Managerial Economics

Over the last few decades, the business landscape has undergone significant changes, and new investors have faced severe challenges in achieving their desired goals. The business sector has compelled practitioners to introduce some innovative methods that promote the business’s activities at lower intrinsic costs. Thus, the inclusion of digital transformation in business activities has been proposed as the best solution to avoid the business loss trap. In the era of development, digital transformation has received immense attention from higher authorities to spur information technology in business activities. It behaves in a friendly manner across different regions of the globe in problematic situations such as pandemics, financial crises, and energy shocks. Therefore, for the first time, this study tries to demonstrate the critical role of information technology in new business activities for seven emerging economies from 2005 to 2021. However, this study employs different estimators to evaluate its objectives. The results of the basic model indicate that income, information technology, foreign direct investment, and financial inclusion make significant contributions to business start-ups. The entrepreneurial role remains positive and significantly contributes to new businesses by 0.005%. However, urbanization shows a positive but insignificant role in business activities. Additionally, this study examines the mediating role of information technology on income, entrepreneurship, foreign direct investment, and financial inclusion, revealing a significant impact on business start-ups. Finally, the systematic information technology analysis supports business activities in specified countries. Based on the findings, this study proposes some imperative implications for attracting investors to invest in new business projects.

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Open Access

Research trends and trajectories in quality management in the age of Industry 4.0 – the current state of knowledge

(Wydawnictwa AGH, 2025) Czyż-Gwiazda, Ewa

This study aims to analyse publication activity and identify development directions of scientific research themes in the area of enterprise quality management in the context of Industry 4.0, based on a bibliometric analysis of scientific literature from the Web of Science and Scopus databases up to the end of 2023. The article employs a systematic literature review method. The research included a bibliometric analysis of scientific literature sourced from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Based on a predefined combination of keywords, a set of articles was selected, which – after initial screening and justified exclusions – was accepted for further analysis. The study enabled the characterization of, among others, publications production, sources of publications, time of publication, main authors and leading topics. Next, a word co-occurrence analysis and longitudinal thematic map analysis were conducted to examine the research field in depth and to identify research trends and trajectories in quality management in the age of Industry 4.0.The conducted research shows that the number of publications on quality management in the context of Industry 4.0 is constantly growing, and the topics are progressively evolving towards issues such as: the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, digitalization. These technologies are seen as key enablers for enterprises to cope with the growing uncertainty and complexity of the business environment and to achieve a competitive advantage. The study indicates that AI, IoT, big data analytics, and sustainable development are among the most rapidly growing and prominent themes in the literature on quality management in the Industry 4.0 context. Identifying research gaps and potential directions for scientific development in the field of quality management may contribute to the creation or improvement of new tools, approaches, and concepts including those based on Industry 4.0 technologies.

Article

Open Access

Segmenting SMEs in Central Europe’s coal mining region based on green finance awareness

(Wydawnictwa AGH, 2025) Klimková, Kristýna; Rydzewski, Rafał

The European Commission estimates that at least €1 trillion in sustainable investments will be needed over the next decade. Central and Eastern Europe countries face unique challenges to secure financing for their green transition due to their economic and political background. Among all of the players in the global economy, SMEs significantly impact the environment but face barriers in the adoption of green practices and sustainable investments. Despite the potential benefits of green investments, SMEs often lack awareness and resources to engage in sustainable initiatives effectively. The aim of the research is to investigate the awareness of SMEs of green financing tools. Our focus is set on the identification of similarities and differences between companies and the creation of segments based on different levels of knowledge of green financing and their overall financial situation. The research used a survey-based approach, focusing on SMEs in the Silesian Voivodeship (Poland), a region with a strong industrial heritage and undergoing green transformation. The data was collected from 200 Polish SMEs in the Silesian region and analysed by factor and cluster analysis. Responses were analysed to identify attitudes, levels of awareness, and readiness for green financing. The segmentation reveals distinct profiles regarding financial health and engagement with green finance. It is possible to create two segments of passive idealists and informed realists. Both acknowledged that green investments are more financially demanding. However, the informed realists displayed higher levels of engagement with green financing, including seeking and receiving expert advice and understanding application processes. Limitations include the regional focus and a reliance on subjective self-assessment by firms.

Article

Open Access

The impact of COVID-19 on the global renewable energy sector. An integrative review exploring the challenges and emerging opportunities

(Wydawnictwa AGH, 2025) Parihar, Jaya Singh; Gupta, Mansi; Sharma, Gagan Deep

The shift from traditional fossil fuel energy to cleaner, renewable energy has the potential to help achieve long-term sustainability goals. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the renewable energy sector. This study aims to provide an integrative review of the global impacts and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on the renewable energy sector and highlight the energy-related lessons and emerging opportunities by capturing the main trends in the field. First, the integrative review identifies five themes. Second, the study identifies the aspects of renewable energy that are influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, the study proposes a conceptual framework highlighting the impacts and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on renewable energy demand and consumption patterns, and these results are further supported by the aggregate dimensions identified through inductive analysis. The three main energy challenges are: the healthcare sector primarily dealing with disease control; associated environmental impacts with challenges relating to fluctuating and uncertain energy demand and consumption, structural and pattern changes, greenhouse gas emissions, local air quality, energy transmission infrastructure, and oil production and transmission network; associated economic impact dealing with industrial activities including households, agriculture, public and commercial sector, energy import/ export, sales revenue and expenditure, social sector factors, funding schemes, and subsidies, technology R&D, and overall economic welfare. The study also makes theoretical and practical propositions for researchers and policymakers.

Article

Open Access

High-Volume Return Premium on the Warsaw Stock Exchange: evidence, drivers, and strategy design

(Wydawnictwa AGH, 2026) Sieradzan, Olga; Wójtowicz, Tomasz

This paper investigates the High-Volume Return Premium (HVRP) on the Warsaw Stock Exchange from 2002 to 2023. Building on prior research, it tests whether an unusually high trading volume predicts short-term return anomalies. Using daily data and long-only strategies based on relative trading volume, the study confirms the existence of the HVRP, with the strongest effects observed over one-day horizons, particularly for mid-cap and low-priced stocks. The premium weakens with longer holding periods and lower trading activity. These findings indicate that trading volume carries predictive information in an emerging market context and that volume-based signals can generate exploitable short-term return patterns. However, practical constraints such as transaction costs may limit the real-world profitability of such strategies.

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Managerial Economics

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