This article characterises theoretical problems regarding the essence and exchange of knowledge between enterprises within the framework of strategic alliances. The objective of the conducted empirical research was to identify the relationships between specific features related to obtaining and sharing knowledge and the specificity of cooperating enterprises and the characteristics of an alliance. We also investigated the relationship between the size of partner enterprises, the duration of an alliance, and the type of innovations implemented as a result of the alliance. We tried to predict the probability of introducing a product, process and organizational innovation depending on the size of the company and duration of the alliance, as well as other variables characterising the company and the knowledge obtaining process. The results indicate that the relationship between the size of enterprises participating in an alliance and a favourable evaluation of the acquisition and sharing of knowledge is closer than in the case of the duration of an alliance. The research results also demonstrate that the correlation between the implementation of innovations and the duration of an alliance is stronger than in the case of the enterprise size. Establishing the relationships between the assumed variables for acquiring and sharing knowledge, as well as considering them in relation with the enterprise size and the alliance duration offer an added value to what has already been achieved in this area.

Nowadays, customers expect manufacturers to supply high quality products, on-time deliveries and competitive prices. The consequence of the increased market requirements is the need to maintain high reliability and efficiency of machines and the production process. The existing methods of production management have proved to be inefficient enough to maintain the company’s competitive position on the market. The Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) concept is one of the tools to maximize equipment efficiency by establishing an optimal relationship between people and machines. The aim of the article is to present the issues related to TPM and demonstrate in the process of empirical research that it serves the purpose of improving efficiency and supports quality in the enterprise. The considerations are based on the thesis that TPM is an economical variant of maintenance and guarantees stability, quality and maximization of production efficiency. The article presents the results of empirical research in an enterprise extracting and processing pre-crudes and gas from Caspian Sea. The data from the SAP management system of the investigated enterprise were used. Based on 146 maintenance orders for 40 devices, a correlation between preventive and corrective maintenance was determined using statistical tools. The main goal of the study was to show whether preventive maintenance reduces the occurrence of failures contributing to the elimination of disturbances in the production process. In addition, we analyzed real cases of equipment failures to answer the question whether the procedure of preventive maintenance of equipment in the studied population would prevent the occurrence of these defects. The empirical study demonstrated a clear impact of Preventive Maintenance on limiting the occurrence of equipment failures, and thus production disturbances.

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.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming an increasingly popular area of activity of companies which are interested in not only the managers or owners, but also customers, suppliers, NGOs, administrative and other stakeholders groups. The analysis aim is to present CSR initiatives as part of deliberate strategy of the company, which is one of the key sources of competitive advantage in the market. The findings concern the scope of cooperation between companies and NGOs in the field of socially responsible activities. The analysis indicates that the expected form of cooperation of NGOs with small businesses is to provide financial assistance to social organizations. However, in the case of medium-sized enterprises, these expectations also apply to material support. Moreover, in the case of medium-sized enterprises a key determinant of cooperation with social organization is realization of the social objective, while small businesses are more guided by "goodness of the heart". Considerations based on the identification of scope of CSR, are pointing to the key aspects of this activity to the company, the environment and customers. Discussions were extended to the characteristics of the benefits, barriers and forms of the cooperation, as well as, there were presented the results of research in the field of forms and determinants of such cooperation. Considerations are based on secondary sources, from national and international journals, books, magazines and specialist reports. Key words: corporate social responsibility, cooperation, non-government organization, management.

Negotiating a strategic alliance agreement is one of the essential determinants of the success of the entire agreement, and it is also the logical conclusion of the whole building process of the strategic alliance. At the same time, already at this step there is the relationships building process between partners and the need to further maintaining of the alliance. Therefore, a special attention should be paid to the nego­tiating process of a strategic agreement, conditioning the effectiveness of alliance management in the future as well as the scope and quality of relations between the allies. In fact in this phase of the strategic agreement takes place establishing the common strategy, which in turn determines the friendly start of the future cooperation. The aim of this study is to identify the key factors that determine building and sustaining friendly relations between enterprises and at the same time determine the suc­cess of the whole alliance. Considerations were based on the analysis of literature describing the theoretical framework of strategic alliances creation as well as business practices in this area. This allowed to propose a three-step process of selecting the potential company to the alliance, taking into account the profile analysis of the future ally, assessment of its resources and cultural and strategic fit. These issues make possible to ensure the sustainable development of the planned alliance and the success of partners companies. The selection and negotiations process is crucial in maintaining lasting relationships with the allies. It should be foreseen whether the planned cooperation will not hinder or even prevent the alliance continuation in the future, or will cause unwillingness to enter into other cooperative agreements because of the mismatch of strategic partners or excessive cultural differences, and thus ineffective functioning of the alliance in the future.

Celem artykułu jest scharakteryzowanie możliwych opcji strategicznych przedsiębiorstwa ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem sposobów realizacji strategii wzrostu przedsiębiorstwa, jak również zaprezentowanie strategii współpracy w formie aliansu jako jednej ze skuteczniejszych.