The main goal of setting energy efficiency priorities is to find ways to reduce energy consumption without harming consumers and the environment. The renovation of buildings can be considered one of the main aspects of energy efficiency in the European Union (EU). In the EU, only 5% of the renovation projects have been able to yield energy-saving at the deep renovation level. No other study has thus far ranked the EU member states according to achieved results in terms of increased usage in renewable sources, a decrease in energy usage and import, and reduction in harmful gas emissions due to energy usage. The main purpose of this article is to perform a comparative analysis of EU economies according to selected indicators related to the usage of renewable resources, energy efficiency, and emissions of harmful gasses as a result of energy usage. The methodological contribution of our study is related to developing a complex and robust research method for investment efficiency assessment allowing the study of three groups of indicators related to the usage of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and ecological aspects of energy. It was based on the PROMETHEE II method and allows testing it in other time periods, as well as modifying it for research purposes. The EU member states were categorized by such criteria as energy from renewables and biofuels, final energy consumption from renewables and biofuels, gross electricity generation from renewables and biofuels and import dependency, and usage of renewables and biofuels for heating and cooling. The results of energy per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions per million inhabitants (ECO2), energy per capita, the share of CO₂ emissions from public electricity, and heat production from total CO₂ emissions revealed that Latvia, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, and Finland are the nine most advanced countries in the area under consideration. In the group of the most advanced countries, energy consumption from renewables and biofuels is higher than the EU average.

In some countries, such as Norway, there is significant growth in the proportion of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) among new registrations. This is not the case in Germany, where less than 1% of all newly registered vehicles are electric cars. This disparity raises the questions of whether the performance factors of current BEVs (e.g., driving range) are able to compete with petrol-powered cars and how they are perceived by potential customers. Using marketing methods, car manufacturers can influence attitudes towards products and increase purchase intentions. Most prior studies used experiments in different settings to find out the perceived value of BEVs among potential customers, taking into account a longer perspective. There are no prior studies on the influence of short test drives on the value perception of BEVs. The main objective of this article was to explore and assess the effects of a first-time experience on the evaluation of BEVs by potential consumers in the German market (around the city of Münster, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region). We utilized the concept of a sensory marketing approach in the form of a short (10–15 min) test drive experiment. The results showed that perceptions, in terms of acquisition costs and acceleration/driving pleasure in particular, are developing positively. Other increasing values are maintenance and energy costs, engine/battery reliability, range in km, and driving comfort. In addition, the perception of all other performance factors has developed positively. Also, willingness to buy a BEV increased after the short test drive. The experiment shows that short test drives with BEVs are a suitable means to support the widespread promotion of electric cars.

Following China’s “One Belt One Road” global economic expansion strategy, Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) along with state-owned, large corporations are increasingly seeking business opportunities internationally. Little is known about the process of small firms’ international opportunity creation and discovery in this particular context. This study examines the role of Chinese SME manager’s global mindset in driving their international opportunity identification through two key activities in their internationalization process: international knowledge based and networking activities. Data were collected from a survey of 191 small and medium-sized enterprises in China. The results of structural equation modelling show that Chinese SME managers’ global mindset has a positive effect on both international networking and knowledge acquisition activities, which in turn have positive effects on the development of international opportunities. The findings suggest that SMEs, while going through the internationalization process, rely extensively on social interaction with foreign business partners to obtain knowledge of the customers and institutions in the foreign market.

The climate policy of the EU enforced substantial changes for producers and suppliers of energy. New assets and providers of capital are needed to fulfill the policy requirements. To provide comparability and facilitate an investment process, EU law requires companies to prepare annual financial statements according to International Financial Reporting Standards. One of these accounting standards—IFRS 16 Leases—specifies how to recognize, measure, present and disclose leases. It came into force in 2019 and implemented a single lessee accounting model, contrary to a dual accounting approach for lease accounting. The latter approach enabled companies to keep leased tangible assets and respective liabilities off-balance sheet. By using a sample of companies from the energy industry (oil, gas, energy and mining sectors) that are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, we examine, measure, and analyze the impact of IFRS 16 Leases implementation on the value of assets, liabilities and leverage on assets and leverage on equity. The paper may serve as an insightful case study of how the implementation of a new standard influences the financial situation of the affected companies in the energy industry. Our paper contributes to the scientific debate in the following three ways: (1) we confirmed the influence of IFRS 16 Leases on assets, liabilities, leverage on assets and leverage on equity that was anticipated in the literature, (2) using the auditing methodology, we demonstrated the material changes of assets and liabilities in the energy industry, (3) based on the research results, we suggested recommendations for further scientific studies.

This empirical study investigates the determinants of self-employment propensity of Polish and Romanian immigrants in Germany. The German economy is an important object of analysis, as it is the most important destination for international migrants in the European Union. In the paper, we use the recently collected M sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel to examine which personal, country of birth-specific socio-economic and cultural factors influence the self-employment propensity of immigrants. The results of binominal logit regression show that the Central European migrants exhibit different self-employment propensity than migrants from former Yugoslavia, Russian and Kazakhstan, Turkey and Italy, with the self-employment aversion especially strong among Romanians. These differences remain substantial even after controlling for social and human capital endowment of the individuals. This study offers important policy recommendations, showing the potential obstacles in encouraging entrepreneurial activity of immigrants. This topic is becoming increasingly important with the current migration crisis in the EU, caused by intensive inflow of asylum-seeking foreigners in 2015.