Search Results (157)

In a dynamic global market, platinum-group metals (PGMs), particularly palladium, are in high demand across various industries due to their unique properties. Palladium plays a crucial role in environmentally friendly technologies, such as catalytic converters, which mitigate harmful automotive emissions. Additionally, it is essential for clean energy production, particularly in hydrogen generation, which makes palladium a critical resource for building a sustainable and secure supply chain. This study evaluates the prospects of the palladium market through strategic analysis, focusing on the Russian mining and metals company PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel. The research employs strategic and industry analysis methods to examine palladium production, market dynamics, and technological advancements, as well as emerging applications in the context of a green economy. The article analyzes the economics of palladium production, including price volatility driven by stringent environmental regulations and the rising adoption of electric vehicles. The palladium market faces challenges such as a constrained resource base, supply disruptions due to sanctions, price instability, and growing demand from key sectors, particularly the automotive industry. Nevertheless, innovation-driven trends offer promising opportunities for market growth, aligning with sustainable development principles and the transition toward a green, low-carbon economy in both established and emerging markets. As a key scientific contribution, this study proposes a modified methodological approach to industry analysis, enabling the assessment of a mining and metals company’s competitive sustainability in the palladium market over the medium and long term. Furthermore, the research models the life cycle of palladium as a commodity, considering evolving market trends and the rapid development of new industries within the green economy. Full article

The energy market in the European Union is dominated by large energy companies. However, the liberalization of this market, the removal of market barriers, and the encouragement of small companies to enter the market are creating new conditions and changing the structure of companies. In addition to large energy companies, a significant number of small entities are also emerging. The aim of this research is to analyze the relationship between the size of energy companies and their technical efficiency. This analysis was carried out for the period 2019–2023. In order to assess the efficiency of the researched energy companies, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method was employed. The analyzed enterprises were divided into three groups: small (IA), medium (IB), and large (II). The following economic categories were adopted as the division criteria: 1. net sales revenue; 2. operating costs; 3. fixed assets. The findings of our study suggest that small and medium-sized energy companies can exhibit levels of efficiency that are comparable to those of larger enterprises. This result suggests that companies of different sizes can coexist in the energy market. The results obtained are not completely conclusive, as statistically significant differences in technical efficiency (TE) were recorded in 2021 and 2022 but only between small enterprises (IA) and medium-sized enterprises (IB). This study highlights the potential of small energy companies to contribute effectively to Poland’s energy sector and suggests that supporting their development could enhance energy security and market competition. However, many energy companies—regardless of size—exhibited low levels of efficiency, underlining the need for deeper investigation into the sources of inefficiency. Full article

Against the backdrop of the increasingly salient constraints of resource scarcity and environmental pressures on global economic development, sustainable innovation emerges as an imperative strategic pathway for corporations to secure a competitive edge in the international marketplace. Corporate innovation capability serves as the critical factor for both the advancement of sustainable innovation and the maintenance of the corporate competitive edge. While the extant literature has extensively explored how internal and external governance mechanism forces shape corporate investment decision-making, the critical role of non-CEO executives in the process of corporate innovation investment decision-making remains conspicuously underexplored. This study examines the effect of bottom–up governance mechanisms within executive teams on corporate innovation investment from the perspective of non-CEO executive independence. We used a sample of A-listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2007 to 2021 for empirical tests. We found a U-shaped relation between non-CEO executive independence and corporate innovation investment, and this finding still held after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis revealed that both non-CEO executives’ decision horizon and firm agency costs positively moderate this U-shaped relationship. This U-shaped effect is pronounced in firms with lower CEO power, lower levels of corporate governance, and non-state-owned firms. Our findings provide an important basis for clarifying the internal governance mechanism of the executive teams while offering new insights for optimizing the allocation of corporate resources and promoting corporate innovation from the perspective of improving corporate governance. Full article

Poland is a country rich in mineral resources with a diversified resource base. Energy resources play a key role, as they are strategic resources ensuring the country’s energy security. Strategic resources, the recovery of which is highly risky and the possibilities of substitution are small, are critical resources for the Polish economy. These are the resources included in the list of critical resources for the European Union. The conducted review of mineral resources in Poland showed a large difference between the levels of actual resources and the resources of deposits. Therefore, supporting the mineral resources market is one of the key strategic areas of the Polish economy. This study aims to identify barriers that have a significant impact on the activities of entities in the raw materials sector. The tool used was the PESTEL analysis of companies operating in the raw materials sector. The aim of this study based on the assessment of experts familiar with the raw materials market and dealing with its challenges was to determine the main factors driving the raw materials market. These include the EU’s decarbonization policy, a complex system and relatively high level of taxes, a lack of qualified specialists, a market delay in terms of technological development, an environmental policy focused on a circular economy and renewables, and the problem of raw material depletion. The earlier identification of the market gap in the mineral resources industry in Poland in terms of business development opportunities indicated that IT and ICT would be possible directions of development. Therefore, an analysis of the industry was carried out in terms of business development opportunities. An assessment of the impact of individual factors on the activities of IT entities in the raw materials sector in Poland was carried out. The factors that most determine running a business in the diagnosed IT gap in the RM include a lack of government support for IT investments, new trends resulting from the growing importance of ICT in everyday life, the pandemic situation and the subsequent crisis of many companies on the market, the unstable financial condition of the main customer groups, and the lack of qualified personnel, equipment, and appropriate technology. The presented results may have practical implications, among others, for new economic players who want to establish their companies and conquer the raw materials market. On the one hand, they indicate opportunities, and on the other, they point to threats that may appear in their business life. Full article

Sustainable development is a key concept that has been formulated over many years and is currently transforming our world. Decisions made in its spirit are influencing the economic and legal order and the daily lives of people in Europe and around the world. In Poland, achieving sustainable development requires a number of difficult decisions, and one of them is to transform the energy system toward low carbon. Poland’s energy transition is not an easy task in a country where, for many years, the dominant energy resource in terms of availability, resources and price has been coal. In view of such conditions, the Polish energy system has been based on coal, which in Polish conditions is still of strategic importance in meeting energy needs. For this reason, Poland’s planned move away from coal raises many controversies and concerns, especially in areas where mines operate. At the same time, it should be remembered that the mining industry, in addition to mining companies, brings together a large group of mining-related companies working for the benefit of mining. Due to the fact that it is in the territory of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin that about 80% of the documented balance resources of Polish hard coal are located, it was justified to conduct a survey among the residents of the Silesian Province as the group most likely to be affected by this decision. The aim of the survey was to find out the target group’s opinion on Poland’s transition away from coal. In turn, the main research problem was an attempt to answer the question of what percentage of households in the Silesian Province are opposed to Poland’s transition away from coal and what are the most significant factors influencing their opinion. Hence, this study presents the results of an empirical survey conducted among a randomly selected group of residents of the Silesian Province. The size of the research sample was 385 people. The study took into account factors such as age, place of residence, income, the square footage of the dwelling and the method of heating it, as well as respondents’ professional affiliation with the mining, mining-related, gas or energy industry. The results of the survey and analyses show that the vast majority of Upper Silesian residents are against the departure from coal, which is being planned in Poland’s energy transition. In addition, the most significant factors influencing respondents’ opinion on Poland’s move away from coal were identified and evaluated, revealing two social groups with differing views: one group opposes the move away from coal, prioritizing energy independence, energy security, energy prices and jobs over environmental issues; the other group advocates for the transition mainly for environmental reasons. Full article

An orientation towards strengthening the competitiveness of enterprises through an effective response to market expectations is nowadays associated with sustainable development. Despite the articulation of the role of innovative solutions in this respect, the literature has not sufficiently explored this issue. Hence, the aim of the article was to analyse the impact of innovation on the sustainable development of enterprises in the pharmaceutical sector operating in the market in Poland. For the purposes of this study, the scope and spectrum of reference for innovative solutions in pharmaceutical entities was diagnosed based on the results of a diagnostic survey. In part of the in-depth study, an assessment of the impact of innovation on the sustainable development of the surveyed enterprises was conducted. The above was performed using appropriately selected methods of a qualitative and quantitative nature, including economic analytical techniques (cause-effect analysis, dependency analysis). The research sample was made up of companies operating on the pharmaceutical market in Poland; therefore, the results of the research refer only to these entities and there are no grounds for transferring them to the general population of enterprises in this sector in the country under study. This paper’s findings indicate that the idea of creating added value, growing out of a broad concern for social, environmental and economic aspects, is determined by an innovative approach that enhances environmental security, responding to societal expectations, while at the same time aiming to maximise the economic impact on activities. Companies that invest more heavily in innovation achieve better results in sustainable development, as confirmed by research. Companies are aware of this and are directing development expenditure into solutions that strengthen their ability to respond effectively to market expectations, with the strongest implementation of the above based on product innovation. Full article

Smart grids have enormous potential in terms of reliability and sustainability, but with the large-scale integration of distributed energy like solar energy, the network security risks of smart grids have also increased. In response to the physical and information network threats faced in the network security risk assessment of solar powered smart grids, this study develops a smart grid theft detection model based on TimesNet and a smart grid intrusion detection model based on bidirectional long short-term memory networks. The results indicated that when the proportion of electricity theft data was 25%, the false detection rate of the proposed model was 3.52. The area under the curve of the proposed model was 0.98, and the detection rate, false negative rate, F1 value, and accuracy were 97.04%, 1.21%, 92.69%, and 97.15%, respectively. The loss value of the proposed intrusion detection model was stable at around 0.012 in the NSL-KDD dataset and around 0.02 in the CICIDS2017 dataset, with a detection accuracy of 97.54% and a false positive rate of 1.21%. The experiment demonstrated the electricity theft behavior and network intrusion detection performance of the proposed model, which can effectively detect security threats faced by solar smart grids and provide practical basis for network security risk assessment. The research results can help reduce the economic losses of power companies, maintain a good order of electricity consumption, and ensure the safe and stable operation of solar smart grids. Full article

Homebuilder ETFs provide investors with a diversified portfolio of residential construction and sales companies which reduces risks associated with individual stock selection in the sector. This study examines the net monthly returns of homebuilder exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through various performance evaluation models and market situations. The results reveal that these ETFs outperformed benchmark indices in absolute returns. Despite homebuilding being part of the real estate sector, the correlation between monthly returns of homebuilder ETFs and the Dow Jones US Real Estate Index, though positive, is not very high. The performance of ETFs varied across market conditions, demonstrating both outperformance and underperformance compared to U.S. stocks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, homebuilder ETFs displayed a decline, trailing behind U.S. equities in both absolute returns and risk-adjusted performance. This result emphasizes their vulnerability during economic crises. Utilizing a modified version of the Carhart factor model, significant exposure of real estate ETFs to the stock market was observed. Moreover, an assessment of ETF portfolio managers’ skills indicated proficiency in security selection but limited capabilities in market timing. Homebuilder ETFs pose higher downside risks than other indices, evident in their elevated Value at Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) values. Full article

The aim of the article is to provide recommendations for the implementation of sustainable management principles into the practice of various companies operating in the onshore wind energy industry. The desk research method was used in the study, as well as free interviews which were conducted with 30 people who are directly concerned with the issues related to the expansion of the wind farm network—they live in or plan to move to the vicinity of wind farms. The results obtained show that onshore wind energy should not be perceived solely through the prism of the sustainable operation of turbines and wind farms. As the interviews with the interlocutors showed, wind energy has also disadvantages and is a source of threats. The authors believe that the full sustainability of the wind energy industry will only occur when all economic entities, both directly and indirectly related to this sector, i.e., those involved in the design, production, transport, assembly, operation, supervision, and decommissioning of wind turbines, implement the goals of sustainable development by implementing systemic management solutions into their practice. This will be facilitated by the model approach to sustainable management presented in this article. In this context, the article contributes to the theory of sustainable development and management. It has also a practical value. There are specific solutions indicated that will facilitate the transformation of companies currently operating in the onshore wind energy industry into their fully sustainable counterparts. Their usage and implementation in the everyday practice of companies will contribute to increased energy security and the protection of the planet’s resources. Full article

Portugal’s renewable energy transition plays a pivotal role in addressing climate change, enhancing energy security, and promoting sustainable development. This study examines the socio-economic impacts of renewable energy policies in Portugal from 2014 to 2022, with a focus on financial performance, employment trends, and gender equity. Utilizing financial assessments from the Orbis database and input–output analysis, the research examines three companies—EDP, E-Redes, and Logical Gravity—classified under NACE Rev. 2 code 3513. The study finds that investments in renewable energy improved profitability and solvency, especially during recovery phases, reflecting the sector’s financial resilience. Larger firms like EDP experienced employment growth, while smaller firms faced more volatility, highlighting the need for targeted support. Despite progress, gender disparities and pay gaps persist, underscoring the need for gender-sensitive policies. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers seeking to ensure a just and sustainable energy transition, emphasizing strategic investments, workforce adaptation, and inclusivity. Full article

This study aims to describe and assess the impact of critical infrastructure (CI) cybersecurity issues on the sustainable development of smart cities. This study highlights the integration of PayTech systems into the broader CI landscape, highlighting their impact on maintaining economic stability and ensuring the smooth operation of city services. Key companies within smart regions, particularly those operating in the payment industries, are essential to maintaining the functionality of critical services. These companies facilitate the processing of services provided to citizens, enabling access to vital municipal services. As key players in the PayTech and online e-commerce sectors, they form a crucial part of modern critical infrastructure, operating within an ever-evolving digital environment. This study examines the recovery processes employed after cyberattacks, focusing on the differing perspectives of internal and external professionals. It identifies significant differences in the perceptions of recovery strategies among internal stakeholders, such as investor relations (IR) teams, reputation management (RM) experts, and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), who represent critical infrastructure companies. Additionally, it explores the roles of external auditors, who provide impartial emergency support and perform specialized recovery tasks. Importantly, this study underscores the current attitudes toward future information security strategies and their influence on the financial recovery and reputation of reliable companies following cyber incidents. This research contributes to the existing knowledge by shedding light on the perspectives of both a company’s internal and external specialists involved in the recovery process and cyber resilience strategies in critical infrastructure sectors. Full article

Digitalisation has significantly increased cybersecurity risks in organisations, notably for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in which IT departments often have relatively small teams and limited resources. Cyber insurance enables SMEs to navigate cybersecurity risks more economically, providing an essential risk transfer alternative to costly reduction strategies. This article examines the antecedents, emergence, and application of cyber insurance as a solution to cybersecurity concerns against the backdrop of increasing digitalisation. The research adopts a quantitative deductive approach, with an analysis of relevant literature providing the basis for the development of 12 hypotheses, which are then tested via a survey of 168 SMEs in Turkey. Using the Technology–Organisation–Environment–Individual (TOE-I) model as a top-line conceptual framework, the article finds that cyber insurance policy adoption has facilitated a more rapid and secure digitalisation process and that the mitigation of financial risk associated with cyberattacks has allowed companies to invest more widely in information technologies and systems. The article clearly has its limitations, in that it is based on primary research in one European country, but the authors believe that it nevertheless provides some new insights into the potential benefits of cyber insurance, and the key issues SMEs must consider when considering adopting a cyber insurance policy. The findings will be of practical relevance to SMEs and other organisations reviewing their cybersecurity strategy and are also of relevance to the wider debate around the costs and benefits of digitalisation. Full article

Among the studies in the area of organisational performance analysis, little attention is paid to assessing the impact of employee well-being on business performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the sources of employees’ psychological well-being and assess its impact on business performance. The study was conducted in the form of a diagnostic survey among seven pharmaceutical entities operating in the market in Poland. The analysis and inference were based on the rules of economic and financial analysis, with particular emphasis on the cause–effect approach in the study of relationships. The sample of respondents was made up of seven pharmaceutical companies operating in the market in Poland, so the findings developed relate only to the companies accepted for the study and cannot be transferred to the general population of the country’s pharmaceutical sector. The objective of the study was made possible by appropriately selected methods of qualitative and quantitative nature. The study used the results of our own research (diagnostic survey), methods drawn from the instrumentarium of economic analysis (cause–effect analysis and dependency analysis) and statistical research techniques. The main findings of the paper indicate that the quality of organisational performance and its ability to shape the performance of activity-dependent firms is significantly dependent on the mental well-being of the workforce, as confirmed by the survey results. Firms with very good and good performance in operations demonstrate 88% of their staff achieving mental well-being. A key determinant of the above is job security (very important) and salary. The above leads to the fundamental conclusion that an important aspect of the management of a modern company is care for the comfort of working conditions, proper relations and determining the psychological safety and satisfaction of employees, which is unquestionably in the interest of both parties. The findings developed enrich the source material that can serve the management of organisations in shaping a sustainable HR strategy. Full article

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, energy security is essential to economic challenges nowadays. The basis for the proper operating of the energy sector is to ensure a stable supply of energy to end users and to secure finances of energy companies, so that they can operate sustainably in times of uncertainty. In our studies, we have addressed this issue with the main objective of assessing the state of energy security from the perspective of the stability of the financial situation of energy sector companies in the context of the global energy crisis and a sustainable energy future. Financial indicators and a canonical variable analysis were used to examine the financial situation of companies in the energy sector and to describe links between selected groups of energy companies. Such companies operating during political and economic instability did not record worse financial results than in the year 2018. It was found that in case-studied firms, total debt decreased and moreover, liquidity and return on assets improved. Companies have focused on securing their financial health and ensuring the stability of their energy supplies and the issue of the environmental impact of energy production has unfortunately become a secondary concern. Nevertheless, in the event of further crises, it is reasonable to assume that a focus on maintaining liquidity and generating profits for energy companies will be more important to companies than environmental challenges and the fight against climate change. Full article

By the end of the decade, the world population is expected to increase by nearly one billion people, posing challenges to meeting global food demand. In this scenario, soybean production is projected to increase by 18% within this decade. Despite being the largest soybean producer, responsible for over 40% of soybeans produced worldwide, drought events often impair Brazilian production. The goals of the present research were to quantify soybean yield losses related to drought in Brazil from 1973 to 2023 at national, state, and municipal levels and to assess the spatial distribution of losses across the production areas. The hypothesis investigated is that year-to-year variations in soybean yield are closely related to water availability, considering that crop management practices are constant from year to year, while increments in soybean yield across time (more than five years) relate tightly to better crop management practices and breeding improvements. Thus, quantifying year-to-year yield losses might demonstrate the effects of water availability on soybean yield. Yield data from the 1976/1977 to 2022/2023 crop seasons from the 26 states and the Federal District came from the National Supply Company, while the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics supplied yield data for the 1973/1974 to 2020/2021 crop seasons from 1998 municipalities with more than 14 crop seasons. Soybean drought yield losses were calculated for each cropping season individually at the municipal, state, and national levels, based on the deviation in the observed yield to the corresponding maximum yield in the five-year window, considering that crop management practices and genetics represent a regular increment in soybean yield, which means that production practices improved over time and deviations from year to year are mainly related to drought occurrence. Annual soybean yield loss (expressed in tons, USD, and percentage), frequency of yield loss, and severity of yield loss were calculated at national, state, and municipal levels for each cropping season. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), acquired from the Brazilian Weather Forecast and Climate Studies Center at the National Space Research Institute, was used as a qualitative indicator to corroborate the assessed soybean yield losses related to drought. The results demonstrate yield losses in more than 50% of crop seasons at the national level, with a similar frequency across the five decades, albeit with lower severities in the last 30 years. The Central–West region was more stable than the South region, with yield losses of up to 74%. In five decades, yield losses related to drought events stand at 11.65%, corresponding to 280 million tons or USD 152 billion (considering the average soybean price in 2022 at the Chicago Board of Trade). At the municipal level, analogous behavior was observed across time and space. The outcomes from the present research might subsidize public and corporative policies related to agricultural zoning, farm loan programs, crop insurance contracts, and food security, contributing to higher agricultural, environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Full article