▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

All articles of this journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Atribution-NonCommercial International License

You can use CC-licensed materials as long as you follow the license conditions.
BY – You may adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material when proper attribution to the original source is provided (Attribution).
NC - You may adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material only for any non-commercial purposes (NonCommercial).

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Marek Matejun , Maciej Woźniak
2020; 41(3): 5-24; doi.org/10.22367/jem.2020.41.01

Aim/purpose – The aim of the paper is to identify and assess the strategic factors that determine the absorption process of support instruments by SMEs sector companies.
Design/methodology/approach – Strategic factors were identified on the basis of the literature review and opinions of ten experts representing management sciences. Further empirical verification of the proposed assumptions was carried out on a random sample of 1,741 micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises from 22 European Union countries.
Findings – The obtained results indicate a significant positive influence of five identified strategic factors, i.e. social, support environment, resource, management system and organisational, on the support absorption process. This impact is slightly stronger in the acquisition phase than in the use of support instruments by the SMEs.
Research implications/limitations – The results provide a basis for improving efforts to acquire and use external support for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. The limitations of the study include respondents’ high subjectivity of opinions and complex character of considered theoretical constructs.
Originality/value/contribution – The contribution of research to the development of management sciences primarily includes the formulation and empirical verification of a set of strategic factors determining the support absorption process in SMEs.

Keywords: small business, SMEs sector, support, absorption process, entrepreneurship, strategic management.
JEL Classification: L10, L25, L26.

Piotr Misztal
2020; 41(3): 25-46; doi.org/10.22367/jem.2020.41.02

Aim/purpose – The aim of the undertaken research is to analyse the interdependencies between cyclical changes in consumer prices, production prices, wages and production in the euro area in the period Q1.2010-Q3.2017.
Methodology – A literature review in the field of macroeconomics and international finance and statistical and econometric methods were used in this study.
Findings – The hypothesis that prices on the market follow the changes in the business cycle is a central aspect in research on business cycles. The results of the conducted research suggest no occurrence of the cyclical phenomenon of consumer prices, produc-er prices and wages in the examined period of time.
Research implications – The findings of the research are extremely important especially from the European Central Bank monetary policy point of view. The lack of cyclical changes in inflation, production prices and wages can lead to asymmetric monetary policy reaction to fluctuations in economic activity.
Originality – To date, no comprehensive research has been conducted into the phenomenon of price and wage cyclicality in the euro area. Therefore, this research fills the existing gap in this area, constituting a significant contribution to empirical research in the field of price cyclicality.

Keywords: prices, wages, business cycle.
JEL Classification: E31, E32, F44.

Roisin Mullins , Sandra Dettmer , Monika Eisenbardt , Ewa Ziemba
2020; 41(3): 47-68; doi.org/10.22367/jem.2020.41.03

Aim/purpose – The purpose of the paper is to improve understanding of the process activities that Poland-based and UK-based prosumers engage in for current and future knowledge sharing with enterprises. It explores the Poland-based and UK-based prosumer differences and similarities in terms of their engagement with enterprise products and service offerings.
Design/methodology/approach – The reported outcomes result from a survey that yielded 171 prosumers responses from the United Kingdom and 783 from Poland. The APQC framework is used as a means to establish the product versus service activities that appear to influence prosumers most in their knowledge sharing.
Findings – The findings show that Poland-based prosumers currently share knowledge marginally more than their counterparts in the UK. However, Poland based prosumers are more willing, in fact twice as likely, to share knowledge in the future in relation to product offerings including (P3) materials from which products were made, followed closely by (P6) ease and intuitiveness of product use, (P4) designing package or graphic elements of the product and (S4) establishing new channels of sale.
Research implications/limitations – In particular, the results reveal that both the Poland-based and UK-based prosumers want to engage with enterprises in sharing knowledge related to the ordering process, handling complaints and customer services.
Originality/value/contribution – This finding is relevant to any enterprises that may like to engage prosumers in providing feedback about their specific product and service offerings.

Keywords: consumer knowledge, prosumer, knowledge sharing, Poland, UK.
JEL Classification: D82, D83, M21, O31, O33.

Maciej J. Nowak
2020; 41(3): 69-86; doi.org/10.22367/jem.2020.41.04

Aim/purpose – The purpose of the paper is to determine the extent to which the elements of integrated development planning are implemented and may be implemented into current local spatial policy tools.
Design/methodology/approach – To address the purpose of the study, key spatial policy acts were selected for verification on a local scale, i.e. local spatial development plans. The focus was on the latest local plans proceeding on the premise that the debate on the wider application of integrated development planning on a local scale is definite-ly more extensive under the legislative amendments of this period. Therefore, there have been selected all the local plans adopted in the West Pomeranian Province since 1 January till 30 June 2019. There are 49 local spatial development plans adopted in various communes. Five plans have been adopted for Szczecin, one for Koszalin, and nine for communes of the Szczecin Metropolitan Area. The paper focuses on several issues contained in the plans adopted that can be associated with integrated development plan-ning.
Findings – While the local plans actually mostly contain these (obligatory) elements, they can be adopted in a variety of ways. In this context, attention should be paid to: first, the protection of environmental, natural and cultural values (i.e. determining whether the principles contained in the plan are merely a repetition/reference to other provisions of broader scope, and if so, which ones); second, to understanding the way of shaping public spaces, especially in the context of their possible impact on the social sphere. Furthermore, additional provisions contained in local plans should remain in the focus as they may reduce the potential conflict between existing land use plans.
Research implications/limitations – This study examines all the latest local spatial development plans from the West Pomeranian Province. This research extends the perspective of analysing the problem of integrated development planning and introduces the possibility of a new assessment of local spatial policy. Nevertheless, it should be recognised that the analysed provisions of the plans are also representative for other provinces. Further research can be continued for other provinces.
Originality/value/contribution – The research literature clearly emphasises that elements of integrated development planning have already been included at the current stage of local spatial planning. However, neither are they precisely indicated, nor classified or analysed. The paper carries out these tasks, which is also important from the perspective of future application.

Keywords: spatial policy, local development.
JEL Classification: R51, R58, Q01.

Idowu Daniel Onisanwa , Mercy Ojochegbe Adaji 
2020; 41(3): 87-104; doi.org/10.22367/jem.2020.41.05

Aim/purpose – Low and fluctuating income coupled with epileptic supply of electricity and rising demand for electricity make determinants of electricity consumption an important issue in developing economies such as Nigeria; given that electricity is essential for the development of any economy. This paper, therefore, examines the determinants of electricity consumption in Nigeria with emphasis on income per capita, number of electricity customers, and electricity distribution shortages.
Design/methodology/approach – The study is anchored on the Utility Maximising Behaviour of consumers given their level of income. Data were sourced from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database and World Development Indicator, 2018. An Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique was used in estimating the factors influencing electricity consumption in Nigeria over the period between 1981 and 2017.
Findings – The result reveals that the major propellers of electricity consumption in the long-run in Nigeria are per capita income, population per square kilometre, number of electricity customers as well as electricity shortages. The result refutes the hypothesis that electricity consumption increases with the rising level of income. Electricity consumption increased with the increasing number of population in a given area and the number of electricity customers, while electricity shortages distribution has a differential effect in the short run and long run.
Research implications/limitations – Lack of reliable household level data capturing per unit price of electricity, and other determinants of electricity consumption in Nigeria implies the analysis is to be carried out on the macro level. A micro-level analysis will be more beneficial in arriving at clearer estimates of demand for electricity in Nigeria. Similarly, there are other factors that influence demand for electricity in Nigeria which are not readily available, hence the need to interpret the result with caveat.
Originality/value/contribution – The research focused on the determinants of electricity consumption instead of energy that has been extensively researched. It contributed to the existing literature on the determinants of electricity consumption in Nigeria by including electricity distribution shortages, number of electricity customers, and population per square kilometre.

Keywords: electricity consumption, electricity shortages, per capita income, Nigeria.
JEL Classification: Q31, Q42.

Iwona Staniec , Joanna Pilawa
2020; 41(3): 105-127; doi.org/10.22367/jem.2020.41.06

Aim/purpose – More and more universities invest in business incubators. However, different aspects of their creation are not extensively described in the literature. The main purpose of this paper is to identify the possibility of using design thinking (DT) in the creation of academic incubators.
Design/methodology/approach – A case study is used in this research. The approach of Lodz Technical University to the creation of a business incubator by using the design thinking method is presented.
Findings – It is significant that all the participants thought design thinking was a useful methodology for the creation of academic incubators. Furthermore, the participants had a sense of social contribution to the local people, the university, and communities. It was very important to use their knowledge, experience, skills, and needs in the field of collaboration with incubators. The common works provided an opportunity to share their ideas with other teammates from different perspectives. The advantages of using DT are very meaningful for participants, allowing them to keep in mind why they are doing this and for whom. The DT process can be very difficult to describe, but its use by the creation of a business incubator will yield many benefits and new initiatives. DT is a great solution to this problem because it relates programme activities to their effect, it helps keep stakeholders focused on achieving outcomes, while it remains flexible and open to finding the best means to enact a unique story of change.
Research implications/limitations – The limitations of the described study are observer bias and difficulty of replication. The effect of this process was not implemented be-cause there was insufficient funding and the decisions regarding the implementation of this idea have changed.
Originality/value/contribution – This paper is a one-of-a-kind description of the im-plementation of design thinking methodology in the creation of an academic incubator.

Keywords: design thinking, academic incubators, creation of incubators.
JEL Classification: M21, O31, O32.