Projekty badawcze

The role of internal and external factors in remuneration

UMO-2018/31/B/HS4/01562 - OPUS

Is overeducation persistent or transitory: dynamics of the phenomenon in countries under education boom

UMO-2016/23/N/HS4/03626 - PRELUDIUM

Poland experienced a substantial education boom. The share of tertiary educated workers rose from 10.0% to 32.5% in 1992-2014. Similar intensity of education structure change was observed also in other EU new member states. The immense expansion of tertiary education raises question whether it was accommodated by the labour market. In fact, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that University graduates are forced to take jobs that are below their education level. We call those people ‘overeducated’. However, there is surprisingly little scientific evidence on overeducation incidence and its change over time in Poland.

This project will investigate changes in overeducation incidence, characteristics of overeducated individuals and impact of overeducation on job and wage mobility in Poland and certain new member states. Hence, the project will contribute to better understanding of overeducation in economies undergoing rapid education shift.

Determinants of Business Management adoption in an organization

UMO-2017/27/B/HS4/01734 - OPUS

The  main  aim  of  the  proposed  project  is  to  examine  the  factors  that  may  encourage asuccessful  Business Process  Management  (BPM)  adoption in  an  organization. BPM  is  a  recognized  management  concept  that includes identifying, modeling, analyzing, implementing and continuous improvementof business processes for the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of an organization.

BPM has been developing for over 25 years in the field of Information Systems research and isan important topic in research on improving performance, preparing anorganization for implementing IT systems, and, increasing customer satisfaction.

Organizations are eager to use the methods and IT tools that BPM offers. However, not all projects of organizational changes that introduce a process approach are successful, nor the achieved effects of changes sustainable. Research on BPM focuses on the critical success factors, on the selected phases of the BPM life cycle(most often on the phase  of  process  modeling),  or  on  the  methods  of  measuring  process  maturity. 

However,  there  is  a  lack  of research  on  factors  that  are  predictors  of a successful  BPM  adoption  and  which  indicate anorganization's readiness  for saidadoption.  In  the  proposed  project,  we  will  identify  and  investigate  the  determinants promising a successful BPM adoption and we will propose a theoretical model of BPM adoptiontaking into account the technological, organizational and environmental context. The model will include factors that may predict a high or low level of BPM  adoption before an organization finally makesa  decision to implementBPM.  We  plan  to  conduct  research  in  Polish  public  and  private  sector  organizations  and  to  compare  the identified  factors  between said sectors. In  addition,  the  project  aims  to  examine  the  motivations to  makea decision on BPM adoption and to comparethese motivations between Polish organizations in the public and private sector.

Innovation capabilities of firms in selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe(CEE) and their participation in global value chains (GVC)

UMO-2017/27/B/HS4/01696 - OPUS

The aim of the project is to analyze the complex relationship between firm capabilities –especiallyinnovation capabilities –and firm internationalization strategies in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

We will devote a special attention to the ways firmsparticipatein global value chains(GVC).

Our specific research questions include the following:

1. Is it true that firms with better innovation capabilities are more likely to choose foreign markets (i.e. to export)?

2. For exporting firms, what is the relationship between theircapabilitiesand exporting strategies(the choice of the foreign market, the direct/indirect exporting mix)?

3. Is a higher degree of internationalization of a firm related to more advanced managerial practices(the ‘capabilities escalator hypothesis’)?

4. What is the role of foreign partners (mother-or sister companies, customers, suppliers, R&D institutes etc.) in the development oftheinnovationsof firms?5.Do the firms which export indirectly exhibit similar characteristics and a similar level of innovation capabilities and as those thatexport directly their products?6.Is the role of productivity, innovations, internationalization and other characteristics of firms the same or different for the firms that export directly and indirectly ?

7. Are firm-level determinants of indirect exports differentiated by geography, i.e. different for Poland, Visegrad countries and other CEE Countries?

8. Do indirect exports create a chance for broader participation in the GVC?

9. Which forms of internationalization of firms increase significantly their innovation capabilities?

The influence of behavioral effects on valuation of private consumer goods - experimental approach.

UMO-2017/27/N/HS4/02116 - PRELUDIUM

Understanding the mechanisms that influence consumer decisions and their perception of the value of products and services is the subject of considerations in many fields of science, including economics, psychology, marketing, and management. Researchers and business practitioners are constantly trying to evaluate the determinants of the valuation of various goods by consumers and to find methods and models that help to properly set prices. Many of the research methods commonly used in marketing research involve hypothetical questions that do not have real financial consequences for respondents.

It has often been found that hypothetical values of willingness to pay exceed real values, a phenomenon referred to as the hypothetical bias. Declarative valuation is far from real consumer choices, because the respondents are aware that their declaration is in no way binding. It can therefore be suspected that hypothetical data is of inferior quality compared to data on actual choices. In this project, we will examine selected manifestations of this supposition. We will check whether the tendency to violate principles of rationality grows when the reported valuations have no real consequences for the participants. We focus on two phenomena: the anchoring effect, in which participant’s numeric judgment is influenced by irrelevant numbers provided by the experimenter and the framing effect, in which decisions depend on how the information is presented (e.g. in positive or negative way). Given that these behavioral effects represent a disturbing aspect of human judgment and decision making, it is certainly worth knowing if they may be lessened when reported values have real consequences.

Undoubtedly, influencing consumers’ willingness to pay is one of the goals of marketing activities, and some of them are associated with the concepts of anchoring and framing. One common example of using the anchoring effect include fixing a high initial price of products or services and then selling them at a discount. Another involves including a really expensive sort of wine in the menu to boost willingness to pay for the other varieties. Using the mechanisms of the framing effect (especially the positive attribute framing) seems to be even more common in advertising messages or slogans. The study of the impact of these mechanisms on valuation is therefore also of great practical importance.

As part of the project, a series of field experiments will be carried out together with surveys, providing additional information about respondents and their shopping habits. Experiments will be carried out in a shopping mall, about 1,600 respondents will take part in them. In experiments both hypothetical and real methods will be used. In the hypothetical condition, participants will be directly asked about maximum price that they would be willing to pay for the presented product. In the real condition the price indicated by participant will be compared with the number drawn by the experimenter. If the price is lower than drawn number, real purchasing transaction will be conducted. Additionally, before the valuation, the respondents will be provided with a number (a low or high anchor), whereas in another part of the study – positive or negative attribute framing. Various product groups will be used for the valuation - a product from the cosmetics or chemical market and a food product. This will allow us to check whether similar results are obtained in different product categories. The influence of any respondents’ characteristics, such as age or place of residence, on the discussed effects, will also be examined.

The results of the project will contribute to supplementing and deepening the knowledge on determinants of the valuation of consumer goods. One of the more important expected results of the proposed project is also the contribution to the improvement of research methods for eliciting the market prices of consumer goods.

Environmental capital. A study on how ecological choice influences other relevantbehaviors of consumers

UMO-2018/29/N/HS4/02608 - PRELUDIUM

The change in energy sector from centralized to distributed increasesthe level of accountability and responsibility of microgeneration, which leads to acreation ofa new sector of decentralized energy consumers and producers -prosumers.

Prosumers can generate electricity using environment-friendlytechnologies. Since prosumers have influence on the environmental quality and the social welfare, itis worth analyzingwhat drives a prosumer to produce energy. Economic  experiments  and  research  show  that  a  seemingly  positive  decision  can  lead  to  other, potentially negative choices. The phenomenon has been described as moral licensingunderstood as entitlingto a self-indulgent behavior by doing positive action. Therefore, the questionsthat the author would like to answerin the research arefollowing:isit possible, that agents who choose environmental-friendly or altruistic act, feel free to act selfishly in other relevant situationsregarding environment protection? Additionally, it will be analyzedif other relevant decisions of prosumers can be influenced by the rebound effectused to describe net negative outcomesof energy efficiency increase.If arebound effectis observed, lower energy consumption results  in  a  reduction  of  other  costs  and  higher  disposable  income,  allowing  individualsto  increase  their consumption.

The third possible result of prosumers’ actions, in contrast to moral licensingand rebound,is the spillover  effect,  understood  as  a  positive  externality  of  one  environmentally  friendly  decision  on  other relevant choices.To sum up, three possible effects of environmentally relevant effects have been identified as far. 

The  research  will  aim  at  further  analyzing  them  and  providing  relevantconclusion  under  what circumstances they can be observed.To fully understand the motivesof environmentally relevant choices, the author would like to propose a concept of environmentalcapital. The idea isdefined as an assetbuilt on choices regarding conservation of the  environment,that  enables  individuals  to  internalize  the  effect  of  their  actions  on  others. Environmental capital can be affected by choices and acts of an individual agentand it should increase with effort devoted to environment   conservation   tasks. Environmental   capitalshould accumulatewhen individuals   actively participate  in  conservation  of  the  environment  (e.g. renewable  energy  prosumers,  public  transportation commuters, people  who recycle,  etc.)  and depletewhen instead  of protectingthe  environment,oneactsselfishly (e.g. by consuming cheap conventional energy, drivinghighly polluting cars, etc.).Hence, it will beanalyzedif an individual can learn how to bemore altruistic by experiencing positive spillover effect, or learn how to beselfish from selfless acts, experiencing moral licensingor reboundeffect(i.e. altruistic choice can generate eitherpositive ornegative externality). 

Informal institutions, competitiveness of elections and economic outcomes

UMO-2017/25/B/HS4/01072 - OPUS

The  proposed  project aims  at  providing  at  least  partial  answer  to  the  question  about  the  impact  that informal institutions (understood as social normsorcommon behavioural patterns) may have on voter turnout  in  local  elections, competitiveness  of these elections,and  economic  outcomes, with  a particular  attention  paid to  the  issue  of the  distribution  of  economic  resources.

The planned research will  look  at  these  relationships  using the  local  level  data  for Polandduring  the  period  of  transition from acentrally  planned  economy  to  amarket  economy. The  analysis  of  the  role  of  informal institutions will focus on the importance of secularisation process, which translates, among others, into the  decreased religious  attendance. Taking  into  account  that many  social  norms  are  directly  or indirectly  derived  from religion, changes  in  religious  attendance,whichwere observed during  the transition period, can provide a good approximation of the differences between municipalities as far as informal institutions are concerned.

The  project  aims  at  verifying  the  following  research  hypotheses:a) in  municipalities  in  which  the secularisation processduring  the  transition  periodwas  more  intense,currentlythe voter  turnout  in local  elections  is  lower; b)in  municipalities in  which  the secularisation processduring  the  transition periodwas more intense,currently the competitiveness of elections is smaller; c) in municipalities in which  the secularisation processduring  the  transition  periodwas  more  intense, currently  the distribution of economic resources is more unequal

Social norm information and consumers' preferences for environmental goods

UMO-2015/19/N/HS4/03365 - PRELUDIUM

The  project  addresses  the scientific issue  of the  social norm information impact  on consumers’preferencesfor  environmental  goods.

The influenceof  information  on  preferences  is recognizedin behavioral  economics.The  role  of  social  norms  in  shaping  preference  for  environmental  goods  is  a relatively new area of interest amongst environmental economists. The proposed empirical study will allow  toobserve changes  in  consumers’preferences  with  respect  to  the  environmental  good  under varyinginformation about social norms.Basingon  the  results  of hitherto research  and  analysis  of  the  data  from  the  preliminary investigation  conducted  by  the  author  of  the  project, the  following  hypotheses were  formulated: information about social norms influence the preference for environmental goods, influence of social norm  information  on  consumers’preferences  is  heterogeneous  and influence  of  high  and  low  social norm information is asymmetric.

This project will examinefactors that could explain heterogeneity in reaction to social norm information: consumers’prior expectations about social norm and consumers’motivation types

Global commodity price links: A high frequency evaluation of co-movement and hedging opportunities

UMO-2017/27/N/HS4/02037 - PRELUDIUM

The world economy is getting more closely connected. This means that for most of the world’s highlysought after commodities, events in New York or London can have impacts on prices in markets halfway across the globe. This is especially more so when production is distributedacross multiple locations, but market clearing through the price system is centralized in a few of the world’s financial capitals.

This study takes a new and formal look at how prices are interlinked across markets, with particularfocus on one of the world’s most highly traded commodities: coffee. This market is characterized bya physical auction where “green beans” are traded by producers (farmers, cooperatives or their agents) and an international world market where forward contracts (claims for the delivery of a prespecified amount of the underlying product) are traded. The forward or futures market reflects expectations about future supply and demand. It also acts as an avenue for risk management forsophisticated producers and an investment vehicle for financial speculators.

In an integrated global commodity market, changes in expectations as reflected by movements inthe prices of exchange traded contracts should affect spot prices in the physical auction. While we have reason to believe this intuition to be correct, we do not know the direction of causality nor the size of cross-market transmission. For physical and forward markets that are separated by great geographical distance, it become paramount to interrogate the data. This study is an attempt to bridge the gap in our knowledge about global scale price transmission from financial to physical markets or vice-versa and in the process to evaluate the feasibility of hedging spot price risk at the physical market with futures at financial exchanges. The plan to achieve this goal proceeds in two steps: collection of historical and high-frequency primary data from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (the spot market) and forward prices from an international futures exchange; the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, followed by state of the art. econometric analysis.

Establishing cross-market linkages requires looking at long time series. Primary historical datagoing back 20 years on average auction prices at the physical market will be obtained from records atthe Nairobi Coffee Exchange. Together with the more readily available forward prices from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, these data form a time series from which inference about long-term correlation can be made. A more detailed analysis requires looking at high frequency data from the physical auction. Such data provide insight on private valuations of buyers at the physical market and can be used to construct a demand curve. Having a demand schedule and price series, an evaluation of the feasibility of hedging spot (physical) price risk using exchange traded forwards canthen be undertaken. At the end of this process, we should have established the level and direction of price transmission between the two markets and the feasibility of hedging spot price risk using the forward market.

FIN-TECH A FINancial supervision and TECHnology compliance training programme

828215 - HORYZONT 2020