The aim of this article is to verify what the relations are between entrepreneurial orientation and knowledge utilization in the internationalization of Polish firms. The article distinguishes four types of knowledge: market knowledge, network knowledge, sociocultural knowledge, and entrepreneurial knowledge. The research uses quantitative design and is based on a survey conducted in 2015 on a sample of 355 businesses from Poland (the response rate was 10.7%), following which statistical techniques (t-tests and regression analyses) were applied to verify the hypotheses. An overview of prior studies enabled us to identify the research gap in the literature regarding the combination of three elements that link to form one picture of reality, namely, (i) entrepreneurial orientation and (ii) knowledge utilization in (iii) the internationalization process of firms. The case of Polish firms confirms that entrepreneurial orientation is substantial in the use of knowledge in the internationalization process. Firms characterized by higher entrepreneurial orientation use particular types of knowledge much more intensely at various stages of the internationalization process. Entrepreneurial orientation, and especially risk-taking, has significant positive effects on the scope of internationalization. Greater entrepreneurial orientation increases the number of foreign markets in which a given firm operates. Not only market knowledge in the traditional approach, but especially network and entrepreneurial knowledge have significant positive effects on the intensification of the internationalization scale.

Research background: The theoretical basis of the study derives from the assumptions of international entrepreneurship combining theories of entrepreneurship and theories of international business. The identification of entrepreneurship determinants and attributes was based on the economic, socio ? cultural, as well as psychological approach to entrepreneurship. Purpose of the article: The aim of the article is to verify how demographic and basic traits of an entrepreneur affect the pace of the internationalization of firms from Poland. Methods: The study was based on CATI method. The article uses data collected on the basis of a study conducted on a sample of 355 companies from Poland. The research methods applied are a critical analysis of prior research, which allowed to identify the research gap and develop research hypotheses. In the empirical part, statistical methods were applied, including descriptive statistics and multidimensional regression. Findings & value added: The logistic regression estimation allows to confirm three hypotheses. With the age of the entrepreneur, the pace of internationalization of the firm increases. The pace of internationalization of the firm increases with the level of education of the entrepreneur. The fact that an entrepreneur belongs to a national minority increases the pace of the internationalization of the firm. Results of two-sample t-test confirm that firms whose entrepreneurs have higher entrepreneurial competences internationalize faster and earlier. The added value of the article is the combination of socio-demographic and psycho-cognitive characteristics of the entrepreneur with internationalisation. Applying this approach to a sample of firms from Poland (CEE market) contributes to research on international entrepreneurship in a thematic and geographical sense. The results of the study are of an applied nature. They can be addressed to many recipients: entrepreneurs, policymakers, educators, entities responsible for shaping and promoting entrepreneurship on both the micro and macro levels.

Energy issues are sensitive for the four Visegrad countries as European Union (EU) member states; thus, this area’s convergence might be problematic for these countries. There is a clear research gap concerning the processes of Europeanization of the energy policy in the Visegrad countries. This article aims to identify and evaluate the progress of four Visegrad countries (V4) in implementing the EU energy goals in the context of the Europeanization. The article uses three main methods: Hellwig’s method, Kendall’s rank concordance coefficient, and k-means clustering. These calculations will allow one to study the Europeanization processes, which means checking the gamma convergence. For calculations, we use the available statistical data from Eurostat for the years 2005–2018. Poland and other Central European countries, including Czechia, and Hungary, largely depend on coal for their energy needs. The empirical results have shown that there have been no significant changes in the classification of EU countries in terms of their fulfillment of the EU climate and energy targets in the analyzed period. This is the case in all EU member states, including the Visegrad Group countries, but except for Poland. This means that the level of Europeanization of the energy policy and its effectiveness is similar in all member states except for Poland, which is becoming a kind of the exception. Throughout the investigating period, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia were close to meeting the set targets and could be rated high compared to the EU countries. Poland, especially since 2015, has been noticeably and increasingly distanced from the other V4 countries. It can be perceived as a gradual drift away from Europeanization of the EU climate and energy policy in Poland.

Business Environment and Economic Growth in the European Union Countries: What Can Be Explained for the Convergence?

This article aims to identify and verify the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and innovation of internationalised firms from Poland as a former emerging market. The article assesses this relationship in terms of the internationalisation scope. We adopted a quantitative research design and conducted a CATI survey on a sample of 355 firms operating in Poland. To verify the various assumed relationships, we used statistical instruments, including descriptive statistics and simple linear regression. Entrepreneurial orientation influences the innovations of internationalized firms. The impact depends on the scope of internationalization and is U-shaped. The impact of entrepreneurial orientation on innovation is greater for firms with large and small scope of internationalization. A relatively lower impact of entrepreneurial orientation on innovation is visible for firms with a moderate scope of internationalization. The study is an original contribution to the literature. Firstly, we perceive entrepreneurial orientation as a variable that can determine corporate innovation. Secondly, most of the empirical research to date focuses on highly developed markets. Firms that go beyond the borders of emerging markets see internationalization as a way of gaining experience, learning, and an opportunity to improve their innovative capacity. Thirdly, the study contributes to the development of theories combining entrepreneurial orientation with innovation by applying a new concept of a U-shaped curve.