WSB Merito University in Poznan

This paper investigates whether entrepreneurial education (EE) contributes to the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of university students in the Visegrád countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). The results show several differences with regard to the impact of education and entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) on entrepreneurial intentions across the four nations. The direct impact of entrepreneurship education was positive and significant in only one country, Poland, the only of the four countries to have introduced entrepreneurship education at high-school level. Additionally, an indirect influence of EE on EI was uncovered. Using a multi-construct approach to ESE, the research proves that ESEs related to searching, planning and marshalling activities mediate the impact of entrepreneurial education on intentions, although these effects differ across the studied countries. Lastly, a gender comparison indicates that although women generally have lower entrepreneurial intentions and display lower levels of ESE they benefit more than men do from entrepreneurship education.

Although current research highlights the importance of prior exposure to entrepreneurial role models in the\ndecision to start and pursue entrepreneurial careers, the mechanism through which role models strengthen\nentrepreneurial intentions has not been fully understood. Against this background, the current paper investigates\nthe influence of role models, entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial self-efficacies using a sample of 423\nUniversity students in Poland. Through a novel fuzzy-set analysis method, three distinct combinations of the\nvariables under study are found to be most effective for strengthening entrepreneurial intention among university students. By implication, these findings task entrepreneurship educators to concurrently foster the three\ndimensions in the process of nurturing entrepreneurial careers within their student body.

Objective: The main purpose of the paper is to show that blockchain technology may disrupt the existing business models and to explore how this may occur. Research Design & Methods: This is a theory development paper which relies on a literature review and desk re-search. The discussion of the reviewed sources leads to the formulation of three re-search propositions. Findings: The paper provides a short overview of key literature on business models and business model innovation, indicating, among others, that new technologies may be one of the drivers of business model innovation. This study also provides an overview of blockchain technology and a range of its business applications showing how it can disrupt business models. It is shown that blockchain technology may affect many dimensions of business models. We propose that there are three crucial ways in which blockchain technology can affect and disrupt business models: by authenticating traded goods, via disintermediation and via lowering transaction costs. Implications & Recommendations: This study shows that blockchain technology may affect diverse dimensions of business models in diverse industries. It is recommended that mangers should follow developments in this field in order to prepare for possible disruptions in their industries. Contribution & Value Added: This study provides an analysis of the possible impact of blockchain technology on business model innovation. Blockchain technology is gaining momentum with more and more diverse applications, as well as increasing numbers of actors involved in its applications. This paper contributes to our understanding of the possible applications of blockchain technology to businesses, and in particular to its impact on business models.

Objective: The aim of this article is to identify the impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) on the production processes of goods and services, their ground-breaking changes, and their potential economic, social, and political consequences.

The aim of this article is to evaluate selected tourism development strategies in Poland, in the context of strategic planning, stakeholders’ participation, and sustainable development principles. A questionnaire evaluation of strategy (44 questions) was established and based on measurement scales developed and validated by other authors in earlier studies. The five authors of the study rated 37 tourism development strategies in 13 provinces, 11 cities, 5 counties, 6 municipalities, and 2 other areas. Analysis revealed that they implement paradigms of sustainable development of tourism to only a small extent. Definitely higher quality is documented for higher levels of administrative division. The highest rated domains of the tourism development strategy in the examined documents are Strategic Planning Indicators and Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation.

The paper emphasizes the importance of social networks in the gestation of international new ventures, particularly through their impact on the perceptions of nascent entrepreneurs. Their contribution consists not only in providing new information to assist new venture founders in identifying international opportunities but, and perhaps more importantly, in assessing them. By modifying the way in which entrepreneurs perceive the feasibility and desirability of opportunities, networks trigger the enactment of international opportunities. Whereas opportunity evaluations by more experienced international entrepreneurs tend to be linked to their strong network ties, the international role models of novice entrepreneurs seem to be transformational.

Maintenance of production equipment has a key role in ensuring business continuity and productivity. Determining the implementation time and the appropriate selection of the scope of maintenance activities are necessary not only for the operation of industrial equipment but also for effective planning of the demand for own maintenance resources (spare parts, people, finances). A number of studies have been conducted in the last decade and many attempts have been made to use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to model and manage maintenance. The aim of the article is to discuss the possibility of using AI methods and techniques to anticipate possible failures and respond to them in advance by carrying out maintenance activities in an appropriate and timely manner. The indirect aim of these studies is to achieve more effective management of maintenance activities. The main method applied is computational analysis and simulation based on the real industrial data set. The main results show that the effective use of preventive maintenance requires large amounts of reliable annotated sensor data and well-trained machine-learning algorithms. Scientific and technical development of the above-mentioned group of solutions should be implemented in such a way that they can be used by companies of equal size and with different production profiles. Even relatively simple solutions as presented in the article can be helpful here, offering high efficiency at low implementation costs.

From an economic viewpoint, tourism is heralded as bringing income to local communities. From an ecological standpoint, tourism poses a threat to environments. Sustainable tourism should leave a minimum negative impact on the places visited and preferably have rather positive impact on society. The digitization of the tourism economy is conducive to increasing the efficiency of enterprises operations, but also have positive impact on consumers. The objectives of the study are: to seek an answer to the question whether there is a relationship between the development of the tourism industry and GDP growth. Based on it there are two specific questions: What is a relationship between the level of development of digitization (e-commerce) and the development of the tourism industry and what is a relationship between the development of the tourism industry and sustainability factors? The originality of our research results among others results from three groups of variables use in the analysis (ICT group, SDG group and E&T group). Our research explores the factors affecting the tourism industry and relations of the digitization of tourism economy, sustainability and economy growth.

The internationalization of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) has been the focus of numerous studies. However, while the attention has thus far been on SMEs operating in developed countries, firms evolving in a developing context, including Africa, have been largely neglected. To address this, and drawing on a dual resources‐based and network‐based view, this study simultaneously investigates the importance of internal and external resources for firms’ export performance and regularity in the context of North African SMEs. Using a sample of Algerian exporters, the study reveals the superiority of discrete resources for boosting export performance and export regularity. These findings provide directions to Algerian SME managers and policymakers as to important factors driving the internationalization process in the developing Algerian context.

The great interest of researchers and scientists is put to application of Artificial intelligence (AI) in industrial companies and there can be listed plenty articles related to AI and Industry 4.0. There is still little interest in Logistics 4.0 and AI, therefore, authors recognize it as a potential research gap. In hereby paper author presents previously developed Logistics 4.0 maturity model and their original proposal to assess maturity levels by virtue of a grey decision model for a small sample size of companies. Moreover, paper discuss potential directions of evolution for AI and Logistics 4.0 as a result of undeniable changes in our environment.

Purpose Institutional venture capitalists (IVCs) and corporate venture capitalists (CVCs) deploy analogous activities but adopt different approaches to financing innovation and value creation for venture-backed firms. Thus, this paper aims to investigate their potential ambidexterity as a result of knowledge management (KM) strategies and processes. Design/methodology/approach After a focused literature review showing evidence of KM behaviors as a source of potential ambidexterity for IVCs and CVCs, descriptive, inferential and discriminant analyses on the 15 most active IVCs and CVCs in the world in 2019 are presented. Correlations between numbers of deals, prevailing entrepreneurial intensity and potential ambidexterity are investigated. Findings Specific differences are analyzed from a KM perspective, revealing that the number/percentage of operations per round can result as a misleading criterion of knowledge accumulation. Finally, a theoretical model for ambidexterity for venture capitalists is developed. Originality/value The study shows that IVCs act with greater investment capacity because of their organizational structure and purpose and focus on financial goals; moreover, they are ambidextrous, although their exploration may more frequently entail exploitation than “real” exploration. CVCs tend to invest in sectors related to their core business, coherent with their strategic purpose and more oriented with KM strategies for accumulating intellectual capital.

Purpose The study aims to investigate the influence of FinTech (Financial Technology) determinants such as crowdfunding, mobile payment and blockchain as potential facilitators in an entrepreneurial ecosystem for undertaking decisions in Tunisia, as an example of emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research was carried out with data collection based on a questionnaire that has been sent via email to young Tunisian entrepreneurs (potential or actual). A following regression was calculated on 93 respondents. Findings Analysis of the data showed that most of the relationships under investigation were confirmed. Statistical tests highlighted that knowledge, availability and access about crowdfunding and blockchain had a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial intention. Regarding mobile payment, there was a negative and insignificant effect on entrepreneurial intention. Originality/value From the evidence of the research, Fintech ecosystems may positively influence the decision to undertake, with relevant implications at institutional, industrial and individual level. More specifically, demonstrating a positive and significant relationship between some main dimensions of FinTech and entrepreneurial intention and emphasizing the contribution of related knowledge to intellectual capital accumulation through entrepreneurial education, this study seems to be unique in examining and verifying this potential effect.

Heritage interpretation is an educational activity that provides information on natural and cultural heritage to people visiting heritage sites and objects. The article aims to identify different ways of using heritage interpretation as a tool for managing areas of sustainable development. The study consisted of a systematic literature review (knowledge mapping) in the field of heritage interpretation and sustainable development. Using the most important databases of scientific publications in the world (Scopus, Web of Science, Ebsco, Proquest), publications on the interpretation of heritage and sustainable development were searched. A total of 106 articles and scientific monographs were identified. Then, quantitative and qualitative data analysis was performed (text mining, topic extraction, content analysis). As a result, six thematic areas were identified: opportunities and threats for the area related to the implementation of heritage interpretation programs; the effectiveness of heritage interpretation in the areas of sustainable development; sustainable tourism development planning in heritage areas; the role of a guide-interpreter in the sustainable development of the area; the role of creativity in the heritage interpretation; and strategies for managing the visitor traffic in heritage areas. These thematic areas were discussed by citing examples from the literature on the subject.

The aim of this work is to verify the relationships between the co-creation of experiences, emotions, satisfaction and behavioural intentions of visitors to museums and heritage attractions. A further aim is to examine the moderating effect that a attractions may have on the above model depending on position on the continuum of consuming experiences. The work verifies nine hypotheses regarding the relationships between the variables and the moderating influence of the heritage attraction context. The research was conducted using the survey amongst visitors to three heritage attractions in Poland (N = 465). Analysis of the relationships between the variables were conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), employing the SmartPLS 3 software. The paper confirms that relationships between co-creation, experiences and satisfaction of visitors depend on the context of the heritage attractions. It has been shown that the appearance of experiences is influenced by participation in their creation.

Using PLS-SEM, this article proposes and verifies a model among Gen Z that captures the relationship between attitudes towards the environmental ecosystem and green tourism, personal and social norms regarding pro-environmental behaviour, perceived behavioural control, perceived green image of destinations (PGID), behavioural intentions regarding green holiday destinations (GHD), and willingness to pay (WTP) more for visiting them. The paper also verifies whether intercultural differences exist in the relationships between these variables. The most important results indicate that (1) for Gen Z, the perceived green image of destinations has the strongest impact on intention to travel to green holiday destinations; (2) the proposed variables explain the willingness to visit green holiday destinations to a much greater extent than the WTP a higher price for such trips. This study contributes to the literature concerning generational changes in tourism, pro-environmental (transition) planning, and the growing green economy and marketing.

The topic of a sustainable business model is currently the subject of much scientific research that covers a wide range of topics, from terminological aspects to aspects related to the impact of sustainability factors on company development. So far, however, the topic of sustainability in business models operating in electronic markets has only been studied to some extent. This article covers broad research into the value migration to sustainable business models of companies operating in the digital economy on the capital market. The aim of the article is to present key results of research into value migration to sustainable business models of companies operating in the digital economy on the capital market. The relevant literature on the trends in the application of the sustainability concept in the digital economy, the attributes of business models, and the interpretation of value within the concept of business models is also reviewed. The results obtained are ambiguous.

Notwithstanding the volume of literature assessing the link between entrepreneurship education and individuals’ entrepreneurial behaviour, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains misunderstood. In fact, a combination of inconclusive findings and a narrow focus on western contexts duly compel further research in this area. In the current study, we argue that individuals’ emotions could be the missing link to explain contrasting findings and uncover how education affects entrepreneurial activity. To test our argument, we investigate a sample of 1314 Nigerian students from five universities across the country. We find that entrepreneurship education enhances entrepreneurial intention by regulating students’ emotions. However, not all emotions bridge this link. Our findings hold important implications for practice. Policy makers and entrepreneurship educators can draw on these findings to tailor their initiatives and programmes so that the relevant emotions are regulated and entrepreneurship activity is enhanced.

Biogas production is a process with great potential. It uses the biodegradable raw materials of animal, vegetable and municipal waste. The amount of municipal as well as agricultural waste is increasing every year. This waste is an unmanaged and nuisance waste, and using it in biogas plants reduces the amount of waste. Biogas production is part of the EU’s policy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and use energy from renewable sources (diversification of energy sources). Its importance is certain to increase in the future as energy demand increases. This article deals with the economical use of biodegradable waste for biogas production in Poland and Germany. Both countries have a similar agricultural and municipal waste structure. An agricultural biogas plant is one way of obtaining energy based on renewable energy sources (RES). Energy production from agricultural biogas will allow Poland to meet the 32% obligation imposed by the EU and Germany to continue to be the market leader in biogas plants. The biogas market in Poland is growing, while in Germany, there is a decline in biogas installations. The article indicates what changes need to take place in agriculture and the use of municipal waste in these countries to sustain the development of biogas plants. Both countries should maintain animal husbandry to ensure continuous access to substrate and use waste for production rather than growing maize or other mixtures only for biogas plants. Due to the high price of chemical fertilisers, pulp from biogas plants should be an alternative to chemical fertilisers in both countries, which will contribute to greener crops. The governments of both countries should support such measures.

The household, industrial, and service sectors in Poland and the Baltic States have been facing ever-higher bills for their electricity consumption at a time when a number of them have been hit hard financially by the pandemic. Rising inflation, the border crisis—with its set of restrictions, or the spread of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, is causing strong concerns in the social and economic sphere, with significant increases in electricity prices. Many countries are implementing measures to reduce the adverse effects of rising electricity prices in response to this complex situation. The main orientation is towards obtaining energy from renewable sources, such as the sun. The current situation in the energy market determines the price per 1 KW. Among the countries under study, the price of electricity has increased the most in Poland. On the other hand, the development of the photovoltaic segment in Poland is undergoing a strong, upward trend. The above inspired the authors to explore the energy market situation in Poland and the Baltic States in the current economic conditions, along with an analysis of its development potential in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The main research problem of this study is an attempt to answer the question of what should be changed in the development of the renewable energy market in Poland, with particular emphasis on photovoltaics, to accelerate the process of reducing CO2 emissions, leading to a reduction in dramatically rising electricity prices. Which solutions implemented in the Baltic countries can inspire strengthening Poland’s energy market development?