Search

PurposeThe main purpose of the study is to identify the differences and similarities in the communication between B2B participants in cross-cultural environments.Design/methodology/approachThe research methods used in the study are two-fold: the literature analysis is complemented by primary qualitative research conducted in small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in Poland and doing business internationally. The research was focused on two culturally different markets: China and the United States. In the empirical research, the authors used one of the qualitative methods – Individual Depth Interview (IDI).FindingsGeneral findings showed that the strongest influence of culture was identified among older (+50 years old) business partners. The younger ones are eager to adapt and try to understand others' viewpoints. The research results may be used in creating business communication models in the countries researched for companies that plan to enter both American and Chinese markets.Practical implicationsThe results of the study may have useful applied managerial value and be used in cooperation between SMEs' B2B business partners, not only from Poland but also from the whole region of Central and Eastern Europe and the United States and China.Social implicationsThe findings may help to understand and communicate with culturally different social groups such as co-workers, students, teachers, etc.Originality/valueThe research presented in the paper covers the gap in the literature because it relates to some new factors (like cultural heritage, age and type of industry) which determine the effectiveness of personal business communication between partners in the international marketplace.

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to identify the determinants of the marketing and managerial knowledge transfer from a foreign subsidiary located in a post-transition country to its headquarters established in a developed country.Design/methodology/approachThe authors combined the critical literature studies and empirical research, where the method of Computer-assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) was applied. The empirical data was gathered from 231 manufacturing foreign subsidiaries established in Poland (as one of the post-transition economy). To test the hypotheses logistic regression was applied.FindingsThe knowledge accumulated in the foreign subsidiary, the amount and level of novelty of innovation in the foreign subsidiary and its strategic autonomy is crucial for the occurrence of the reverse knowledge transfer. However, the more powerful the foreign subsidiary is, the less eager it is to transfer marketing and managerial knowledge to the headquarters.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is concentrated just on the manufacturing sector in the Polish economy. The results are based on the opinions and perception of managers, but they represent the corporate perspective (not their individual ones).Practical implicationsThe study provokes asking the question about the proper level of strategic autonomy of a foreign subsidiary. The implication related to the autonomy is much about the proper strategy for human resources management. The obtained results indicate that the intensity of innovation in a foreign subsidiary “translates” to the outflow of knowledge from a foreign subsidiary to its headquarters. Thus, encourages headquarters to let their subsidiaries innovate still monitoring their power.Social implicationsFSs are entities more or less embedded in the host markets, thus their strength and sustainable existence is important for their stakeholders, in particular – internal entities such as employees and external entities such as suppliers, and other cooperating organisations and institutions in the host market. The contribution of FSs to the innovation performance and knowledge pool of external partners is determined much by their absorptive capacity. Thus, the results obtained indirectly point to the importance of external agents ability to absorb and exploit the knowledge.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper concerns three issues. Firstly, the previous studies are mainly focused on either developed or emerging markets and as a result, the peculiarity of post-transition economies, like Poland has been neglected. Secondly, the determinants of reverse knowledge transfer are presented from the corporate perspective. Thirdly, authors focus on marketing and management knowledge distributed from a foreign subsidiary to its headquarter.

The development of new technologies, expanding Internet access, and Web 2.0 helps companies better address and collaborate with a new type of consumers (prosumers). That is, they are able to harnes...

PurposeThe key purposes of the paper are: firstly, to identify what kind of new media tools are used by managers in communication with foreign business partners for professional purposes and which, in their opinion, are the most effective, secondly, to identify the relationships between the usage of new media tools and factors that can impact such communication.Design/methodology/approachThe method used in the research was IDI (Individual Depth Interview). Interviews were conducted in 334 companies that operate on the Polish market and which are active internationally (e.g. Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America), the managers responsible for international relations were the main respondents.FindingsThe most popular and most used new media tools are Skype and instant messengers, which were evaluated as good devices for international personal communication. Additionally the results of the research emphasize the significance of cultural and economic factors when taking into account the usage of new media tools in personal communication between business partners from different companies and countries.Practical implicationsThe results of the research can be useful for managers doing business internationally and communicating with business partners from different markets and cultures.Originality/valueThe research presented in the paper covers the gap in the literature because it relates to the environmental factors that impact upon the use of new media tools in personal business communication between partners in the international marketplace.

Purpose: The main objective of the chapter is threefold: to conduct literature review, to develop a model of consumer acceptance of augmented reality (AR) in e-commerce, and research hypotheses. The model will emphasize the factors (motives and risks) affecting the acceptance of AR technologies by e-commerce consumers. Design/methodology/approach: The study used inductive research approach whose results will be the key basis for primary research. The main research method was literature review: the meta-synthesis method. Findings: We developed a model of factors influencing the acceptance of AR technology in e-commerce based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2). The following factors were included into the proposed model as predictors of acceptance: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, perceived AR risk, privacy risk. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this research is its conceptual character. Future research should aim to empirically verify the proposed model. Practical implications: By showing the possibilities and actual acceptance of AR’s use in selected countries, the research might contribute to the development of a set of guidelines for enterprises in the e-commerce branch and, eventually, improve their international competitiveness, e.g. by guiding product and promotion strategies. Originality and value: Based on the literature review, this chapter proposes anovel research model of consumer acceptance of AR in e-commerce, which can be verified in the future research.

Objective: The main aim of the article is two-fold: firstly, to indicate the benefits to companies. which stem from the usage of Big Data Analysis (BDA), and secondly to conceptualise main general sources of competitive advantage that BDA affords. Research Design & Methods: The method used in the article is a comprehensive literature review including theories of competitive advantage and relations existing on the Consumer-to-Business market including BDA. Findings: The conducted research indicates the particular benefits as a result of using BDA, but also conceptualises and proposes three main general sources of competitive advantage that BDA affords. These include product quality, risk reduction, and a customer relationships advantage. Implications & Recommendations: The results have practical implications as they identify the importance and a possible application of BDA for companies from different industries. If one wants to achieve a competitive advantage, then BDA constitutes an important potential solution. However, a certain level of managerial awareness is required first in order to implement such a solution. The awareness of particular benefits which have already been achieved by competitors in the same industry by applying BDA may be an important trigger for a company to consider implementing their own BDA. Contribution & Value Added: The originality of the article stems from the comprehensive analysis of benefits of BDA resulting in the conceptualisation of Big Data-driven competitive advantage.

The main objective of the paper is to identify the interdependencies between a type of a product (durable products) and the nature of information on social networking sites (SNSs) that affects the making of purchase decisions. An attempt has been made to answer the research question: to what extent types of products are of influence when using relevant information on SNSs and when making purchase decisions (pre-purchasing stage). The literary studies are complemented with empirical research done in three countries: China, Poland and the United States. The results confirm the importance of SNSs and the information obtained from them in making purchase decisions. In relation to the categories of products the strongest correlations were observed in fashion, household goods and cosmetics. In the case of the type of information gained through SNSs that influence making purchase decisions advertisements placed on SNSs and information about new products are the most significant.

This paper aims to examine the international context of the digital transformation sweeping through advanced economies worldwide. The authors focus on both the business-to-business (B2B) and consumer-to-business (C2B) aspects of this process. The B2B perspective is linked with the idea of a fourth industrial revolution, a notion that is also referred to as Industry 4.0, while the C2B perspective involves the growing role and popularity of social media. The paper sets out to identify the interdependencies between these two dimensions of the digital transformation. The authors apply a narrative approach to lay out the main issues related to the process in the international context. The study is a balanced analysis of key issues related to the B2B and B2C streams of the digital transformation. It also outlines the major advantages and threats as well as expected implications of Industry 4.0 and social media. The research encountered a number of challenges that chiefly stemmed from the relative novelty of the discussed problems. These included a lack of first-hand data, a dearth of adequate literature references, and data confidentiality, compounded by firms’ unwillingness to share information. Nevertheless, the authors managed to identify some internationally embedded peculiarities of Industry 4.0 (B2B perspective) and demonstrated the usefulness of social media in new production and communication processes (C2B perspective).

The growth of the Internet heavily influences people’s lives every day, especially by the development of Social Networking Sites (SNS), which since their first appearance have been constantly recording a growing number of users. The main purpose of this paper is to identify the significance of SNS in relation to two activities of individual users: communication and consumer behaviour. The study focuses on the three most popular SNS in three neighbouring countries (Germany, Poland, and Russia) namely, FACEBOOK, VKONTAKTE, and YOUTUBE. The methodological approach is twofold: firstly, the authors developed a theoretical background of the areas of using SNS and formulated research questions; secondly, they applied the PAPI and CAWI methods for the data analysis. Regarding the researched activities, it should be noted that SNS users use these platforms more often for communication than consumer actions. The most useful here is FACEBOOK in comparison to YOUTUBE. This study provides results, which can be useful in the management of the enterprises that use SNS for their marketing communication in Germany, Poland, and Russia.

The main objective of the paper is to identify the degree to which Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are used in communication related to gathering information about products via mobile devices (mobile communication). The research problem is presented in the context of Computer Mediated Communication theory (CMC). In the realisation of the main purpose of this paper, an attempt has been made to answer two research questions: firstly, is there a relationship between types of products and the frequency of gathering and conveying information about them via SNSs? Secondly, what role do mobile devices play in this communication? A comprehensive literature study has been complemented with an empirical research, conducted in four countries – China, Poland, the United States and Turkey. Two research methods: PAPI (Paper and Pen Personal Interview) and CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) were used in the empirical research. The research showed a significant use of mobile devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets) in communication (gathering and conveying information about products) via SNSs, especially in relation to products such as electronic devices as well as clothes and footwear. Głównym celem artykułu jest identyfikacja stopnia wykorzystania serwisów społecznościowych w komunikacji związanej z gromadzeniem informacji o produktach przy zastosowaniu urządzeń mobilnych (komunikacja mobilna). Problem badawczy został przedstawiony w świetle teorii komunikacji internetowej. W realizacji celu głównego dokonano próby odpowiedzi na dwa pytania badawcze: po pierwsze, czy istnieje związek między rodzajami produktów a częstotliwością gromadzenia i przekazywania informacji o produktach za pośrednictwem serwisów społecznościowych, po drugie, jaką rolę w tej komunikacji odgrywają urządzenia mobilne. Studia literaturowe zostały uzupełnione badaniami empirycznymi, które przeprowadzono w czterech krajach – Chinach, Polsce, Stanach Zjednoczonych oraz Turcji. W badaniach empirycznych wykorzystano dwie metody badawcze: PAPI (Paper and Pen Personal Interview) i CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview). Badania empiryczne pokazały duże wykorzystanie urządzeń mobilnych (tj. smartfonów oraz tabletów) w komunikacji (gromadzeniu i poszukiwaniu informacji o produktach) za pośrednictwem serwisów społecznościowych, szczególnie w odniesieniu do takich produktów jak urządzenia elektroniczne, a także odzież i obuwie. Scientific grant no. 2015/17/B/HS4/00309 of National Science Centre, Poland.

This research focuses on the impact of social media (SM) on their users’ behaviour vis-a-vis their decision to purchase goods and services online as well as their attitudes towards these media. The theoretical framework was grounded in the literature of consumers’ behaviour and their interaction with the digital media with a special focus on individual socio-demographics (age and gender). The literature overview allowed the construction of the research hypotheses taking into account the personal traits and the social media usage in terms of consumer activities. The empirical testing of the hypotheses was performed with quantitative methods of analysis applied to a dataset of SM users from six different countries (Poland, China, Spain, Germany, Turkey and US). Findings have shown that SM preferences and their frequency of use have different impacts on consumer behaviour both depending on individual characteristics. Some implications for business managers and marketeers are discussed

On the one hand, internationalization and globalization processes influence the fact that attitudes and behaviours of representatives of different cultures become similar. On the other one, opposite processes which aim at the manifestation of cultural differences can be observed. The aim of this article is to find an answer to the question whether young people, students of higher schools of economics, future managers show similar cultural traits or whether the influence of the native environment is so strong that young Europeans manifest different values. In order to answer this question selected characteristics, which are significantly applicable at work in an enterprise have been used. The answer to the aforementioned question has been searched both in the literature on the subject as well as in empirical studies conducted in ten European countries (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Great Britain). Their results show significant similarities of cultural traits among the young respondents coming from the surveyed countries. These characteristics are manifested in various attitudes, hypothetical behaviours and the judgment of behaviour of others.

Opracowanie powstało w ramach realizacji projektu badawczego Komitetu Badań Naukowych pt. Strategie firm polskich wobec ekspansji inwestorów zagranicznych. Podjęto próbę odpowiedzi na pytania: jakie strategie firmy lokalne mogą realizować w obliczu ekspansji firm zagranicznych, jakie strategie realizują, a jakie powinny realizować? Zwrócono uwagę na postrzeganie polityki gospodarczej przez jej adresatów, czyli przedsiębiorstwa oraz na kwestię oczekiwań formułowanych pod adresem polityki gospodarczej przez firmy.