The European Union Single Market represents one of the most advanced examples of economic integration in the contemporary global economy. The main thing about it is that it functions as a mechanism that systematically reduces transaction costs and increases the accessibility of national markets to economic actors from other Member States. The aim of this study is to present the effects of the asymmetries of the EU single market on the Polish economy through a combination of data and methods. To pursue this objective, we use the industry-level International Trade and Production Database for Estimation (ITPD-E) of the U.S. International Trade Commission, and we rely on the workhorse empirical model of trade – the gravity equation, which we estimate for each of the 170 ITPD-E industries following the recommendations for gravity estimations. Against this backdrop, the contribution of our paper is to obtain estimates of the asymmetric effects of the Single Market on the exports vs. imports for Poland, looking at important sectors of the Polish economy such as Agriculture and Agricultural Products, Mining and Energy, Manufacturing, Services. As a final result, it can be stated that integration with the EU Single Market revealed and reinforced Poland’s existing comparative advantages in primary production, making the agricultural raw materials sector one of the earliest beneficiaries of trade liberalisation. At the same time, it entrenched an asymmetric pattern of specialisation, in which the growth of exports of raw products coexisted with a relatively greater dependence on imports of goods with a higher degree of processing.
This study examines how highly skilled employees in finance and IT sectors perceive the importance and fulfilment of career-related internal marketing (IM) practices in knowledge-intensive organisations. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted using the “employee-ascustomer” framework. Non-parametric statistical methods were applied to assess perceived importance and fulfilment of IM practices and to compare differences across employee groups by gender, age, tenure, organisational size, and work arrangement. The findings reveal a pronounced misalignment between employee expectations and organisational practices. Supportive leadership, a positive work atmosphere, work–life balance, transparent HR processes, and employment security are rated as most important, yet show the largest fulfilment gaps. Intrinsic and learning-oriented career aspects are valued more highly than traditional promotion pathways. Subgroup analyses indicate that women emphasise flexible career options and perceive lower leadership support; younger employees seek both career advancement and job security; fully onsite employees report lower fulfilment than hybrid or remote workers; and larger organisations demonstrate higher overall fulfilment. The study advances internal marketing theory by linking career expectation fulfilment to organisational attractiveness and employee retention and provides practical insights for tailoring IM strategies to diverse employee groups in knowledge-intensive contexts.
This paper investigates the impact of financial technologies (FinTech) on bank lending to small business entities (SBEs) in Uzbekistan, with particular attention to the moderating role of bank size. Using regional panel data from 2015–2023, supplemented with projections for 2024–2025, and applying fixed-effects panel regressions complemented by fractional response and 2SLS robustness checks, the analysis shows that FinTech significantly increases SBE credit supply, but this effect is bank-size dependent: large banks benefit substantially, whereas small banks lose part of their traditional relationship-lending advantage. The main contribution lies in providing the first regional-level macro evidence on the size-dependent effect of FinTech on SBE lending in an emerging-market context, with direct policy relevance for Uzbekistan and similar economies.
Nowadays, almost all countries possess foreign currency reserves that are necessary for making both expected and unforeseen transfers abroad, specifically payments for imported goods and settling foreign debt. Looking back, these reserves were held in precious metals, dollar deposits, and other savings and debt instruments in convertible currencies, and were managed by the central banks of the respective countries. However, in recent years, some countries, mainly developing ones, have accumulated reserves far above the necessary minimum that guarantees short-term payments and somewhat provides resources against unforeseen negative shocks. These surpluses are one of the reasons for the emergence of a new type of institutional investors in the form of sovereign wealth funds. Over the past twenty years, SWFs have experienced tremendous growth and therefore fall into the sights of fund managers and academic researchers. At the beginning of 2025, the assets they manage exceed 13.4 trillion dollars and are approaching the size of the foreign exchange reserves maintained by central banks, amounting to 16.8 trillion dollars. The object of analysis is the structural dynamics of the assets of sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds and foreign exchange assets of central banks. For this purpose, we use a coefficient for the direction of structural dynamics and aggregated data for each unit of the structure for the period 2000-2024.
This research was undertaken to investigate the criteria that motivate individuals to progress in their careers. To accomplish this, research was conducted with employees from the University of Zadar. The study aimed to identify the criteria that affect career advancement within the context of a higher education institution. A total of 15 employees participated, evaluating 15 specific factors to determine the primary elements that promote career progression, using a rating scale from 1 to 10. The significance of these factors was assessed through the SWARA (Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) method. The findings of this study indicated that motivation and persistence are crucial elements in networking and professional relationships, while expertise and skills also contribute significantly. Nevertheless, a unique aspect of advancement in higher education is that work experience does not significantly enhance employee motivation. The research advances the thesis that motivation and professional networking are the dominant factors in academic career progression. This research offers insights into the factors that affect career development for employees within higher education institutions.
