The main aim of this article is to compare the financial performance of private and publicly traded companies in accordance with ownership structure and size. The analysis carried out in the article leads to the conclusion that in Poland private companies perform better than companies that are publicly traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). Statistically significant results are obtained for medium-sized companies. Moreover, it turns out that medium-sized enterprises operate better than large companies as far as profitability is concerned, at least in the group of private companies where results are statistically significant. The analyses conducted in the article are aimed at filling in the gap in studies comparing profitability between publicly traded and private companies.

DOI: 10.20452/pamw.15779, Published online: January 25, 2021, Authors: Bartlomiej Krzeczewski, Cesare Hassan, Olga Krzeczewska, Paulina Wieszczy, Malgorzata Pisera, Anna Ciopinska-Chaber, Maciej Rupinski, Andrzej Sliwczynski, Radoslaw Pastusiak, Jaroslaw Regula, Michal F. Kaminski

Metodologia oraz odpowiedni dobór metod badawczych w naukach ekonomicznych, w tym w finansach, odgrywają niezwykle ważną rolę. Wynika to z faktu, że wybór odpowiednich procedur, a także założeń badawczych rzutuje na jakość przeprowadzanego badania. Celem artykułu jest odniesienie metodologii finansów do szerszej metodologii nauk ekonomicznych oraz przedstawienie podstawowych metod badawczych, które mogą znaleźć zastosowanie w nauce finansów, na podstawie przeglądu literatury z tego zakresu. W artykule zostały zaprezentowane zasadnicze pojęcia związane z metodologią nauk o finansach. Ukazano również rys historyczny oraz najważniejsze prace związane z kształtowaniem się metodologii nauk ekonomicznych. W ramach metod, które mogą być wykorzystywane w naukach finansowych, szczegółowo omówiono: metody prakseologiczne, metody porównawcze, metody ilościowe i jakościowe oraz metody eksperymentalne.

The main aim of this article is to verify whether the companies operating in Polish healthcare industry could be included into the group of so called defensive companies. The value of such companies during recession does not decline or the declines are significantly lower compared to the major stock indexes. The analysis carried out in the article is conducted amongst companies from healthcare sector listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). In the article an analysis is presented comparing risk ratios of defensive stocks and whole stock market such as beta coefficient (β). The analysis is based on daily data intervals from the period 2012–2014. The article is based on the assumption that Polish healthcare industry companies may be portrayed as defensive and the results of the study suggest to support this point of view. Therefore, the stocks of such companies can be considered by investors as interesting assets for building diversified portfolios and working on investment strategies.