Michał Nowicki

Objective: To contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of change in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector and to the preliminary identification of key motivational factors and their impact on the decision-making processes of Polish SMEs in implementing innovative business solutions based on selected contemporary leading technological and environmental trends, as a response to the changing landscape of sustainable competitiveness, from both an economic and a social perspective. Research Design & Methods: CATI pilot research conducted in December 2023 on a population of n = 126 respondents, research data obtained by a specialised external entity DSC Research Group Ltd. Findings: When asked about the motives that encourage taking actions related to the development of 1) Sustainable Technology Management and 2) Sustainable Environmental Management systems through the implementation of innovative solutions based on selected, currently leading technological and environmental trends, the respondents indicated that these are: 1) internal motivation / belief that this is the right direction to support the development of the company, 2) customer expectations, and 3) requirements arising from standards and policies at international level, e.g., European Union regulations. The analysis of the structure of the replies made it possible to observe differences in the distribution of the various indications and to identify a certain tendency, which indicates that the more often a given factor was mentioned in the population as a motive/motivator for action, the higher the percentage of indications that it was the “range I” (main primary) motivator and, conversely, the less often a given factor was mentioned, the higher the share in the distribution of the replies of the indication that it was a tertiary (range III) motivator. Implications / Recommendations: Relatively low scores for conditions such as: 1) “required by institutions that support and finance the development of enterprises (e.g., banks, venture capital),” 2) “required by our business partners” and 3) “required by standards and policies at local level (local authority policies)” may indicate that the so-called business environment institutions are either not ready, not aware of, or do not see the need to reward enterprises that want to develop in a sustainable way, based on innovative technological and environmental trends. This fact can be interpreted as evidence of the need to take measures to support the creation and development of sustainable business cooperation ecosystems. Contribution: The conducted research contributes to the development of knowledge about motives that can encourage entrepreneurs to implement innovative business solutions based on today’s leading technological and ecological trends in order to increase competitiveness while meeting the requirements and assumptions of sustainable development policies.

Nowicki, M. (2023). Crowdfunding in the Board Games Industry – Game Changer or a Temporary Curiosity? In M. Hajdas (Ed.), Game Changers in Management (pp. 80-97). Publishing House of Wroclaw University of Economics and Business.

The aim of the study is to identify, map and assess the maturity and impact level of the specific energy-oriented economy and other SMART management concepts and social, technological, finance (economical), environmental, and communication (S.T.F.E.C.) trends which arose from the dynamic development and spread of the Industry 4.0 revolution on processes of effective competitiveness and the creation of modern enterprises. The article presents data and information obtained thanks to an in-depth review of the literature (extensive desk research), as well as that obtained as part of the conducted CAWI pilot study. The authors aim to search for answers to three specific research questions, concluding that recently, special attention is paid to such issues as co-creation and co-production, energy-oriented and circular economy, eco-energy, and sustainability. The findings of this study clearly show that in the SMART WORLD era, there is a growing interest in cooperation, co-creation, co-production issues, and usage of modern technologies and SMART management concepts typical of the Industry 4.0 era. The main reason for this is that enterprises strive to optimize and maximize their efficiency in the processes of competitiveness creation. Researched data allows us to conclude that openness to social, environmental, and technological trends and issues, with an approach based on sustainable and eco-energy-oriented development, play an increasingly important role. However, the level of their importance, implementation level, and maturity differ depending on the type of organization or industry. For example, service and trade companies more often than production companies use and rate the usefulness of social trends higher (reality = mainstream orientation for S&T companies and a future orientation for production companies), while production companies apply a more balanced approach, showing greater commitment to economic technological, environmental and financial trends (reality = mainstream orientation for production companies and a future orientation for trade and services companies). Given that the study shows and describes preliminary research results (pilot studies), the authors plan to undertake further efforts in the in-depth scientific exploration of the issues concerned, including, which is particularly important, conducting full-scale research.

By highlighting the importance of tracking the maturity of various phenomena, this study aims at facilitating their response to the emerging changes and reducing the complexity of organizational management processes. To support business excellence and organization management in the SMART WORLD era, special attention was paid to previous findings. The pilot study research was carried out on a sample of 107 enterprises from Poland and Lithuania. The results of the data analysis collected during the quantitative research and their mapping identified: currently leading trends (mainstream - “new normal trends”), trends expected to undergo the development in short/medium/long term perspective and trends labelled as “no future” - fads or one step before their time. Research results were the basis for expressing preliminary conclusions about how to reduce uncertainty and complexity of the process of strategic decision making by contemporary managers.

Research problem: Revolution Industry 4.0. forces companies to face specific competence-related, technological, organizational and even ethical challenges. The use of innovative “tools” associated with that revolution not only brings new technological challenges, opportunities to build new competitive advantages, new areas of activity, and new types of business benefits but also doubts, questions, or even pathologies and paradoxes. Sometimes, entities that do not fully understand the essence of the new concepts, methods, or techniques use them incorrectly or abuse them for private goals and expose themselves to criticism—sometimes even social condemnation. These are examples of the lack of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of these organizations. This situation also has reached co-creation. In theory, it is a very positive concept, aimed at building competitiveness, or various types of competitive advantages of companies by creating value for clients with their participation. In economic practice, unfortunately, it is not always successful. Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to identify and characterize the key paradoxes and areas of potential pathologies of creating competitive advantage based on co-creation without CSR in the case of companies operating in the age of Industry 4.0. Originality/value of the paper: A theoretical study based on the extensive literature review describing paradoxes, ethical and CSR problems of co-creation in organizations creating competitive advantage in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a qualitative methodology of research. This study attempts to systematize paradoxes of co-creation and the areas and industries in which the related pathologies of co-creation occur particularly often and distinctively in economic practice. The empirical studies were conducted as a review of case studies of companies that use the concept of co-creation in an irregular way (paradoxical or with pathologies). This study identified and characterized the key 31 paradoxes and pathologies of creating competitive advantage based on co-creation in the case of 14 companies operating in the age of Industry 4.0. Implications: The identification of main dilemmas, paradoxes and pathologies of co-creation; signaling the role of governance and CSR in processes of the valuable use of co-creation in the age of Industry 4.0. Based on the observations described in the paper, it is worth recommending that when becoming involved in co-creation, one should observe ethical standards and assumptions of CSR, and require the same from partners and other parties involved. Otherwise, the risk is that instead of co-creation, the result achieved will be exactly the opposite to that intended, which is co-destruction, and condemnation instead of glory. This is why it is worth considering the paradoxes that are key to co-creation and approaching solutions in a conscious way.

Openness is an expression of an enterprise’s ability to adapt to changing environment conditions and its ability to cooperate with different types of partners. A given company’s openness shows its readiness for the creation of dynamics of many business processes, including the creation of its competitive advantage. Due to the nature of today’s enterprises’ environment, mainly its “high velocity” & “complexity” attributes, openness of companies has to be multifaceted. Organization-customer relationships, called co-creation, are one of such facets. The capacity for effective co-creation gives a company the ability to gain a competitive advantage along with the chance for its permanent dynamization and sustainability. The main purpose of the paper is to present the framework and algorithm of co-creation as a method of reducing the complexity of the environment and dynamizing companies’ competitive advantages. A review of literature in the areas of open organization, open culture, partnership, co-creation, and competitive advantage provides a basis for understanding the process of co-creation. Collected data show that the activity of enterprises in this process is a key factor in the reduction of complexity of a company’s environment and an important stimulator of the dynamization of a company’s competitive advantage. The authors’ own CATI questionnaire survey research conducted in Poland showed the level of preparation Polish SMEs have to co-create.

One of the biggest challenges that organizations are facing today is finding the proper way to shape competitive advantages in the age of Industry 4.0. This digital revolution forces companies to face specific challenges. The main purpose of this paper is to identify key requirements for the creation of a competitive advantage in the age of Industry 4.0 [CA. 4.0] The second purpose is to evaluate the level of organizations' preparedness for Digital Transformation [DX]. Studies based on a literature review describe requirements for organizations functioning in the age of Industry 4.0, especially in the area of DX and exploitation of Virtualization [V&DX].