Marzena Podgórska

Entrepreneurial ecosystems can support innovation-driven and sustainable regional development, yet less is known about how local institutions coordinate support across successive stages of firm development. This study examines the entrepreneurial ecosystem associated with Gliwice, Poland, focusing on its institutional architecture, formally available support instruments, institutional roles, and potential coordination issues. A qualitative single-case study was conducted using structured document analysis of 59 sources, institutional mapping, classification of support instruments across three firm-development stages, and an exploratory adaptation of the RACI framework. The analysis distinguishes a locally embedded ecosystem core from an external regional and national support environment. The documentary evidence indicates broad formal support across R&D and innovation, commercialization, expansion, scaling, and internationalization. However, several financing, investment, and internationalization functions are provided primarily by regional and national institutions, while formal mechanisms connecting organizations and support instruments across successive stages are less clearly documented. The study contributes by distinguishing the availability of institutional support from documented formal coherence, understood as documentary evidence of support continuity, complementarity, clarity of institutional roles, and formal coordination mechanisms.

Purpose: To examine the possibility of integrating agile and traditional methodologies in IT project management. The paper focuses on assessing how the integration of these two approaches can affect the effectiveness of project implementation in the IT industry, as well as on formulating recommendations for companies and project managers who want to consciously use the advantages of both agile and traditional project management methodologies in their work. Design/methodology/approach: The research used qualitative methods, i.e. covert participant observation and in-depth interviews with experienced project managers. The theoretical background of the research was based on methodological studies in the field of project management, represented by the PMBoK standard, the Prince2 methodology and the Scrum Guide framework. Findings: The results of the study indicate that conscious and flexible combination of methodologies contributes to greater team effectiveness and better quality of delivered products. Furthermore, they point to the need to develop internal good practice guides, standardise communication and reporting, and implement cyclical evaluation mechanisms that will allow the management model to be flexibly adapted to changing project conditions. Practical implications: Key to the effectiveness of the hybrid approach is the active involvement of management and the PMO, who should set standards of operation, support project teams, and ensure transparency of processes. Originality/value: The article brings original value by attempting to standardize the approach to the use of hybrid methodologies in IT projects. The proposed approach reduces inconsistencies in project implementation and facilitates the decision-making process at the management level.

Characterized by inexpensive and readily available products, fast fashion has increased the consumption and disposal of clothing, for which criticism has been significant due to its negative environmental and social impact. Therefore, transitioning to sustainable business models (SBMs) that balance profit with corporate social responsibility (CSR) is critical. This study explores sustainable value propositions in Polish Zero Waste fashion businesses, addressing the gap in research on SBMs. It also employs the theory of organizational paradoxes to examine tensions between profit maximization and CSR. Data were collected from 249 Polish Zero Waste companies listed on mapazerowaste.pl and analyzed through content analysis and statistical methods. Additionally, 21 YouTube videos from 2020 to 2022 were examined to study sustainable fashion promotion. Multiple coding and categorization schemes were used to identify themes, followed by frequency analysis and correspondence analysis. Second-hand clothing emerged as the most common value proposition (120 companies), reflecting consumer trends in resale. The repair sector with cobbler and leather repair services (55 companies) also showed a strong presence, highlighting demand for tailoring and upcycling services Rental services (2 companies) remain niche due to limited consumer acceptance. Promotion efforts on YouTube focus on building awareness of fast fashion’s impacts and teaching sustainable behaviors. Sustainable value propositions, exemplified by Polish Zero Waste businesses, synthesize profit and CSR strategies, addressing organizational paradoxes. These findings inform strategies to balance financial and socio-environmental goals, with implications for policy and practice in advancing sustainable fashion.

Purpose: The main goal of the study was to investigate the potential of servant leadership in increasing the effectiveness of IT project teams and to assess its impact on organizational culture. In addition, an analysis of leadership styles was conducted according to Hersey and Blanchard's situational model. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth interviews were used to assess the potential of servant leadership in the IT industry, which were conducted among 5 leaders from the IT industry, while the analysis of leadership styles was conducted based on the LEAD-Self questionnaires developed by Hersey and Blanchard. The Benedictine model of management was included as an additional ethical context. Findings: research results indicate that servant leadership has an impact on increasing the effectiveness of project teams and organizational culture. This is because it allows the project goals to harmonize with the needs of the participants, creating a symbiotic arrangement conducive to the development of both the team and the project. In addition, the LEAD-Self questionnaire shows that the dominant primary style, which the survey of leaders uses most often, is a supportive style. Practical implications: Implications for organizations and leaders are given in the publication. The most important of them is to promote a supportive style among leaders that fosters effective and aligned project teams, as well as to implement proven leadership models, such as servant leadership, that incorporate ethical and moral values into project management. Originality/value: The publication addresses the issue of servant leadership in IT project management and additionally considers the situational approach in this context. By doing so, it influences the expansion of knowledge in the field of human resource management in project management and emphasizes the importance of the moral and ethical dimensions of leadership in combination with the situational approach, which constitutes the originality of the study.

The literature and practitioners both emphasise the need to involve universities in the promotion and implementation of SDGs. On the other hand, the lack of practical solutions to include SDGs in university activity is constantly emphasised. The objective of the article is to investigate how project‐based learning innovations used in student education affect the achievement of sustainable development goals. We analyse whether innovative project based–learning projects at a leading technology university in Poland pursued from 2018 to 2021 contribute to achieving sustainable development goals, and we study the matter of interdisciplinarity of the project teams. To this end, we employ a qualitative content analysis of reports for 108 projects that involved 324 researchers, 607 students, and 233 experts from the university's business environment. The categorical data yielded by the analysis are analysed with quantitative methods: frequency analysis, correspondence analysis, and data visualisation. The analyses demonstrated that the most commonly pursued sustainable development goals were: SDG 9: Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 3: Good Health and Well‐Being, and SDG 12: Responsible Production and Construction. Biomedical Engineering experts pursued projects dedicated to SDG 3: Good Health and Well‐Being, while Automation and Robotics specialists focused on SDGs 9: Industry Innovation and Infrastructure and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. The primary sustainable development goal for Environmental Engineering teams was SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production followed by SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation and 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. The most common interdisciplinarity in the teams was of the second type: interdisciplinarity bringing together experts from two research areas. The article presents the results of research on the process of promoting sustainable development through project‐based learning implemented under an interdisciplinary collaboration of teams of university staff, students, and experts from businesses associated with the university. The results contribute to the academic debate on the ability of universities to teach, implement, and promote sustainable development and its goals.

Contemporary project teams are increasingly used to solve problems that are at the crossroads of many disciplines and areas dedicated to Industry 4.0, which is a watershed in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Industry 4.0 can serve as a platform for the alignment of SDGs with the ongoing digital transformation. This involves specific challenges for teams, but also allows perspectives that may create innovative and high-quality results. In order to meet these challenges while taking advantage of the opportunities offered by interdisciplinary cooperation, project teams, including the team leader, should have specific competencies. With this in mind, the aim of this article is to identify the challenges and perspectives related to working in interdisciplinary Sustainable Industry 4.0 project teams and to define the competencies necessary to act as a member and leader of these teams. Implementation of this aim will be possible by answering two research questions: (1) What requirements and opportunities are involved with interdisciplinary work amongst members of Sustainable Industry 4.0 project teams; and (2) What are the competencies necessary of members and leaders of such teams to meet these requirements and take advantage of the opportunities for such cooperation? An exploratory case study was conducted among members of interdisciplinary project teams at one of the leading technical universities in Poland. Qualitative data were obtained from many sources: interviews, internal documentation of analyzed projects and managerial notes. The obtained results allow us to state that the most important challenges and perspectives related to the work of interdisciplinary Sustainable Industry 4.0 teams include coordination of individual parts of the project, integrative leadership, establishing a common language, broad views on the issues raised and building a team consisting of specialists with the required competencies. The competencies of the project team that are important for working in the analyzed environment include strategic perspective, communication skills and persuasion, while for leaders, competencies must include the ability to coordinate work, resource management, empowering and motivation.

The aim of the article is to examine technological innovations developed by engineers as part of Project-Based Learning at one of the Polish technical universities. We examined whether the innovations being developed meet the goals of sustainable development and whether they provide the basis for the introduction of sustainable business models. We analyzed reports from 49 projects implemented in the years 2018–2020 in which 146 scientists, 282 students of the Silesian University of Technology, and 126 experts from the university’s business environment were involved. We performed the analysis using content analysis and visualization techniques. The results show that the studied innovations implement the goals of sustainable development and most of them may become the basis of sustainable business models. The most frequently pursued goals are Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and Good Health and Well-Being. Most of the studied innovations can become the basis of the archetype of a sustainable business model called “maximize material and energy efficacy”. We also provide the characteristics of projects that implement the diagnosed goals of sustainable development.