Marek S. Szczepański, Robert Geisler and Anna Śliz
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most crucial phenomena of global capitalism at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. For this reason it is emphasized by…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most crucial phenomena of global capitalism at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. For this reason it is emphasized by many companies (especially transnational corporations and multinational companies) and in the European Union and its policy. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze how CSR exists in a transitional country and region – the Upper Silesian Industrial District and the Rybnik Coalmine Area in Southern Poland.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative and quantitative methodology was used to summarize the sociological research among entrepreneurs and businesses located throughout the region.
Findings
This research showed that the CSR model is a new phenomenon, relatively unknown to entrepreneurs and managers, although there are some examples of CSR practices which currently exist in the strategies of certain companies. These companies are enterprises with significant foreign capital, which proves the theory that CSR is a new kind of idea and consciousness coming into Poland (and Upper Silesia) from abroad. Small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) that belong to the Polish citizens are characterized by an unconscious mode of CSR. There are also examples of building a CSR model in the local perspective among SMEs through European projects. One project called “Inherit the Job” had a goal which was to have local companies recruit the long‐term unemployed for internships and practice and at the end of the program to employ them. To conclude, building a CSR model at the local/regional level depends on one's mentality and way of thinking and it will be a huge challenge in the coming years of transition.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of the research is that companies are not very open to researchers and often would like to present themselves in a public relations manner and not reveal the true condition of the company.
Practical implications
The practical implications of the research are to create new programs focusing on CSR awareness and distribute them among SMEs and other companies.
Originality/value
The original value of the research is in showing how the model of CSR as a social phenomenon is implemented among entrepreneurs and companies in the Upper Silesian Industrial District.
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Aleksandra Pawlicka, Marek Pawlicki, Rafał Kozik and Michał Choraś
The purpose of this paper is to challenge the prevailing, stereotypical approach of the human aspect of cybersecurity, i.e. treating people as weakness or threat. Instead, several…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to challenge the prevailing, stereotypical approach of the human aspect of cybersecurity, i.e. treating people as weakness or threat. Instead, several reflections are presented, pertaining to the ways of making cybersecurity human-centred.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper bases on the authors’ own experiences, gathered whilst working in cybersecurity projects; the resulting comments and reflections have been enriched and backed up by the results of a targeted literature study.
Findings
The findings show that the way the human aspects of cybersecurity are understood is changing, and deviates from the stereotypical approach.
Practical implications
This paper provides a number of practical recommendations for policymakers, as well as cybersecurity managers on how to make the cybersecurity more human-centred; it also inspires further research directions.
Originality/value
This paper presents a fresh, positive approach to humans in cybersecurity and opens the doors to further discourse about new paradigms in the field.
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Adam F. Kola and Anna Maria Kola
Poland’s political and economic transformation after 1989 brought the logic of the neoliberal market into the educational system. These changes, however, were far from the real…
Abstract
Purpose
Poland’s political and economic transformation after 1989 brought the logic of the neoliberal market into the educational system. These changes, however, were far from the real liberal free market and instead relied on bureaucratic and technocratic local-level apparatus as well as supranational supports (the EU). Moreover, instead of enhancing post-socialist education to bring them up to the level of the core territories, this process pushed education out to the (semi?)periphery. The purpose of this paper is to present selected examples of alternative non-mainstream models of education.
Design/methodology/approach
Elements analyzed include: non/academic discourses, with particular emphasis on academic texts, media material and public debates concerning the topic in question.
Findings
Two related fields and levels ought to be distinguished: the descriptive level, focused on presenting non-mainstream educational institutions and initiatives, within the socioeconomic context of Poland’s post-socialist transformation; the normative level, with recommendations for policymakers, NGOs and educational activists.
Practical implications
Appreciation of systems parallel and alternative to the neoliberal and technocratic mainstream education system in Poland, with a view to encouraging both policymakers to recognise and develop such initiatives, and members of Polish civil society to create and participate in such forms of education.
Originality/value
Most scholars focus on mainstream education, with a number of exceptions, largely those engaged in the parallel models. This neoliberal model of education is accepted or critically examined, but its technocratic base is not recognised. This text is therefore ground-breaking in that it describes the real mechanisms of the Polish educational system in transition and provides a normative account and recommendations.
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G. Kersuzan, Nigel Batt, Brian Waterfield, Hamish Law, B. Herod, M.A. Whiteside and Nihal Sinnadurai
The International Electronic Components Show in Paris in November, 1983, provided the occasion for a very successful meeting of ISHM‐France which attracted 170 attendees. The…
Abstract
The International Electronic Components Show in Paris in November, 1983, provided the occasion for a very successful meeting of ISHM‐France which attracted 170 attendees. The following presentations were given:
Eveline Maria van Zeeland-van der Holst and Jörg Henseler
The concept of trust suffers from conceptual confusion. The current perspectives on trust within the B2B marketing domain could be visualised as a big box of which the borders are…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of trust suffers from conceptual confusion. The current perspectives on trust within the B2B marketing domain could be visualised as a big box of which the borders are defined by the disciplines marketing, economics, psychology and sociology. The purpose of this paper is to enlarge the box by introducing neuroscientific insights on trust to the B2B marketing domain.
Design/methodology/approach
By a literature study on neuroscientific insights on trust, this paper examines how neuroscience can help to solve existing problems within trust research and how it can address problems that otherwise might not be considered.
Findings
The neural coordinates of trust not only show that trust entails cognitive and affective elements, but also that these elements are so intertwined that they cannot be completely separated. What can and should be separated are the concepts of trust and distrust: the neural coordinates of trust are clearly different from the neural coordinates of distrust. Furthermore, there are personal differences in the ease of trusting others, which are not only caused by previous experiences but also by differences in resting patterns of frontal electroencephalographic asymmetry and by differences in hormonal state.
Research limitations/implications
Specifically, the neural difference between trust and distrust might shape the future research agenda for trust research within industrial marketing. It is likely that the process of distrust goes quick, whereas trust comes more slow. This is reflected in the dual processing theory, which is seen as a paradigm shift in the psychology of reasoning.
Originality/value
New perspectives and directions for trust research are presented. The distinction between trust and distrust is connected to approach- and avoidance-motivated behaviour, which is highly relevant for deepening the studies on trust within industrial marketing.