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This article presents a qualitative study pertaining to the interface between business and society that primarily focuses on the prominent institutional factors that are influencing organizations to adopt explicit and implicit forms of corporate social responsibility in a developing country context. This is a pertinent subject because developing countries contain a large proportion of the world's population and, subsequently, a large proportion of salient issues in the social, economic, and environmental arena. This study identifies that, in the country context chosen namely Lebanon, explicit social responsibility initiatives are driven by predominantly normative and mimetic institutional pressures emanating from both local and international institutions. This study also identifies that implicit social responsibility initiatives are driven by normative institutional pressures emanating from elements in the national business system. Contributions of this study include a conceptual model to aid future research, identifying the importance of the duality of corporate social responsibility, the importance of international institutions in facilitating explicit social responsibility proliferation, and the importance for managers to include explicit social responsibility initiatives in their organizational mandate. Future research can use a different sampling technique, conduct interviews with employees that are not directly involved with social responsibility initiatives, or use other perspectives, such as agency theory or theory of institutional logics, to gain more insight on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection is currently one of the key priority areas of the European Union (EU). The search for effective solutions for the supply and use of energy in cities is currently a key topic. The reduction in gas emissions and the use of renewable energy sources are goals that result from environmental aspects. The purpose of this publication is to conduct a literature review in the area of municipal energy management. Municipal energy management systems integrate many areas, from energy supply systems and the modernization of public transport to the energy demand reduction of residential and commercial facilities. The results of the literature review research have allowed for the classification of articles based on the following criteria: research methodology, research purpose, research data collection method, use of research results article type, and research subject area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationships between employees and the actions taken by leaders have become critical. The purpose of this paper is to highlight activities that may improve internal relations in an enterprise, and how managers and employees perceive such actions. The study was conducted between 2018 and 2020 and focused on the importance of relational competencies in creating enterprise value and the importance of leadership. The analysis included 10 large companies operating internationally. Both managers (N = 10) of the surveyed companies and employees (N = 185) participated in the study. It can be stated that it is not uncommon for the studied businesses to take steps to improve their internal relationships. The evaluation of the steps taken to improve internal connections, on the other hand, differs between the groups tested. Cluster analysis revealed that managers' views of the importance and application of the provided measures in their organizations were similar, whereas employees' assessments of the researched phenomena were not. Building intra-organizational relations plays an important role in ensuring the sustainable operation of modern enterprises. It is of great importance, especially in the crisis situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical uncertainty in the world currently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Papers Presented in Special Issue Entitled "Strategic Planning and Management in... Several papers were considered, and finally, a total of six papers were selected for this Special Issue. Awareness of the importance of an appropriate strategic planning and management process in the energy industry is constantly growing. 10.3390/en15155455 2 Klemke-Pitek M., Majchrzak M. Pro-Ecological Activities and Shaping the Competitive Advantage of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Aspect of Sustainable Energy Management. [Extracted from the article]

Contemporary conditions in the business environment make increased efforts of companies in the search for the key sources of competitive advantage. One of them is to have employees, who are fully dedicated and committed to the objectives of a company. The degree and scope of this engagement determine the performance, social behaviors and relationships between co-workers, as well as they promote the growth of innovation and improving the financial condition of companies. Therefore, in managing modern enterprises it is important not only to use the appropriate external stimuli to motivate employees, but above all to create conditions that foster their inner motivation. The article attempts to systematize the knowledge of the theory of employee involvement and the factors determining its level as well as to analyze the issue of building the involvement of knowledge workers. The empirical study focused on the identification of instruments used to build employee engagement was applied to achieve the aforementioned research aim. The study involved 86 employees from 4 companies. The study identified a group of key conditions that, in the opinion of employees, significantly affect the degree of their involvement and contribute to the increase in the body of knowledge in the surveyed companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Konsumpcja i Rozwój is the property of Institute for Market, Consumption & Business Cycles Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article reports that the market globalization and ever increasing consumer expectations make it hard to imagine a situation in which a multinational corporation would not have a unified quality management system. But anyone with a quality management role in a multinational corporation faces implementation challenges related to cultural differences. Quality system implementation processes are hindered by various the scale and type of which are essentially determined by the location of the affiliate.

Environmental protection is currently one of the key priority areas of the European Union (EU). The search for precise tools to assess the impact of the economy, industry, or the production of individual products or services is crucial for an effective and efficient policy in environmental protection. Blockchain technology, originally related to the financial sector and cryptocurrencies, is an innovative solution that is increasingly being implemented by other areas of the economy and industry sectors. The authors reviewed the literature and based on it presented the possibilities and effects of using blockchain technology in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which is in line with the current development trends of this method. The analysis of the research conducted in this area also allowed to present not only the advantages of blockchain in LCA, but also the limitations of this technology and the potential directions of further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the evolution of leadership in the corporate business environment by presenting the results of comparative empirical studies conducted in 2008 and 2018. Based on an analysis of empirical research on the 2000 largest global corporations, obtained from the Forbes Global 2000, this work presents the changes that took place over a decade in the characteristics and competencies of contemporary leaders. The results allowed us to identify the desired characteristics, competencies, and character traits of contemporary leaders. In fact, the comparative analysis of these data showed the dynamics of change in the approach of global corporate leaders over the decade. The research results have important implications for the energy sector. Some of the companies participating in the study operate in the energy sector, therefore the opinions of these CEOs indicate significant determinants of modern leadership in this type of enterprise. When analysing the research results on the vision and scope of leadership impact in corporate business, we pointed, among other things, to the assessment of leadership traits, the evolution of leadership activities' delegation, and the assessment of the importance of managers' individual action areas and leadership factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology is currently one of the trends considered to have a tremendous future ahead. It ensures data security, data sharing protection and automation development—elements that are of colossal importance in the era of cloud solutions, big data and Internet of Things (IoT) reality. Additionally, blockchain technology allows one to create new programmable ecosystems on an unprecedented scale. The implementation of blockchain technology leads not only to improving the flow of documents and data storage, as is the case with the creation of shared service centers (SSCs), but—as this paper shows—allows one to reduce the carbon footprint when servicing SSCs at a considerably higher organizational level at the same time. The example of an SSC in Elbląg, Poland, proves that cloud solutions enabling electronic documents flow and data storage combined with blockchain technology are tools essential for further SSCs development. Furthermore, such tools allow us not only to obtain economic effects (i.e., cost reduction), but also to achieve positive ecological effects (i.e., carbon footprint reduction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many of today's global corporations are more powerful economically than some countries. Decisions made in offices by board members can influence the course of events worldwide, sometimes to the same extent as decisions made by politicians-but with less publicity. For most of these firms the question of quality might seem unimportant, especially if they perceive themselves to be at the top of the heap-the embodiment of quality and perfection. Survey results prove that among the respondents, a strong relationship exists between incorporating quality management systems as part of corporate strategy and certain indexes used to determine the success of the firm. INSET: The Survey..