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The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of a company’s external informal relationships in the internationalization process.

To achieve the aim of this paper, a qualitative research was undertaken. The data used for analysis were obtained through face-to-face interviews with representatives of 20 companies.

There are two main findings of the research. First, on the basis of the analysis of the interviews, it was possible to identify 14 different outcomes of informal relationships with external actors in the internationalization process. Second, the outcomes have been assigned to different stages of the internationalization process, thereby covering the whole range of a company’s development timeline.

This paper illustrates and confirms the important and positive role of the informal relationships developed by a company with external actors in the internationalization process and indicates that it can change over time depending on the stage of the internationalization.

The purpose of this paper is to indicate how conflicts in foreign business relationships are handled by small firms from a relational point of view and how these conflicts can be used by small firms in a positive way.

The paper uses qualitative study and presents the results of in-depth interviews conducted with six small, Poland-based firms.

The paper indicates the nature of conflicts in foreign business relationships from the perspective of small firms, including the sources of conflict and its outcomes. The main sources of conflict indicated include service or product quality, financial aspects of cooperation and cultural differences. The study exposes the existence of both negative (e.g. financial consequences) and positive (e.g. gaining new experience) outcomes of conflicts. It shows that positive conflict handling often constitutes a significant challenge for small firms and that the authors cannot really speak of one optimal method of conflict handling. Regardless of the method adopted, the costs involved should be taken into detailed consideration.

The paper points to actions that could be taken by small firms to handle conflicts in a way that will produce positive outcomes.

Managing international relationships is a more challenging task compared with domestic ones, especially for smaller firms. The paper exposes the impact of two categories of conflict (called day-to-day problems and severe conflicts) in a foreign relationship on small firms and considers different methods of handling the conflict situations.

In recent years, authorities in Poland have recognised the need for greater internationalisation of business. As with many other socialist countries, the development of internationalisation has been under the control and guidance of the state authorities. The authors attempt to identify whether any long‐term internationalisation policy has been implemented and whether or not Polish companies follow the customary internationalisation path. They have found that despite attempts to implement economic reform, there is both a lack of integration and the omission of key elements. These failings have hindered development and export strategy has not been successful to date. The discussion takes place on both a macro and microeconomic level, examining the various types of enterprise carrying out foreign trade. The conclusion is that macroeconomic and micro‐economic conditions create formidable barriers to the internationalisation of Polish enterprises.

The first of several articles on the temporal development of intra‐firm marketing organizations, relates how Hungary and Poland have progressed strongly towards the free market economic system. However, social and political opposition is now threatening further rapid reform. Moreover, infrastructure deficiencies and managerial problems are constraining effective marketing. Outdated production orientation is inhibiting the adoption of marketing orientation in the state sector while firm smallness is limiting managerial specialization in the private sector. Concludes, from a mail survey of 1,786 Hungarian and Polish firms, that most existing organizations are inadequate. Marketing orientation is extensive in Hungary but sparse in Poland. Although companies adapt flexibly to market changes and assign marketing responsibility to chief executives, most do not have specialist marketing departments. In the minority of cases where specialist departments do exist, they do not have inferior status to other functions although neither are they closely integrated with them.

Suggests that, although Poland has made much progress towards becoming a market‐led economy, powerful environmental developments are now confronting Polish firms and these have elevated the necessity for effective marketing strategy and organization. Provides findings from a survey of 893 Polish companies which indicate that many have adopted a marketing orientation and assembled organizations conducive to effective marketing. However, many companies have not yet fully overcome time, attitudinal and other barriers to the adoption of marketing philosophies and the creation of a dedicated marketing organization. There is some evidence that marketing is embraced at a strategic level among many of the firms studied. However, marketing activities are assigned to non‐specialist functions among many of the companies and some of them do not assign key activities to anyone. Concludes that an extensive programme of education may be required to enhance awareness of the importance of, and knowledge for, marketing among Polish managers and administrators.

The Narver and Slater market orientation scale is tested in the context of service firms in the transition economies of central Europe and found to be both valid and reliable. The survey examined levels of market orientation in 205 business to business services companies and 141 consumer services companies in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. As predicted by the predominantly western marketing literature, those service firms with higher levels of market orientation; were more often found in turbulent, rapidly changing markets; were more likely to pursue longer term market building goals rather than short term efficiency objectives; more likely to pursue differentiated positioning through offering superior levels of service compared to competitors; and also performed better on both financial and market based criteria. A number of different business approaches, however, are evident in the transition economies suggesting that other business orientations may co‐exist with a market orientation creating a richer and more complex set of organizational drivers.