Evidence from Polish SMEs

Talent management practices and the performance of firms: Evidence from Polish SMEs

The importance of digitalization in the organization of cyber-physical production networks of Polish SMEs in Industry 4.0

The importance of digitalization in the organization of cyber-physical production networks of Polish SMEs in Industry 4.0

Assessment of Financial Security of SMEs Operating in the Renewable Energy Industry during COVID-19 Pandemic

Today, one of the main priorities in Europe is to introduce measures to increase environmental protection. Therefore, SMEs operating in the branch related to renewable energy are essential for several EU priorities. SMEs can also be vulnerable, especially during times of crisis, which could negatively affect renewable energy development. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate and analyze the financial security management of renewable energy SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research is conducted on SMEs operating in the renewable energy sector in Poland. The research periods are 2019 (before the COVID-19 crisis) and 2020 (during the crisis). By analyzing different financial performance ratios, we found that SMEs operating in the energy sector have been able to stabilize and maintain their current economic position compared to the past. The results of this study indicate that the receivables collection period, cash conversion cycle, and operating cycle could have been insignificantly shorter during the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, to have stronger financial security, SMEs have adopted a conservative policy in which the share of accounts receivable in current assets has been significantly reduced during COVID-19. In contrast, an insignificant increase in liquidity, quick ratios, and inventory turnover have been observed. In general, Polish SMEs have chosen to adopt conservative strategies during COVID-19 to have better liquidity security.

Job Satisfaction and Work Characteristics Combinations in Industry 4.0 Environment—Insight from the Polish SMEs in the Post–Pandemic Era

The development of Industry 4.0, which has been observed for many years, spans the period before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This concept, which describes the complex process of business transformation, is reflected in a growing number of studies showing that the aim of Industry 4.0 is not to eliminate the human factor, but to introduce effective collaboration between people, systems, and machines. The success of a company depends to a large extent on the efficiency and productivity of its employees, to which job satisfaction is directly related. Job satisfaction is a phenomenon influenced by many factors, including job characteristics. Recognition of the relationship between job satisfaction and job characteristics throughout the implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions is marginal. Therefore, an attempt was made to identify the relationship between job characteristics and the achievement of job satisfaction in the digital transformation era by conducting a survey among Polish SMEs after the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey used the fs/QCA method. The results of the study contribute to SME theory and practice by identifying different combinations of job characteristics leading to high and low job satisfaction in an Industry 4.0 environment.

Characteristics of Open Innovation among Polish SMEs in the Context of Sustainable Innovative Development Focused on the Rational Use of Resources (Energy)

Open innovations (OI) are playing an increasingly important role in the innovative development (RI) of SMEs. This has led to a need to analyze the impact of OI on innovative development serving the implementation of the assumptions of sustainable development, the positive effect of which is to reduce the negative impact on the environment thanks to a more rational use of both natural and produced resources (e.g., energy). This development is described in this article as “sustainable innovative development”. Research was conducted on a sample of 800 SMEs in Poland using the quantitative method (questionnaire). The aim of this study was to identify the impact of OI on sustainable innovation development. This goal was achieved through the verification of three research hypotheses. It turns out that SMEs obtain significant benefits by exploring the environment, i.e., by showing a high level of willingness to cooperate with various entities in the environment for sustainable innovative development. Moreover, the results show that SMEs cooperating with the environment are more developed in terms of sustainable innovative development than those that base their development on their own internal resources (no cooperation). Hence, it follows that OIs have a positive impact on sustainable innovative development.

Entrepreneurial marketing orientation of the Polish and Finnish SMEs and its environmental determinants

Purpose The entrepreneurial marketing orientation (EMO) has been studied primarily in developed countries. The past research has focused on entrepreneurial marketing dimensions and their relationship with selected small- and medium-sized firm (SME) activities, strategic orientations or performance. Scholars have not paid enough attention to the EMO determinants. This study aims to investigate whether the SMEs originating from different countries, including the post-transition market, differ in their entrepreneurial marketing approach and checks its external determinants connected with environmental turbulence. Design/methodology/approach A total of 219 Polish and 81 Finnish manufacturing SMEs, serving mainly business-to-business clients, were surveyed using the mixed-mode computer assisted telephone interview/computer assisted web interview method between 2020 and 2021. Structural equation modelling, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis analysis, analysis of variance and T-tests were applied. Findings The metric and partial scalar invariance of the EMO scale used in Finland and Poland was found. The authors showed that Finnish firms represent a more robust entrepreneurial posture in marketing than Polish ones. The export market turbulence and the perceived crisis influence are the environmental determinants of EMO level, while the industry technological development level is not. Research limitations/implications The conducted analyses allowed to identify EMO determinants, verify the entrepreneurial marketing measurement concept in a new country (Finland) and show the differences in EMO between SMEs from a less and more developed country. Originality/value The existing literature lacks empirical data on the external EMO determinants and inter-country comparisons. This study shows the differences in EMO level of companies from different country backgrounds and points to the market turbulence as its determinant.

THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS INNOVATION AMONG SMES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND POLAND

The article's primary purpose is to determine the attitude of Czech entrepreneurs towards innovation by comparing data obtained before and during the pandemic. Moreover, to compare the perception of the risks associated with the pandemic among Czech and Polish entrepreneurs. The use of innovation helps transform and modernize products, thereby affecting a firm's competitiveness in the market. At the same time, the introduction of new technologies allows the company to gain an advantage in creating new products that can allow it to expand its activities abroad and, thus, open up new markets. It can play an essential role in the company's development during a difficult market situation in its own country. This article examines trends in SMEs' drive to innovate in a pandemic. It also compares the results of entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic and Poland. The data obtained revealed that despite the overall negative impact of the pandemic on the activities of SMEs, it had a positive effect on the attitude of entrepreneurs towards the introduction of innovations. The willingness of Czech SMEs to innovate in the near future has increased by almost 23%. Also, during the pandemic, the expectations of entrepreneurs for help and decisive steps from the state increased. In this way, entrepreneurs preferred to rely on government assistance in financing the company than on banks, and the percentage of expectations for advantageous conditions from banks decreased by 19%. A comparison of data between Polish and Czech SMEs indicated differences in the perception of the main risk of a pandemic, where Czech entrepreneurs have fewer problems selling products or services (32% against 48%).

Are SMEs locked in relationships with their banks?

In this study, we investigate whether SMEs are locked in relationships with their banks. We combine data concerning Polish SMEs, including a survey about relationships with main banks. After estimating dynamic panel models, we find that the length of a bank-firm relationship increases firms’ interest costs, slows down investments and sales growth but is irrelevant for firms’ profitability. Therefore, our evidence supports the view that the collection of private data by a bank may “lock” a firm in the existing relationship with the bank, permit this lender to extract information monopoly rents, and force the SME to incur the so-called hold-up costs.