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Purpose: The article aims to provide readers with insight into the economic benefits stemming from the existence of SEZ and to indicate how these zones impact regional development. Through the analysis of these aspects, the article aims to highlight the significance and potential of SEZs as a tool supporting economic and regional development. The primary accomplishment of this paper lies in demonstrating how special economic zones can serve as zones for the establishment of clusters. Design/methodology/approach: Analysis of the economic benefits arising from the presence of SEZs. Findings: The main objective of this article is to examine and present the benefits arising from the existence of SEZs, as well as to analyze the effects that SEZs have on regional development in emerging countries, including Poland. The article also shows the specificity of cooperation within clusters in the particular economic zones in Poland. The paper focuses on identifying the positive aspects associated with the functioning of SEZs and analyzing the impact of these zones on a specific region. Paper includes examples of specific regions/ territories that have benefited from the existence of SEZs and have achieved successes in terms of economic and regional development. The research hypothesis postulates that SEZs play a constructive role in advancing regional development, specifically by facilitating increased foreign investments and reducing unemployment. Originality/value: The presented cases can serve as case studies that illustrate the real effects of SEZs in specific areas. The primary achievement of this paper is in illustrating the role of SEZs as core facilitators for the formation of clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the role of business support organisations (BSO) in overcoming barriers to the adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies, especially in disseminating knowledge on such technologies among cluster firms. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on in-depth interviews conducted in 2021 with representatives of BSO in three manufacturing clusters (furniture, metal and automotive) in the Wielkopolska region in Poland. Findings: Companies in clusters face important barriers impeding the adoption of I4.0 technologies, in particular, the unawareness of the characteristics and potential of those technologies. BSO might be particularly helpful in overcoming this barrier by supporting knowledge dissemination among companies. This study's analyses suggest they can do so in three roles: as knowledge gatekeepers, as brokers of purposeful knowledge transfer and as facilitators of spontaneous knowledge diffusion. Evidence suggests that different types of organisations are more likely to be associated with each of these three roles, despite such a combination of the three often being in one place: public agencies are gatekeeping, selecting and passing on certain knowledge on I4.0; research-oriented organisations (such as technology parks) play a knowledge transfer brokerage role; industry associations and cluster initiatives are actively facilitating spontaneous knowledge diffusion. Originality/value: This paper is a contribution to the emerging literature on digital transformations of clusters by investigating the difficulties preventing firms from adopting I4.0 technologies and the roles BSO can take on to support overcoming them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research abstract: This paper uses an essay format to set out the major issues of attracting FDI in times of digital business transformation. It departs from identifying the changing nature of international production patterns and altering profiles of MNEs due to fourth industrial revolution and discusses the implication of thereof on FDI policy designing and implementing. It diagnoses the likely evolution of such policy aiming at attracting digital FDI and outlines the related challenges. It draws on the case of Poland and argues that humbler, yet quality-oriented and selective approach the policymakers might need to adopt, should focus on providing the right conducive business environment among others by pursuing the smart industrial policy and by leveraging the clusters advantages. Managerial abstract: The changing nature of international production and altering profiles of MNEs due to fourth industrial revolution impact how the FDI policy is designed and implemented. By drawing on the case of Poland it can be argued that humbler, yet quality-oriented and selective approach the policy-makers might need to adopt, should focus on providing the right conducive business environment. This implies pursuing the smart industrial policy and leveraging the clusters advantages. At the same time, it would be crucial to support local companies as partners for such MNEs – i.e. to empower domestic firms and embed foreign firms. Facilitating further cluster developments might prove critical in embedding footloose MNEs and equip local entities to cope with new challenges of digital transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clusters are places that facilitate knowledge sharing and dissemination among firms and institutions working in functionally-related fields. Structural changes that take place within clusters over time influence knowledge-related processes and require new approaches towards external knowledge sourcing. In this paper, we use a mixed-method approach to investigate different knowledge sources that firms use at different stages of a cluster life cycle. The empirical research comprises the investigation of two clusters that specialize in the same kind of economic activity, i.e. in the furniture industry, but are at different stages of their life cycle. These are, a mature cluster – the Livenza district in Italy and a growing one – the Kępno cluster in Poland. The analysis revealed that firms in a mature cluster use a greater variety of external knowledge sources and more knowledge-intensive sources than those in growing clusters do. This may be explained by more homogeneous and well-established knowledge pools at later stages of a cluster life cycle and/or by higher competition between firms offering similar products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management & Innovation is the property of Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu-National Louis University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to characterize the process of knowledge management in business clusters in terms of the benefits for the cluster members. The paper examines which mechanisms within the clusters promote knowledge creation between companies and other institutions. Methodology: The literature review is based on databases of books and scientific articles, such as EBSCO, Elsevier, JSTOR, Springer, and the Oxford Library and Kingston University London Library The analysis of the literature is focused around the concepts of business clusters, knowledge management in organizations, knowledge management in clusters. Findings: The literature presented in this paper shows that network forms of organization such as clusters are conducive to inter-firm knowledge and skill development. Clusters as a type of network turn out to be a highly structured model of knowledge development, transfer and diffusion, produced by the interaction of social and economic relations within cluster institutions. Research implications: The article constitutes a combination of two theoretical aspects -- knowledge management and business clusters. The theoretical conclusions of the literature review, mostly foreign literature, provide a basis for research in that area. Practical implications: In the Polish literature on the subject the aspect of knowledge management in business clusters has not yet been discussed. The conclusions of the presented literature analysis provide a basis for research and the development of practical recommendations for cluster managers. Knowledge-based clusters can serve as an example for developing clusters in the world. They are often clustered around research centers, making it possible to improve the exchange of knowledge between the cluster members and also providing the opportunity to better connect the world of science and business. Originality: The author has presented a unique mix of theory, knowledge management and business clusters and has demonstrated that one of the benefits of business clusters is their ability to generate knowledge by combining existing information and data from internal databases of businesses within clusters with the influx of new information. Formal contacts between the employees of the cooperating institutions provide general knowledge and best practices based on collective knowledge. While informal contacts are important channels for the transfer of tacit knowledge, the so-called operational know-how. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Business & Global Economy is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The economic development of the country, built on innovative industrial solutions, provides an opportunity for competing on global markets. Large enterprises along with corporate patents run competition at a high level and their financial dimension constitutes the insurmountable barrier for many entrepreneurs. Moderately developed countries, in their development strategies, include global solutions to be able to follow global trends. However, smaller countries, and particularly their economic situation, is very often built by enterprises belonging to the SME sector. Therefore, they are not able to accomplish their strategic assumptions, at least due to production capacity and limited access to the latest innovative solutions. In the development process, there should be also taken into account the aspect of the domestic competition, which very often "devastates" small entrepreneurs for the benefit of large enterprises. The economy run in this way will not achieve the economic level in terms of the global competition since an individual unit is not able to satisfy the global needs. Network systems, and particularly cluster initiatives/clusters create an opportunity for uniting and cooperating but they also allow for a certain degree of autonomy of their individual participants. In previous years, the Silicon Valley was the reference point for the countries that took actions striving for the industrial specialization of the local markets. This solution was found to be difficult to implement since not all enterprises were able to cooperate with each other. The element of sharing, at least information or knowledge, with simultaneous competition with the same units was very often the point which the enterprises, particularly larger ones, did not want/were not able to fulfill. In many cases, the reason for such behavior was disinformation on the functioning of clusters. Clusters also provided an opportunity for raising funds which, in turn, provoked the situation of creating "artificial" activities aimed at increasing technological attractiveness of the selected entities. The verification of active initiatives allows to find the industry which will have real opportunities for development as well as competition on global markets. The paper contains the analysis of the situation of clusters/cluster initiatives in Poland in years 2011 and 2016. The presented relationships allow to assess the actual economic situation of the country by finding the developed industry which, in its structures, will support local entrepreneurs, both the large ones and the ones belonging to the SME sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: Innovations are introduced by competitive companies. One of the most common methods, increasingly used by companies, is organizing clusters or cluster initiatives operating within a specialized sector, competing with each other, exploiting the potential of cooperation and its impact on creating new business ideas. However, these efforts could be unviable due to the lack of an effective leader of the group. One should underline a crucial role of the leader in such an organized network, since the leader makes improvements and takes initiatives for all the network and its partners. These concepts prompt us to undertake the research on the role of clusters' characteristics on enhancing willingness to innovate in general. This study aims to point out the main characteristics of clusters and to investigate their impact on companies' innovativeness. The main problem to address is the magnitude of specific effects that might boost introducing new solutions in firms' networks. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of factors describing cluster environment (characteristics like cooperation within clusters and beyond them, incentives of a leader, and localization factors) that might affect the innovativeness of companies. Methods: The authors collected data using questionnaire. This type of primary source enables the authors to construct a model consisting of latent variables such as incentives of coordinator of cluster or cluster initiative, cooperation of firms with local authorities, cooperation between entrepreneurs, or localization. The results are subject to the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis. Findings & value added: The conducted analysis leads to several findings. Firstly, incentives provided by the cluster coordinator enable companies to increase the willingness to introduce innovations in general. Secondly, however, the influence of other cluster characteristics on the propensity to innovate for firms functioning within specific Polish business clusters is scant. These findings point to the fact that actions leading to assign the official coordinator of a cluster need to be done, as it should result in better flow of knowledge, more symmetric information among companies within cluster, and more productive and innovative way of functioning firms in general. Regarding innovation clusters (and regional innovation systems), these actions need to be supported by forming policy on regional level, because effective clusters would induce more competitive regional economy in long-term scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a mapping of the different uses of the word multifunctionality. To explore the diversity of meanings and interpretations, a comparative analysis was conducted through five national case studies in France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. The analysis conducted at national level makes it possible to identify eight Concept Oriented Research Clusters (CORCs), based on a relative homogeneity in the research practices, in the research questions addressed, in the concepts used or discussed by scientists to lead their work and in the scientific disciplines, the stream of thought or possibly the epistemic community researchers belong to. The classification helps in understanding how the term Multifuctionality (MF) is used by different advocates around a variety of conceptualisations, political context or normative perspectives. It also helps in looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the word for tackling different issues. Highlighting this diversity might contribute to the consolidation of research and to gain credibility facing the political debates. Because of what it can bring into analysis, the authors recommend to use it for the design of an analytical framework to look at sustainability, and to leave the conception of MF as a goal to the political spheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, the demographic changes have all altered the population structure and influenced the social, economic, and political characteristics of countries over the world. Therefore, the creation of novel ecosystems, new clusters and systems which involved technology and industry, business, education, science, and innovation are increased rapidly. However, in order to solve the future global challenges, the created various types of clusters, public and private sector systems should cooperate and work together as a unit. Therefore, one of the proposed solutions is unified regional ecosystems' building. The Interreg European Life Science Ecosystems (ELISE) project addresses the societal challenge which is common to the European regions: to promote better health for all. This covers the need to improve health and well-being outcomes, to promote market growth, job creation, and EU competitiveness. Based on the project, three different regions of the European countries—Poland, Italy, and Germany—are selected in order to perform the analysis of drivers directly influencing the move from the existing clusters to unified regional ecosystem. The performed analysis showed that the government of a country and regional public authorities have the direct influence and play the central role in shaping unified regional ecosystems. The common economic, social, and political situation in a country is dependent on the government and it is influenced by the regional public authorities. Therefore, the collaboration and conversation among such institutions is the important factor defining how quickly different countries will create unified ecosystems and will solve the future problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Geographic variation in the prevalence of isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate may be due to exogenous environmental factors or genetic variation. In this study, we aim to evaluate the prevalence of isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate in Polish urban and rural environments in order to identify geographic areas with high prevalence (defect clusters). Methods: We use all cases of congenital malformations reported to the Polish Registry of Congenital Malformations in the years 1998–2008 from the total population of 2,362,502 births. Results: We detect a strong signal of increased prevalence of isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate in a single region of Poland, the Dolnośląskie voivodeship. Furthermore, we demonstrate a statistically significant prevalence differences between the urban and rural areas within this region. Through our comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis, we precisely define the cluster of the highest risk that comprises the eastern part of this voivodeship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization & Management / Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej. Seria Organizacji i Zarzadzanie is the property of Silesian Technical University, Organisation & Management Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)