Editors: Joost Platje and Tomasz Rólczyński
Editor-in-chief: Prof. Johannes Platje
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Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
The Effectiveness of Cross-functional Sourcing Teams – an embedded case study in a large public organization
Authors: Cees Johannes GELDERMAN, Janjaap SEMEIJN, Esther VERWEIJ
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Aim:: To investigate the relationships between team characteristics and their impact on cross-functional sourcing team effectiveness in a public procurement environment.
Design / Research methods: In an embedded single case study, three cross-functional sourcing teams of diverse divisions and departments of the Dutch Province of South Holland are analyzed by means of a comparative analysis.
Conclusions / findings: Teams with greater interpersonal cohesiveness showed more personal and open communication and greater informal frequency of within-team communication. Apparently, task work communication has a positive impact on task cohesion, and interpersonal cohesion has a positive impact on interpersonal communication. A stable team with no changes in roles and membership is likely to show strong task cohesion. Office space for regular meetings and dedicated time for team activities contribute to team effectiveness.
Originality / value of the article: Making sourcing decisions is a complex process, particularly in cross-functional sourcing teams with divergent views, objectives, and priorities of the various members of different disciplines. Few studies have examined sourcing teams in the public sector. The study is based on the Input-Mediation-Output-Input model which recognizes mediational factors (processes and emergent states) that transform inputs to outputs. The study contributes to current understanding of the nonlinear linkages between process and emergent states of cross-functional teams in the public sector. The results are useful for public organizations to create more effective cross-functional sourcing teams.
Keywords: cross-functional sourcing teams, team effectiveness, public procurement
JEL: M4
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.536
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
Risk Assessment of Unsecured Loans – example of entering a new market
Author: Jens PICKERT
Cracow University of Economics, Poland
FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany
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Aim: The aim of the paper is to show the risk assessment of unsecured loans in theory and practice.
Design / Research methods: In the first part, the paper does literature review concerning the theory of unsecured loans and their risk assessment. In the second part, a case study discusses the risk assessment process as a practical application in the hypothetical case if a Swedish bank enters the German market.
Conclusions / findings: The risk assessment of unsecured loans is a standardized process where scoring models make a crucial contribution. The case study shows how difficult that process is in the event of cross-border activities, for example, a bank enters a new market in a new country.
Originality / value of the article: The paper contributes to existing literature on risk assessment by applying scoring models to the case of cross-border activities.
Keywords: unsecured loans, scoring models, risk assessment
JEL: G21
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.449
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
Operation Assessment of Polish Property Funds Terminated within set Deadlines
Author: Artur A. TRZEBIŃSKIWrocław University of Economics, Poland
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Aim: The paper seeks to assess the managers’ efficiency with respect to the property fund management and profitability of funds.
Design / Research methods: The study employs the elements of financial analysis and case studies.
Conclusions / findings: The findings show low profitability of the property funds under study (only one fund brought profit to investors while the other five brought losses), low efficiency of their managers, with the funds’ operations being high cost-intensive. The study reveals that the investment strategies and business models applied are little effective and therefore require changes and the application of other solutions.
Originality / value of the article:The study is concerned with the property funds which were terminated or whose termination started at the date set by their managers, which allows the managers’ efficiency to be assessed at each stage of the fund’s lifetime. The study follows up and builds on the author’s previous research. To the author’s knowledge, there have so far been no similar studies.
Keywords: property funds, profitability of property funds, investment fund management efficiency, financial analysis
JEL: G17, G23
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.290
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
Accounting Rules for Revenues Arising from Insurance Products Offered in Banks
Author: Edward PIELICHATY
WSB University, Poland
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Aim: The paper follows up and builds on the author’s considerations pertaining to the market of bancassurance products and the accounting treatment for remuneration banks receive for offering this kind of products. The article aims at presenting the new rules of accounting for and recognition of insurance commission in the bank accounting books, as they have been recommended by the Polish Supervision Authority (PSA) since 2013, and the assessment of impact of those new rules on the bank financial results.
Design / Research methods: This paper seeks to verify the hypothesis stating that the bank’s financial performance may deteriorate significantly after the implementation of the new accounting rules for commission received for selling insurance products, recommended by the Polish Supervision Authority in 2013. The study was conducted on the basis of the reports of the Polish Chamber of Insurance, using the comparative analysis method. Moreover, the paper employs a critical analysis of academic literature and the PSA recommendation (guidelines) for bancassurance.
Conclusions / findings: The studies have confirmed the assumption made as to the financial performance of the banks in Poland offering bancassurance-type products over the early years of the PSA’s new recommendation being in force.
Originality / value of the article: The set of issues this paper is dedicated to is very much up-to-date in Poland. In 2013, the new “U” recommendation of the PSA was implemented in banks, specifying, among other things, the rules for the recognition of revenue from offering insurance products.
Implications of the research (if applicable): The paper shows the practical implications of the implementation of the new accounting rules for insurance commission for the valuation of credit portfolios in the banks linked to insurance products. It represents a valuable source for bankers dealing with the issues of recognition of insurance commissions in the bank accounting books.
Limitations of the research (if applicable): The paper may inspire others to conduct further research on the methods of valuation of bancassurance-type products.
Keywords: bancassurance, insurance commission, effective interest rate
JEL: G17, G23
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.299
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
Taxation of Agricultural Holdings in Poland with Personal Income Tax
Author: Mikołaj MIELCZAREK
Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poland
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Aim: The paper deals with the subject of the shift in Poland’s form of agricultural taxation from agricultural tax to personal income tax. The author decided to explore this topic since the taxation of agriculture is an important issue from the standpoint of economic practice. In addition, a similar solution exists virtually in all the European Union countries. The research objective of this paper is an attempt to assess the fiscal consequences for the state arising from the change of the agricultural taxation form.
Design / Research methods: The paper employs literature research and examines legal acts, as well as conducts empirical simulation. The literature research and that concerned with legislation were aimed at presenting the forms of agricultural taxation in the EU countries and the approaches to taxing agricultural incomes. The empirical simulation of fiscal effects of agricultural taxation in Poland has been carried out in three scenarios: general (using different sample rates), comparing with agricultural tax, and revenues distribution across the state budget and territorial self-government units.
Conclusions / findings: The empirical studies conducted for the years 2010-2014 have shown that replacing agricultural tax with income tax would be a good solution for farmers, provided that low tax rates were to be applied. At higher rates, this solution would be unfavorable. At the same time, the replacement of agricultural tax with income tax would benefit the state and regional governments and counties, as their budgets would gain additional tax revenues. On the other hand, the municipal government would benefit with the application of tax rates higher than 10%.
Originality / value of the article: In the context of the existing research, the scientific value of the paper consists in the comparison of the amount of agricultural tax receipts with those from the farm income taxation.
Keywords: agricultural tax, personal income tax, income from agriculture, farming, special branches of agricultural production.
JEL: G38, H24, H25, H71, K34, Q14
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.325
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
Agile Effort Estimation in Software Development Projects – case study
Author: Maciej ŁABĘDZKI, Patryk PROMIŃSKI, Adam RYBICKI, Marcin WOLSKIPoznań Supercomputing and Network Center, Poland
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Aim: The purpose of this paper is to identify common mistakes and pitfalls as well as best practices in estimating labor intensity in software projects. The quality of estimations in less experienced teams is often unsatisfactory, as a result of which estimation as part of the software development process is abandoned. The decision is usually justified by misunderstanding “agility”. This article is part of the discussion on current trends in estimation, especially in the context of the new “no estimates” approach.
Design / Research methods: The publication is a case study based on the experience of a mature development team. The author, on the basis of literature-based estimation techniques, shows good and bad practices, as well as common mistakes in thinking and behavior.
Conclusions / findings: The key to correct estimation is: understanding the difference between labor intensity and time, ability to monitor performance, as well as how to analyze staff requirements for the team.
Originality / value of the article: The publication helps to master confidence-boosting techniques for any estimation (duration, and indirectly, the cost of software development) where requirements are known, but mainly at the stage of project implementation (design and implementation).
Limitations of the research: The work does not address the problems of initial estimation of projects, i.e. the estimation made in the early stages of planning.
Keywords: software development, estimation, effort, measurement, requirements engineering, story points, Scrum
JEL: L86
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.359
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
Identification of Trends and Determinants Related to the Level of Earnings in Poland on the Basis of Average Real Wages Paid over the Period of 2004-2014
Author: Krzysztof JANKOWSKIWSB University in Wrocław, Poland
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Aim: The aim of this article is to identify trends and determinants related to the development of the level of wages in Poland. The issue is important as the level of payment received by employees in return for their work is reflects the state of economic development.
Design / Research methods: In the article data of average wages in Poland available in the Social Insurance Institution as well as the Central Statistical Office are presented and analyzed.
Conclusions / findings: During the researched period (2004-2014), average real wage has systematically increased. This is a positive phenomenon, both from the point of view of an individual worker as well as the whole economy, as it indicates continued economic development of in Poland.
Keywords: wage level and structure, Poland, real wages
JEL: J31
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.384
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2017
“Anti-competition agreements” and legal options to pursue claims for damages before common courts
Author: Wojciech Paweł SZYDŁOUniversity of wrocław, Poland
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Aim: In the article the situation is discussed where the refusal by an energy supplier to connect other companies to join the network, will be treated (in Poland and the EU) as a prohibited abuse of a dominant position by this company. The identification of such practices is important because EU sectoral legislation does not contain specific provisions requiring companies managing and operating oil pipelines to conclude agreements with other companies to join their networks or to deliver oil.
Design / Research methods: The aim of the article was achieved through doctrinal analysis of the relevant Polish and EU law and by analyzing guidelines issued by EU bodies. In the study, also functional analysis is applied, allowing to examine the functioning of the law.
Conclusions / findings: Access to oil pipelines and the sale of their transmission capacity are determined by the network owners themselves. These owners are private oil companies, not being regulated by European Union law. The obligation to connect other entities to its own network by power transmission companies in Poland results only from the general provisions of Polish competition law. It is shown that refusal to access the network is a manifestation of prohibited abuse of dominant position, which is prohibited whenever the dominant activity is detrimental to allocation efficiency. In particular this concerns the case when the supply of goods or services objectively necessary for effective competition on the market in general is denied, and leads to the elimination of effective competition in the market and/or harm to consumers.
Originality / value of the article: The article discusses the reasons for the legal obligation for energy companies involved in the transmission of crude oil to connect other companies into their own network. This obligation significantly influences the business conducted by the transmission companies.
Implications of the research: The presented research results are useful for assessing decisions issued by the President of UOKiK (the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) and in the judgments of Polish common courts and EU courts.
Keywords: public competition law, anti-competition agreements, relevant market, the abuse of dominant position
JEL: K23
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29015/cerem.485