Gen Z, people born in the Internet age, are entering the labour market and soon will be responsible for public administration. Such a situation creates the need to study their professional motivations and competencies. We aim to determine: (1) What are the motivating factors of Gen Z representatives? (2) What is the factor’s structure of competencies of Gen Z employees? (3) Do Gen Z’s interest in public administration result from their needs to realise the public interest? These questions are fundamental for the strategy of hiring and training newcomers. This original paper’s insights have emerged iteratively based on a systematic literature searching method and data obtained from the surveys (n = 335). Research of Polish representatives of Gen Z showed that their expectations are similar to those found in other countries. However, their responses suggest that ethical issues are not the most important for them. The presence of generation G on the labor market will generate a paradigm shift in the activity of companies and public institutions that will be the employers of these young people. Reconfiguration of the principles of human resource management is necessary so that organizations benefit from the qualities of generation Z—they gravitate towards gamified processes because of mobile-centricity; they are natives of global communication, self-learners, and self-motivators; they appreciate transparency.

Surprisingly, little is known whether the net present value (NPV) used as a financial metric in budgeting and investment planning to analyse a projects’ profitability is universal. Meanwhile, the epochal green energy revolution ensuring carbon neutrality through green innovations requires enormous investments, and projects realised must ensure energy security. Therefore, there is a need to reanalyse financial metrics used in financial planning, including NPV. We eliminate this research gap and, based on data from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, the USA, the United Kingdom, Japan, Israel, and Euro Zone, explain why one may not perceive the currently used NPV formula as a universal financial metric. We show that the variable discount rate influences the time value of money. Therefore, there is a need to redefine the NPV formula. This study makes two main contributions. First, it creates new ground by revisiting the NPV formula in the emerging market context compared to stable economies and contributes to developing business and management theory. Second, we propose and empirically verify the modified NPV formula as a financial metric that considers the situation of energy firms in emerging markets. Thus, this research helps the capital budgeting process, and the modified NPV formula can help provide optimal outcomes in firms, helping to reduce financial risks. Our study contributes to a further contextual diagnosis of business projects and can, in turn, be relevant for other energy sector analyses.

Previous research into Economic Value Added (EVA) has extensively described it as a business metric of firms. Still, no studies have confirmed or denied that EVA is a universal metric and that one may use EVA in unstable markets in the same way as in stable and developed economies. Meanwhile, the green energy revolution, ensuring carbon neutrality through green innovations, requires enormous investments, and the projects realised must be appropriately tailored. These projects are realised by different firms, including those from developing countries, and investors need solid financial metrics. The study determines whether EVA is a universal metric of owners’ value in the energy sector. The research proves that this metric does not correctly reflect the limitations of emerging markets, can lead to incorrect managerial decisions and limit shareholders’ value. Therefore, there is a need to reanalyse financial metrics used in financial planning, including EVA. The study eliminates this research gap and, based on data from seven countries and the Euro Zone, explains why one may not perceive the currently used EVA formula as a universal financial metric. Consequently, the study modifies the EVA formula and presents a universal solution tailored to unstable economies. In the conducted research, literature studies were used, taking into account the methodology of a systematic literature review, including bibliometric analysis. Based on this review, it is shown that little is known about whether EVA as a financial measure can be used in energy management. Two conclusions emerged: first, the research contributes to developing the business and management science; second, identifying risks associated with EVA metrics helps practitioners. In addition, the study defined further research directions.

Recent economic anomalies, including the unprecedented lockdown generated by the COVID-19 crisis, have demonstrated that the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) remains an actual topic in the financial literature and in practice. Companies operate in an increasingly volatile environment, due to twin transitions and interlinked crises, and so they must have specific tools for measuring risk and profitability, in order to enable them to have a sound financial policy. Based on the earlier results obtained by Modigliani and Miller (1963), Harris and Pringle (1985), and Farber, Gillet, and Szafarz (2006), this study shows the relationship between WACC and interest rate. It offers a modified WACC formula that considers unstable market circumstances. The new redefined WACC can be a valuable tool in business planning for companies from different fields. The companies in the energy sector are very interested in the topic of WACC, considering not only the complex nature of the investments made and the long-term nature of investment recovery but also the multiple risks that have an impact on their activity and that can be found in different economic, social, and geopolitical spheres.

Investment decisions in the field of sustainable development should be taken based on an economic calculation, taking into account the analysis of a diverse economic environment. The economic calculus of an enterprise is treated as a kind of way of thinking about the rationality of decisions made by an entrepreneur. In the case of sustainable development, the economic calculus serves as an instrument to support the selection of the investment measure. The result of the economic calculus is based on various types of economic parameters, which are subject to frequent changes and high risk. A risk-based financial account may be of little use in the context of the unpredictability of the forecasted situations. In the article, I attempted to determine the importance of a variable interest rate in the economic calculus of a company as an instrument to support sustainable development. For this purpose, I modified the Net Present Value (NPV) meter, which contains actual (variable) discount rates.

Voivodships are centres of economic, social, and cultural life—they gather economic and social activities. This research aimed to evaluate the spatial differentiation of the quality of life in voivodships in Poland with the use of a synthetic measure. To achieve the research objective, the research methods used were literature analysis, statistical analysis, and synthetic measure. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution method was used to build synthetic measures. The choice of variables in 2010–2020 was largely conditioned by the availability of data collected in the regional system at the level of voivodships at the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office. As a result of the analysis of voivodships in Poland, based on the quality of life measure, four groups were distinguished (according to the value of quartiles). In the group of the best voivodeships there were: Pomerania, Masovia, Lower Silesia, and West Pomeranian in 2010, and Masovia, Pomerania, Greater Poland, Lower Silesia, and Lesser Poland in 2020, and in the IV, the weakest group: Lodz Province, Podlasie Province, Lubusz Province, and Holy Cross in 2010, and Lodz Province, Podlasie Province, Holy Cross, and Lublin Province in 2020. The synthetic quality of life ranged from 0.37 to 0.56 in 2010 and from 0.39 to 0.64 in 2020. Regional authorities, taking care to improve economic potential, cause increasing the attractiveness of the area and attracting new entrepreneurs, create new jobs, and improve the quality of life of the inhabitants. Quality of life is shaped by economic activity and working conditions, health, education, free time and social relations, economic and physical security, and the quality of the natural environment. The results of the research conducted allow local governments to make comparisons. The conclusions drawn may allow them to identify potential directions for developing policy optimization.