Unlike many studies concerning audit fees in Western Europe or the United States, literature concerning this kind of research is very limited in Central and Eastern Europe. This study aimed to show what factors shape audit fees in Poland. It was conducted based on data collected from the financial statements of 111 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2018. The study used a linear regression model to verify the determinants of audit fees. The research results indicate a positive relationship between audit fees and company size, measures of complexity (in addition to the ratio of inventories and receivables to total assets) and the fact that a company is audited by the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms.
This study presents the determinants of trust in light of the scientific literature on trust and governance networks. The theoretical analysis focuses on differentiation of various types of trust and its determinants at both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Moreover, the idea of a network is presented with the main attention given to the performance of collaborative service delivery networks. On the basis of theoretical study, a longitudinal analysis was performed at institutions providing services to the homeless people in Warsaw, Poland. During the periods of 2013 and 2017 to 2018, two cohorts of field questionnaire studies were conducted among employees of 18 social welfare centers (sample based on 18 Warsaw districts) and homeless shelters run by nonprofit organizations (samples of 19 and 22, respectively). These local government institutions and nonprofit organizations comprised the collaborative service delivery network under study. Mixed-method research was applied at welfare centers and nonprofit organizations (NGOs) where both frontline and management level employees were interviewed, and some data were statistically evaluated. The research was conducted using the same questionnaires at both points in time. The research showed that, from the perspective of social welfare centers, interorganizational trust in relation to other social welfare centers and to nonprofit organizations is positively correlated with perceived interorganizational effectiveness of other actors in the network (measured by the possibility of obtaining information, promptness, commitment, completeness and correctness of documents, and assessment of employees’ knowledge). The same results were obtained from the perspective of NGOs. In addition, these correlations remained almost unchanged over time, although the research was repeated after many years using the same variables. Finally, there is no basis to state that trust is correlated with outcome perception when considering the most difficult and complex social services.
Ensuring integrated service networks such networks have a high level of organizational and inter-organizational performance, seen in visible outcomes and organizational effectiveness, is, known to be problematic. It remains to be seen whether the relationships required for effective and efficient service integration contribute to such high levels of performance and, if so, what types of relationship networks are fit for purpose. This chapter approaches the problem through the eyes of the practitioner, empirically examining the perceived outcomes and perceived organizational effectiveness of integrated service networks established to provide social assistance service delivery in Poland. Two exemplar cases representing different types of service delivery networks are examined through a lens focussing on a hypothesis relating outcomes and effectiveness to categories of relationship networks. The findings suggest that service providers that recognize the various relationship networks may significantly impact organizational results.