Waste generation, especially hazardous waste, can strongly affect the environment and human lives. There is an urgent need to implement sustainable hazardous waste management tools to reduce their harmful impact on the environment stemming from incorrect waste management. However, there is still a lack of business model concepts combining sustainable development and risk management in reverse logistic value chains for hazardous waste. Therefore, the authors develop a novel sustainable business model canvas for both an entity and the logistics system using the Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas integrated with the concept of sustainable development in economic, social and environmental areas (Triple Bottom Line, TBL) and risk-related elements. Then, using the developed sustainable business model canvas, the model for the logistics system for the treatment of hazardous waste containing asbestos was successfully created. The model was implemented in the prototype of computer software in the form of electronic network services.

Entrepreneurship is often found to be highly persistent over time. Although the historical roots of persisting effects of entrepreneurship are partially uncovered, their mechanisms remained largely unclear. To understand the historical roots of contemporaneous regional entrepreneurship, we exploit different types of historical self-employment in regions of Poland, a country that experienced different types of disruptive developments. In contrast to previous studies on other countries, we do not find a persistent effect of the general level of historical private sector self-employment. There is, however, a pronounced positive relationship between high regional levels of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship in the 1920s and current start-up activity in general, even in areas where large parts of the local population were displaced after World War II. We find that the magnitude of this effect is independent of the mobility and an exchange of the local population. Our main conclusion is that the historical regional knowledge stock, as reflected by knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship, can be an important and stable historical root of modern entrepreneurship despite disruptive historical shocks and population discontinuities.

The interplay between related and unrelated varieties and diversification processes as a driver of economic growth dominates contemporary discussions in the evolutionary economic geography (EEG) literature. This study provides further insights into these debates by exploring Poland, a nation of predominantly less developed regions, in the turbulent period between 1931 and 2000 which covers the Second World War and Communism. It is confirmed that in these specific settings only variety and diversification based on knowledge-intensive-related industries were conducive to growth. Successful diversification occurred more frequently around the capital city and transport corridors, indicating implications for EEG.

The aim of this paper is to discover how regions can change innovation process models and whether less developed regions can, in this sense, break out of the negative path dependency. This paper is one of the few to investigate path dependency from a regional rather than from an industry or product perspective. The application of Ward metrics revealed seven innovation process models that can be combined into three groups according to different regional circumstances, in which: (1) knowledge-intensive services are the main carriers of the innovation processes, (2) innovation processes are mostly expressed through manufacturing, and (3) transitions from one type of innovation process into another are the dominant characteristics. Results indicate that there are indeed many examples of path dependency breakthroughs. They occur mostly in the transition group, and could evolve into either one of the other two groups. The research revealed two types of manufacturing regions, namely low-tech and high-tech. It also confirmed that less developed regions fall within the low-tech model called ‘primary-sector-based manufacturing regions’ and face difficulties when phasing into higher-tech models, e.g. only 4% of all transitions are from this model. It is therefore challenging to break out of a negative path dependency. Moreover, the research signified that the reasons for growth are model specific. Therefore, when aiming to achieve an innovation process model transition, regional policies should be tailored accordingly; thus, an evolutionary, staged process of regional policy would be worth researching further.

We investigate the impact of a decade-long, large public entrepreneurial infrastructure investment programme in an emerging European economy. Using a unique data set, we examine the short-run firm city and inter-city effects of entrepreneurial zones (EZs). EZs have a positive impact on business investment, sales and especially the export revenues of firms located within them. The positive economic effects of EZs are limited to host and neighbouring towns and cities, decrease with distance, and eventually become negative. This points to the localized nature of the effects of EZs and their potential for spatial redistribution and clustering of economic activity.

This paper explores the factors influencing regions’ commitment to the EU’s green energy transition during the 2021–2027 period, with a particular focus on the impact of prior commitments and fossil fuel dependence. Using multimodel regression analysis along with a null classification approach with large language models, we assess how regions’ existing green energy initiatives, their dependence on fossil fuels, and specific energy targets shape their progress towards the EU Green Deal goals. The results confirm path dependency in regional energy policies, where regions with prior investments in decarbonization and energy infrastructure show greater commitment in the current period. Fossil-fuel-dependent regions, on the other hand, face structural barriers slowing their transition to green energy. In addition, the study highlights the selective prioritization of decarbonization and energy efficiency goals, while goals such as consumer empowerment and offshore wind energy remain undervalued. The findings underscore the need for a more comprehensive, sustainable approach to energy transition, particularly in regions with significant dependence on fossil fuels. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications for achieving a holistic and equitable energy transition across all EU regions.