Currently, the most common way of managing cultural heritage in a sustainable manner takes the form of cultural routes. The phenomenon of cultural routes mainly results from their innovative organisation, different from the previously adopted institutionalised and formalised heritage management structure that did not align with the contemporary discourse around cultural heritage, which currently constitutes one of the bases of sustainable development. The novel idea focuses on the active involvement of many diverse entities in heritage management: not only public sector organisations with their statutory appointment for this purpose, but, first and foremost, entrepreneurs who create heritage products, tourists visiting sites on the route, or people who create this heritage. Thus, the cultural route acquires the characteristics of a network-points (nodes) that are shaped depending on the needs of the region and its inhabitants, their knowledge, experience, current ideas about a given place, and the way in which specific communities would like to be perceived. The undertaken research problem explores what features cultural route networks have and how they are managed, as well as what values, including trust, are manifested in the mutual relations of route-related entities. An original concept of shaping trust within the network of cultural routes has also been proposed based on the research results.

The topic of cultural heritage is the subject of many interdisciplinary studies. So far, these studies have focused on the issues of classifying particular types of heritage, their functions and benefits, components and determinants. However, relatively less attention was paid to the dimension of a methodical approach to education and rebuilding cultural identity through heritage. Meanwhile, generational changes, especially in the dimension of knowledge perception, indicate such a need. The aim of this article is to present the perspective of using open innovations in the transfer of cultural heritage used in shaping cultural identity and education. Our review and conceptual article is an attempt to draw attention to the problem of changes in the perception of cultural heritage by generations born in the era of the digital revolution and the need to take these changes into account in heritage education. Taking these conditions into account allowed the authors to develop a model for generating open innovation in the outside-in process and then to develop a model for making it available through the inside-out process. The role of education in this process was also emphasized.

Purpose: The primary objective of the paper is to present the role and meaning of fear in organizations implementing TQM. The author's intention is to identify the causes of fear in the TQM components as well as the main types of fear, their causes, consequences and methods of reduction. Design/methodology/approach: The main research method applied is a systematic review of the literature on the subject. The applied systematic review procedure takes into consideration the indicated research objective, the selection of the basic literature and publications, the presentation of the publication database and content analysis. The author also makes use of his own observations ensuing from his acting in the capacity of a TQM consultant and a juror of the Polish Quality Award. Findings: The paper presents the causes of fear in the TQM components, the main types of fear and its consequences. The limited possibilities of eliminating fear are also indicated. Fear appears when, for various reasons, TQM is improperly implemented and maintained, but also when resources are allocated incorrectly (e.g. a wrong selection of quality team members), and it is included in social processes (e.g. in the quality team forming process). It appears when only structural empowerment rather than mental empowerment is applied, when there exist contradictory expectations with regard to empowerment, in case of excessive and/or “have to” commitment in particular employees, and when too much emphasis is placed on commitment. Research limitations/implications: The reflections included in the paper may become useful for quality management practitioners, as such knowledge allows them to avoid mistakes which are the cause of fear, that is an emotion making quality improvement difficult. The paper does not present the manifestations and sources of fear in all TQM components, and they are certainly included in a broadly understood quality culture. Nevertheless, the gathered and arranged knowledge can be the source of further research. Originality/value: Being the result of the studies of the literature on the subject, this paper is one of few publications discussing in a detailed manner one of the principles of effective quality management formulated by E. Deming, namely “driving fear out”.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to show the ways of setting quality objectives, their attributes and the conditions under which they can perform a motivational function.Design/methodology/approach: Collecting relevant data, the authors used the results of previous research and theoretical assumptions concerning quality objectives. Subsequently, they carried out a survey and exemplification research based on participatory observations, document content analysis and interviews.Findings: Goals are set mainly by top management, but the communication process itself is insufficient; the needs of system users are not taken into account. In the opinion of the employees, quality objectives are measurable and objective, although not very ambitious. For quality objectives to fulfil a motivational function, they should be objective and measurable. Also, the allocation of tasks among employees needs to be fair. Furthermore, quality objectives have to play a greater role in remuneration systems.Originality/value: This paper is one of the first publications on the role and function of quality objectives. Its advantage is that it defines the conditions under which such objectives can have a motivational effect and encourage employees to pursue the improvement of their products and services.

Purpose: The study aimed to determine the correlations occurring between systemic support and environmental awareness. Additionally, the authors wished to establish which systemic factors (criteria of the ISO 14001) impact those dependencies.Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative and qualitative research were carried out (survey findings were analysed against documentation research and self-observation records). The authors used literature review, analysis of system documentation, survey research and self-observation. The research was conducted in the period from April to May 2020. It focused on a chemical company operating within the structure of a large capital group and employing over 1,500 people. The system theory was used in the research. This theory recognises the existence of correlations and interactions among its subsystems and the elements that constitute them.Findings: The conducted study points unequivocally to a considerable discrepancy between employees' opinions and records made in the documentation. Correlations between support and awareness level do exist, although for them to be positive, it is necessary to ensure an efficient process of communicating the effectiveness of the environmental management system. Reliance merely on audit findings, management reviews and environment monitoring process is insufficient. More focus is required on building employee commitment, as well as on counteracting excessive formalisation.Originality/value: Environmental management systems have been gaining in popularity. There have been studies into the motives behind implementation of such systems, their benefits and their barriers for their application. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between the individual criteria of the environmental management system.