1. business and industrial

Shaping
Local Business
Communities
The International Conference
“Entrepreneurial Cities”
Proceedings
Edited by
Izabela Koładkiewicz
Jerzy Cieślik
Shaping
Local Business
Communities
Edited by
Izabela Koładkiewicz
Jerzy Cieślik
Shaping
Local Business
Communities
The International Conference
“Entrepreneurial Cities”
Proceedings
Shaping Local Business Communities
The International Conference “Entrepreneurial Cities” Proceedings
Kształtowanie lokalnych społeczności przedsiębiorców
Doświadczenia zebrane w trakcie konferencji „Przedsiębiorcze Miasta”
Reviewer/Recenzent
Thomas S. Lyons, Ph.D.
Lawrence N. Field Family Chair in Entrepreneurship and Professor of Management
Baruch College, City University of New York
prof. Thomas S. Lyons – ekspert w zakresie przedsiębiorczości, profesor zarządzania
w Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, Uniwersytet Miejski w Nowym Jorku
Centrum Przedsiębiorczości Akademii Leona Koźmińskiego
(Partner Projektu)
ul. Jagiellońska 59 (pokój B-15)
03-301 Warszawa
tel.: +48 22 519 22 17
e-mail: sfop@kozminski.edu.pl
www.sfop.kozminski.edu.pl
© Copyright by Stołeczne Forum Przedsiębiorczości
Wydanie I
Warszawa, październik 2014
Tytuł Projektu: Stołeczne Forum Przedsiębiorczości
Opracowanie, promocja i pilotażowe wdrożenie nowych metod współpracy
warszawskiego samorządu i przedsiębiorstw dla skutecznego zarządzania zmianą
gospodarczą
Numer umowy: UDA-POKL.08.01.02-14-137/11
Program Operacyjny Kapitał Ludzki
Priorytet VIII Regionalne kadry gospodarki
Działanie 8.1 Rozwój pracowników i przedsiębiorstw w regionie
Poddziałanie 8.1.2 Wsparcie procesów adaptacyjnych i modernizacyjnych w regionie
Projekt współfinansowany przez Unię Europejską w ramach Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego
ISBN 978-83-7561-462-6
Wydawnictwo Poltext
www.poltext.pl
Free copy/Egzemplarz bezpłatny
Table of Contents
Izabela Koładkiewicz, Jerzy Cieślik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Introduction
PART I: ENTREPRENEURIAL CITIES – DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS
OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CHAPTER 1
Mirosław Grochowski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Creative Sector: An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base
for Urban Development
CHAPTER 2
Katarzyna Rostek, Agnieszka Skala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
CHAPTER 3
Magdalena Kubów . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension. A Case Study
of Warsaw
CHAPTER 4
Julita Wasilczuk, Krzysztof Zięba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities
for Small Firms
5
PART II: ENTREPRENEURSHIP – A MAJOR CHALLENGE
FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES
CHAPTER 5
Lidia Kaliszczak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
The Development of a Favorable Climate for Entrepreneurship
at the Local Level
CHAPTER 6
Małgorzata Osińska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Hong Kong Was an Island. The Process of Creating a Global City
CHAPTER 7
Leszek Kwieciński, Agnieszka Młodzińska-Granek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
A Systemic Approach to Entrepreneurship on the Regional
and Local Level
ABSTRAKTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
ABOUT AUTHORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
6
Izabela Koładkiewicz, Jerzy Cieślik
Introduction
Entrepreneurship is typically associated with the individual perspective, i.e.
the everyday struggle of entrepreneurs with the harsh realities of competition, the constant threat of losing financial liquidity or organizational and
personnel issues. At the other extreme, we have the macroeconomic perspective, i.e. the institutional environment as well as legal and financial frameworks for the entrepreneurial activity of citizens.
Researchers, politicians, but also the entrepreneurs themselves, pay
relatively less attention to the local dimension of entrepreneurship, including the specifics of doing business in metropolitan areas. However, in the
last several years, a growing interest in this field can be observed on a global
scale. A number of reasons have caused this:
tt When elaborating long-term strategies for urban development, in a market economy, the city stewards must take into account both the potential
and the plans of entrepreneurs regarding sales growth, employment,
innovation implementation, etc.;
tt Focusing entrepreneurial activity on a relatively small area creates a favorable climate for interaction between creative people with a high potential of knowledge and that think in an unconventional way. This
melting pot creates a favorable climate for a specific group defined by
Richard Florida as the “creative class” and ultimately results in interdisciplinary, innovative business projects. Furthermore, the existence of
a “creative class” is a magnet pulling creative and enterprising entities
to cities;
tt In the urban development strategy the idea of a “Smart City” is gaining
increasing popularity. Broadly speaking, this idea consists in the use of
modern information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve
the functioning of the local administration and to get citizens and entrepreneurs involved in the decision-making process and the implementation
of joint initiatives. Generally, entrepreneurship is an important element
of the idea of a ​​“Smart City”;
tt The quality of life of urban citizens is greatly influenced, in conjunction
with the material, technical and cultural infrastructure as well as the
efficiency of the administration, by interpersonal relationships, building
trust and a spirit of cooperation, and thus social capital. International
experience shows that entrepreneurs who work together can constitute
an important component of local urban communities.
7
IZABELA KOŁADKIEWICZ, JERZY CIEŚLIK
The above-mentioned factors and the growing global interest in this issue
point to the need to address the matter of the local, urban dimension of
entrepreneurship in Poland. Hence the initiative of the Conference “Entrepreneurial Cities”, which was organized in July 2014 as part of the Project
“The Warsaw Entrepreneurship Forum” by the Kozminski University in
collaboration with the Authorities of the City of Warsaw. It brought together
Polish and foreign researchers from various research centers. The by them
presented research results allowed for a broader perception and a better
understanding of the complex issue of urban entrepreneurship, especially
in large metropolitan areas, which offer a unique environment for business
activity that translates into their further development.
This book contains the results of the Conference. A mere glance at the
table of contents is enough to confirm that the earlier suggested way of
perceiving the issue of entrepreneurial cities is only a first step towards fully
understanding it. Each subsequent chapter of the book uncovers further
components of the matter at hand. For example, M. Grochowski, in the
chapter entitled “The Creative Sector: An Instrument to Strengthen the
Economic Base for Urban Development”, outlines the role of the creative
sector in the processes of economic development of a city, and indicates the
areas of intervention of public authorities, the purpose of which is to mobilize, support development and the effective use of the development potential
of this sector. The research results indicate that the basic mechanisms of
support from the local authorities include measures to ensure appropriate
spaces for activities. Important factors supporting the development of business communities from the creative sector include the presence of supporting institutions as well as mechanisms that enable the transfer of innovation
between different sectors (cross-innovation).
A factor conditioning the success of the measures undertaken by entrepreneurial cities, the aim of which is to keep the entrepreneurs and their
companies, is primarily targeting them well and meeting the needs of the
entrepreneurs. The starting point for developing well-targeted measures
that meet the needs of entrepreneurs is identifying these needs. However,
this is not an easy task. This opinion is supported by, among other things,
the analysis of the high-tech manufacturing sector in Warsaw conducted by
K. Rostek and A. Skala. The research process described in the chapter entitled “A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw”
shows that a restriction to only the statistical identification data REGON,
which uses the Polish Classification of Activity (PKD), can lead to false conclusions. Based on the REGON databases the Authors identified 1,363
companies that operate in the high-tech sector in Warsaw, but after also
incorporating other criteria, this number fell to 137 entities.
It should also be remembered that, despite belonging to one sector, entrepreneurs do not constitute a uniform and homogeneous group, but rather
a strongly diversified community. Their diversity is also determined by the
location of their businesses. These observations are confirmed by, among
other things, the research results of J. Wasilczuk and K. Zięba, which they
8
Introduction
have presented in their article entitled “The Impact of Urban Localizations
on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms”. Their research study indicates
diversity between the profiles of firms and their owners, depending on their
location – urban and non-urban. Interestingly, despite the observed diversity
of profiles between the studied entrepreneurs, no differences in the growth
rate of their companies were detected. According to the Authors, one of the
explanations for the observed phenomenon could be the fact that “all possible benefits coming from the urban environment may be balanced out by
the accompanying disadvantages”.
Another dimension of entrepreneurial cities is identified by M. Kubów in
the chapter entitled “Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension.
A Case Study of Warsaw”. An entrepreneurial city not only creates the right
conditions for the development of enterprises, by providing such factors as:
space, communication or the presence of support institutions; not only takes
measures to understand the communities of their entrepreneurs. An entrepreneurial city should also know how to keep them. Based on the experiences
of entrepreneurs that operate in the sports sector in terms of cooperation with
the district authorities of the city of Warsaw, M. Kubów indicates that one of
the key activities in this area should be maintaining a good cooperation between the representatives of the city authorities and the entrepreneurs. Obviously, the human factor is of great significance in these relations. Moreover,
also the network of contacts that the entrepreneurs have established and their
ability to see emerging opportunities in the environment are of importance.
Whether a city can be defined as entrepreneurial is not only determined
by the presence of actively operating entrepreneurs in its area. An important
factor determining whether a city is entrepreneurial is also the entrepreneurial orientation of the city authorities. This matter, to a varying extent,
is discussed in the respective chapters of our book, but to the greatest extent
by L. Kaliszczak in the chapter entitled “The Development of a Favorable
Climate for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level”. The focus of the Author
was the issue of creating a climate of entrepreneurship by the local authorities of municipalities. Her research results indicate that in the case of
the studied sample of representatives of local authorities their governance
style requires an evolution – from administration to leadership. However,
one needs to keep in mind the limitations that are faced by the enterprising
authorities, those that manage entrepreneurial cities or municipalities. These
include the legal regulations in force and the current financial capabilities.
However, these should not constitute a factor inhibiting the entrepreneurial
orientation of the officials of local government units. One of the key dimensions in which their entrepreneurship should be expressed is seeing the
opportunities for the development of the city that they manage. An entrepreneurial official and entrepreneur should both share the desire to join
forces for the development of the local community, which in turn should
translate into improvements in the living and working conditions of all the
stakeholders. Their joint and harmonized efforts will also create the foundation for the construction of an entrepreneurial city.
9
IZABELA KOŁADKIEWICZ, JERZY CIEŚLIK
Another interesting dimension of the discussion on how to perceive an
entrepreneurial city is added by M. Osińska in her article entitled “Hong
Kong Was an Island. The Process of Creating a Global City”. There is no
doubt about the fact that the transformation of Hong Kong from a small
fishing village, located on an isolated island, to a megacity, that currently is
the heart of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, required entrepreneurial
activities. However, it should be stressed that in order to achieve the current
huge operations of Hong Kong, the activities of the stakeholders from the
local community – the city authorities and the local entrepreneurs – required
strengthening and involvement of the central government of China. It should
also be added that in this chapter, like in the previous ones, the importance
of transport is stressed, as well as that of the networks of communication
and infrastructure of the city, as the key factors that increase its attractiveness for entrepreneurs and are thus conducive to the formation of their
communities.
An important addition to the discussion, aimed at identifying the various
dimensions of entrepreneurial cities, indicated by L. Kwieciński and A.
Młodzińska-Granek in their article entitled “A Systemic Approach to Entrepreneurship on the Regional and Local Level”, is the need for creating
a systemic approach to entrepreneurship and innovation on the regional and
local level. In the model that the Authors developed, in addition to traditional
factors, such as the technology or economic development of a region, they
also included its institutional environment, human resources, entrepreneurial attitudes and available support programs.
It follows from the above that urban entrepreneurship can be perceived
and studied on many different levels and in various dimensions. There is no
doubt, however, that its basic components are the local business communities
and entrepreneurial city authorities. Without the collaboration of these actors, the creation of an entrepreneurial city would not be possible. The
starting point for this cooperation should be a mutual understanding of each
other between these groups. City authorities should start by getting to know
the needs and expectations of entrepreneurs, while entrepreneurs should be
aware of the possibilities for action that the officials of local government
units have and what limitations there are in this respect.
We also hope that this book will be an inspiration to undertake further
studies of the phenomenon of entrepreneurial cities, and that the obtained
results will expand our knowledge in this field.
Warsaw, September 2014
Prof. ALK dr hab. Izabela Koładkiewicz
Prof. ALK dr hab. Jerzy Cieślik
10
PART I
ENTREPRENEURIAL CITIES
– DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS
OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
część I
przedsiębiorcze miasta
– różne wymiary
przedsiębiorczości
Mirosław Grochowski
The Creative Sector – An Instrument
to Strengthen the Economic Base for Urban
Development
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is twofold: to outline the role of the creative sector in urban development processes and to propose the priority spheres of
intervention of public authorities, the aim of which is mobilization, fostering
development, and an effective use of the potential of the creative sector. The
article includes the results of two projects: Creative Metropoles and Cross
Innovations, implemented under the Interregional Cooperation Program
INTERREG IVC. The Capital City of Warsaw participated in both projects
and served as a case study to exemplify the in the article formulated hypotheses and recommendations concerning the role and tasks of public authorities in supporting the development of the creative sector.
JEL Classification: H80
Keywords: creative sector, urban development
13
Mirosław Grochowski
Sektor kreatywny – instrument wzmacniania
bazy rozwoju ekonomicznego miasta
ABSTRAKT
Celem artykułu jest zarysowanie roli sektora kreatywnego w procesach
rozwoju ekonomicznego miast oraz wskazanie sfer interwencji władz publicznych, których celem jest mobilizacja, wsparcie rozwoju i efektywne
wykorzystanie potencjału rozwojowego sektora kreatywnego. W artykule
wykorzystano wyniki dwóch projektów: Creative Metropoles i Cross Innovations, realizowanych w ramach Programu Współpracy Międzyregionalnej
INTERREG IVC, w których udział brało Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa. Sytuację i doświadczenia Warszawy wykorzystano w artykule dla zilustrowania
zawartych w nim tez i rekomendacji, dotyczących m.in. roli i zadań władz
publicznych we wspieraniu rozwoju sektora kreatywnego.
Słowa kluczowe: sektor kreatywny, rozwój miast
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
INTRODUCTION
The conditions for the development of cities evolve constantly. Globalization
and metropolization shape cities’ external relationships with other cities,
urban areas and regional surroundings. Both processes also have an impact
on cities’ internal spatial, functional and socioeconomic structures. Cities
are concentrations of educated and well-qualified people, who are the key
component of their development assets and strengths. These people form
the creative capital, which contributes to the development of the creative
sector. This sector, to a large extend, determines the attractiveness of cities
for inhabitants, visitors and investors. The size and nature of the creative
sector depend on different factors, but the leading one is culture. In the
development of civilization, creativity based on culture has always had an
impact on the paths of urban development. New political ideas and social
values, new lifestyles, new concepts of urban space arrangements or new
technologies of urban life have always been determined by cultural development, which opens new perspectives and creates new chances and possibilities for development in social, economic and spatial dimensions.
Public authorities ought to create proper conditions to capture and utilize
creative capital in order to translate it into different forms of entrepreneurship. These conditions include available space to locate firms from the creative sector, the existence of supporting institutions and mechanism for cross
innovation – transfer of innovations among different sectors. This article
addresses issues related to the above-mentioned conditions in the context
of the development of Warsaw. Warsaw is an example of a post-socialist city
that faces challenges related to the transformation of the economic base for
development. Deindustrialization has contributed to changes in the spatial
and functional structure of the city. Social and demographic structures have
also evolved. Neglected post-industrial sites are waiting for their second
chance. It is claimed in the article that although the role of the creative sector in strengthening the economic base of the city and in urban renewal
might be fundamental, in the practice of policy-making and development
planning it is still underestimated.
15
MIROSŁAW GROCHOWSKI
THE CREATIVE SECTOR
The term creative sector is often used interchangeably with the notion of
cultural or cultural and creative industries. It refers to a range of economic
activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge
and information (Hesmondhalgh 2002). It may also be referred to as the creative economy (Howkins 2001, 2001a), and most recently it has been denominated as the Orange Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean
(Buitrago, Duque 2013). The European Commission defines creative industries
as industries which use culture as an input and have a cultural dimension,
although their outputs are mainly functional. They include architecture and
design, which integrate creative elements into wider processes, as well as
subsectors such as graphic design, fashion design or advertising (European
Commission 2012). The definition adopted by the Conference of German
Ministers of Economic Affairs says that culture and creative industries comprise all cultural and creative enterprises that are mainly market-oriented
and deal with the creation, production, distribution and/or dissemination
through the media of cultural/creative goods and services (Söndermann et al.
2009). Common to all definitions is that the activities encompassed by them
are considered to be market-oriented and an integral part of the economy.
The essence of the activities undertaken by firms and individuals from
the creative sector consists in the use of culture as an incentive, inspiration
or a kind of unique intangible or material input. Culture might also be seen
as a factor that enforces an unconventional approach to the tasks to be performed (process of production, service delivery, spatial pattern of development, functionality of goods, information exchange mechanism, etc.). The
creative sector requires a specific environment for its functioning. In 1978
Gunnar Tornqvist developed the notion of a creative milieu, that has four
key features: information transmitted among people; knowledge, consisting
in the storage of this information in real or artificial memories; competence
in certain relevant activities, defined in terms of the demands of an external
environment, which can be instrument–specific or region–specific; and
creativity – the creation of something new out of all these three activities,
which could be regarded as a kind of synergy (Tornqvist 1983). Despite
technological development, which leads to “shrinking of space” and makes
the geographic location of broadly defined producers and consumers less
important, the territorial dimension of the creative milieu plays an important
role in the development of the creative sector. The proximity, concentration
and variety of actors and their activities – these are the elements that have
an impact on the quality of the creative milieu.
Like any other industry, the creative sector has its specific characteristics,
but in terms of economic logic they all function in the same way. This provides
the opportunity to collaborate along similar value chains, which supports
cross-innovation. Due to its significance for the development of modern
economies, the creative sector has become a major focus of the industrial
16
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
policies in many countries. There are huge expectations put towards this
sector as it is expected to contribute to the industrial renewal of urban, regional and national economies. The rapid roll-out of new technologies means
a striking shift away from traditional manufacturing towards high-tech
production and services. In order to remain competitive in the changing
global environment, cities and regions need to put in place the right conditions for creativity to flourish in a new entrepreneurial culture.
CREATIVITY, INNOVATIONS AND THE NEW ECONOMY
Knowledge and creativity are essential for the generation of innovations,
which are the driving force of modern economies. The creative milieu provides an environment for interactions among different actors, which contribute to the generation of innovations. The terms creativity and innovation
are frequently used interchangeably. Sometimes the creative sector is perceived as the one in which (or in whose surroundings) innovations come to
life or become development impulses for this sector, leading to the creation
of new products and services. The definition of innovation introduced by the
European Commission states that innovation is the implementation of new
developments into economic practice: new or significantly improved solutions
in respect of a product (goods or services), a process, marketing or an organization. An innovative solution may be the result of the research and development activities of the entrepreneur, and collaboration with other entrepreneurs and institutions, or it may be the result of purchasing knowledge
in material or non-material form (European Commission 2010). Patented
solutions should also be recognized as innovative. This definition clearly
suggests that the distinction between creativity and innovation is necessary,
and that creativity is a softer category.
However, creativity and innovations must go together to make the processes of restructuring economies effective. Culture-based creativity is
a condition that must be met to generate and introduce innovations in the
sphere of the economy. Culture is a medium that has an impact on economic
performance through generating internal and external demand. In development management culture serves as a tool for transmitting values and
reaching a balance between tradition and innovation. Culture is also a tool
enabling intercultural and inter-generation dialogue. Thus, culture has
a direct impact on social cohesion and the creation of social capital, as it
helps to integrate various social groups, mobilize them to act for the general
good, and incorporate them into public life. From the perspective of mobilizing endogenous resources, culture is also very important. It strengthens
territorial identity and the sense of membership in a community. Access to
cultural facilities influences the shaping of civic conscience and the competencies necessary to participate in public life.
Thus, culture-based creativity is the cornerstone of the new economy.
A contemporarily successful business depends on the ability to generate, ac-
17
MIROSŁAW GROCHOWSKI
cess and utilize knowledge, innovations and technologies (Kourtit et al. 2011,
Kourtit, Nijkamp 2012). A proactive and creative attitude of firms to the
changing business environment make them more economically viable, because
they are prepared to serve the increasingly individualistic lifestyles (Scott
2006). Firms must meet new challenges and generate po­tential to unlock and
serve new markets with high levels of macroeconomic uncertainty and a dynamic social and economic environment. This emerging “new economy”,
which is related directly to the development of the creative sector, is characterized not only by new types of industry, but also by the fact that these
emerging industries can make a significantly higher contribution to growth
and innovation within a broader knowledge-based society (Kourtit et al. 2011).
THE CREATIVE SECTOR AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
The creative sector needs specific conditions for development. The concept
of the creative milieu mentioned above partly explains the logic of the location of the creative sector and the pace of its development. Cultural riches
and diversity have a positive effect on the development of the creative sector
and the overall economic performance of cities. This is because being linked
to creative activities is a major source of competitiveness for multicul­tural
cities, as it not only stimulates creative ideas and facilitates creative activities, but it also encourages cities to boost their international profile. Cultural
diversity tends to contribute to the improvement of the creative capacities
of cities (Florida 2002, Landry 2000, Landry 2007) and the “cultural mosaic”
is a source of creative entrepreneurship (Gang et al. 2011).
When it comes to the location of the creative sector within the city’s space
there are many factors that have an impact. Firms from the creative sector
need first of all, obviously, available physical space that meets their specific
expectations resulting from the profile of their activities. They also need
access to business environment institutions, services, transportation networks, and other technical infrastructure facilities. However, the creative
sector also has some specific requirements.
The creative sector appears to find important seedbed functions in old
residential or industrial (and post-industrial) parts of cities. Especially clusters of creative activities appear to be the result of culturally-appealing urban
facilities in historical districts. Creative activities contribute to the formation
of creative spaces. They attract new firms, strengthening the initial “creative
milieu”, which often takes on special, original urban forms incorporated
within the old urban landscape. These new spaces and landscapes tend to
become culturally-based creativity and social innovation-breeding places.
Cultural appeal and urban quality of life are the modern attractiveness factors for creative business, where appropriate urban districts act as cognitive
engines and spiritual centers of social capital.
The concentration of creative firms and the formation of creative spaces
have a multidimensional impact on urban development. In the book by Bruce
18
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
Katz and Jennifer Bradley (Katz, Bradley 2013) these concentrations are
called “innovation districts”. These districts contain different categories of
assets that are very important not just for the creative sector but also for
the city as a social and economic entity embedded in a specific spatial form.
The first assets are economic ones. Among them one may distinguish innovation drivers. These are the research institutions, the large firms, SMEs,
start-ups, and entrepreneurs focused on developing cutting-edge technologies, products and services for the market. Depending on the local and regional conditions, districts are comprised of a unique mix of innovation
drivers. Next to high-value, research-oriented sectors such as applied sciences
one may find highly creative fields such as industrial design, graphic arts,
media, architecture, and a growing hybrid of industries that merge technologies with creative and applied design fields. These activities are supplemented by highly specialized manufacturing, such as advanced textile production and small artisan-oriented manufacturing. Innovation cultivators,
another type of assets, are the companies, organizations or groups that
support the growth of individuals, firms and their ideas. They include incubators, accelerators, shared working spaces, job training firms, and community colleges advancing specific skill sets for the innovation-driven economy. The rise of technology-driven industries in general is creating demand
for supportive industries that employ highly-educated workers.
The presence of firms and institutions has an impact on the area where
they are located and on the surroundings. Residents and workers need services. The demand for a range and quality of services is rising. The diversity
of services to be delivered is determined by the diversity of consumers.
Workers who are newcomers to the area may generate demand for services
which were not offered so far. Emerging new lifestyles may also result in
demand that was not noticed earlier. New services, especially those offered
to the public, reflect not only contemporary urban consumption patterns
but also a distinctive “geography of amenity”, which complements the intensive social interactions of the new economy.
The second category is physical assets. Three sub-categories of these assets may be distinguished: physical assets in the public realm, physical assets
in the private realm, and physical assets that knit the district together.
Physical assets may not only facilitate collaboration and connectivity. Urban
design and architecture are also important components of the urban environment from the broader functional, structural and aesthetic perspective.
Special significance is ascribed to physical assets in the public realm, which
are the spaces accessible to the public. Public spaces enable social interactions and are creative spaces in this sense that they stimulate contacts between different professional groups. The accessibility and organization of
these spaces encourage networking and offer an alternative and attractive
place to work. These spaces might be transformed into living labs or used
as venues for cultural events and entertainment. Arrangements and programs for public spaces are important, just like in the first category of assets,
not only for the inhabitants and workers from the district. Public spaces
19
MIROSŁAW GROCHOWSKI
make the whole city more attractive for its inhabitants and people from
outside. At the same time public spaces perform economic functions, stimulating and facilitating information exchange and building professional contacts.
Physical assets in the private realm perform equally important functions.
These assets might be seen both as incentives for development and as a reaction to the ongoing development processes in the city. The adaptation of
buildings to meet the needs of creative firms consists in flex work spaces,
lab spaces, and smaller, more affordable areas for start-ups. Affordable housing with access to larger public spaces such as co-working spaces, entertainment spaces, and common eating areas is an instrument to attract individuals. Investments aimed to eliminate barriers that hinder relationshipbuilding and connectivity belong to the third sub-category of physical assets.
In this case both the private and public sector are involved in activities that
lead to the integration of the area through the modernization of public space,
removing fences and building bike paths, sidewalks, and pedestrian-oriented
streets.
Economic and physical assets contribute to the formation of networking
assets. Referring to Tornqvist’s creative milieu concept, the concentration
of firms and institutions together with the adaptation of the physical fabric
of a city to the new economic requirements, create an environment that
encourages and enables the establishment of cooperation links. Networks
are increasingly valuable and prolific within innovation-driven economic
clusters, they help firms acquire resources and they strengthen trust and
collaboration within and across sectors.
Emerging innovation districts are an example of the model-like organization of the new economy in urban settings. However, to house the creative
sector in a city and to use its potential for development, public authorities
have to design and effectively conduct proactive development policies. To do
so, partnerships with actors from the private, public and social sector (NGOs)
are necessary. Development processes are to a large extend spontaneous and
market-driven. Partnership offers more room for coordination than just
legal regulations concerning location, zoning, etc.
As it was described above, the role and significance of the creative sector
for urban development is multidimensional. The creative sector may initiate
changes in many spheres. It may lead to the urban renewal of historical
areas or post-industrial sites, it may unlock entrepreneurship of the young
population entering the labor market, it may change the labor market in
terms of demand for workers with specific skills, it may also have an impact
on the spatial and functional structure of the city. The directions and pace
of the development of the creative sector as well as its impact on different
spheres of cities’ public life and their physical structures depend on several
factors. Among the most important ones are: the current level of development of the creative sector, the strength of existing economic, physical and
networking assets, and the place of the creative sector in the city’s development policies. It is also important for the future of the creative sector itself
20
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
and for its significance for the city’s economic development base, how the
sector is perceived by policy-makers and planners. Their perception is being
later translated into decisions on the allocation of financial resources and
on the use of land and properties. It is relatively easy to hamper the development of the creative sector because this may happen after issuing few administrative decisions. And it is definitely very difficult to support the development and to use the potential of the creative sector in a systemic way,
because this requires understanding its specificity and the way it operates
as well as the cooperation of many actors from different organizational and
institutional cultures. Additionally, these actors may have their particular
interests to be realized in the city and consensus is needed to avoid conflicts
and to build a platform for cooperation. Examples from EU countries and
the United States prove that the list of institutions and individuals that are
driving the growth of the creative sector and innovation districts might be
a long one and just as differentiated as the creative sector itself (Katz, Bradley 2013). This list includes local and regional governments, land owners,
developers, owners of commercial and non-commercial properties, university
chancellors, managers of research campuses, financial institutions, faculty
members, philanthropic investors, operators of incubators, accelerators, and
other economic cultivators, social networking programmers and many others. Indeed, a lot of creativity is needed to bring together the interests of all
these parties, identify common goals and decide on mechanisms of cooperation.
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES AND THE CREATIVE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
The creative sector is formed by creative people, who can be referred to as
creative capital. Creative capital – people that are entrepreneurial, energetic,
well-educated, and have specialized skills – is a mobile capital. It moves easily from city to city looking for the best working and living conditions. The
most important tasks for public authorities, that aim to build a solid base
for future economic development, include capturing this capital and retaining it in the city. To achieve these goals city authorities may undertake different activities focused on improving the environment for the development
of the creative sector. However, when looking at the components of this
environment a question arises regarding the areas of intervention of public
authorities. This question is justified, because the meaning of “improving
the environment” is very broad. The scope of public intervention shall be
narrowed and activities to be performed prioritized. Thus, the basic question
that should be answered is: what role in supporting the creative sector is
envisaged for the city government?
The city government may assume the following roles in particular:
Motivator
–providing inspiration: an agent that makes information
available on possible actions to be undertaken/projects
to be implemented, pointing out their benefits.
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MIROSŁAW GROCHOWSKI
Pragmatic visionary–predicting future development paths: an agent that
presents the city’s development scenarios and the
envisaged role for the creative sector in development
processes.
Developer
–new ideas for future development: an agent that
makes projections and plans of specific, desired activities to be performed by the creative sector.
Enabler
–managing available resources: an agent that has
an impact on the activities of other entities, which
are supposed to provide assistance to the creative
sector.
Knowledge broker –information sharing: an agent that collects data /
has access to data and information, possesses
knowledge that is necessary to conduct business
activities, organizes mechanisms of information
distribution.
Connector
–building new relationships, facilitating contacts: an
agent – matchmaker that uses information to bring
together potential partners, organizes different
events to create opportunities for networking.
Provider
–an agent that delivers assistance in the form of space,
funds, facilities and other resources.
Promoter
–promoting idea of cross innovation through making
its essence and mechanisms understandable.
The roles listed above are not separable and they may overlap. The city
government may play one or more different roles at the same time. Playing
one role sometimes makes it easier to support the creative sector in another
way (e.g. a “pragmatic visionary” is usually well-informed and an efficient
“enabler”; the roles of “motivator” and “promoter” are supplementary).
However, it is important that the city government does not try to substitute
other agents, which are specialized in performing specific functions. When
playing one or more roles the city government acts as a catalyst. The power
of the catalyst depends on its ability to mobilize and coordinate activities
of other actors within the framework of the creative sector development
strategy.
Looking at the powers and competences of city governments it seems that
the priority sphere of public intervention should be space for the creative
sector and an environment for cross innovations. From the perspective of
urban policy-making the urban space may be considered in four dimensions:
i) as a location for functions and activities;
ii) as an urban asset that has an impact on the attractiveness and development potential of a city;
iii) as a symbolic value embedded in the urban physical fabric that contributes to its cultural environment, and;
iv) as a product resulting from development policies, offered to different
users.
22
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
In the case of creative spaces all dimensions should be perceived as important for the development of the creative sector and increasing its attractiveness. There are some specific types of creative spaces that are instrumental for the development of the creative sector. Among them are
co-working spaces. Co-working spaces are not dedicated to any specific
users group. Co-working spaces might be homes for different types of individuals and firms. This depends on the specific local conditions, which have
an impact on the needs concerning this type of spaces. However, a heterogeneous group of users increases the potential of specific spaces for crossinnovation i.e. the transfer of ideas, technologies or products between
sectors of the economy. At the same time, more homogenous groups of users
offer, via cross innovation, new opportunities for the development of products and services because of interactions that stimulate competition. Fablabs represent another category of creative space. Although the concept of
fab-labs is well-known and such spaces are believed to play an important
role in the development of the creative sector and cross innovations, their
establishment brings the necessity of substantial financial investments
(costs of equipment). That is the reason why the supply of this kind of spaces
is still limited. However, there are examples that the barrier of costs can be
overcome. An effective instrument is cooperation with the industry sector,
which might be willing to support fab-labs through the donation of equipment and / or subsidies or grants. The most popular creative spaces are
incubators. There are different types of incubators, including “virtual incubators”. The incubation of a product may take place in different environments, not necessarily in the physical space specially arranged for this goal.
An incubator can be perceived as a specific type of co-working space. What
makes incubators different from co-working spaces is their institutional
surrounding, which is characterized by a strong connection with other sectors of the economy. This strong connection enables easier commercialization of creative products. Another popular type of creative spaces are science
parks. This type of space is predominantly dedicated for SMEs. The need
for science parks results from the existence of creative individuals and
creative groups looking for a non-corporate working environment. Science
parks are homes for specific groups of users: mainly firms from the hightech sector. They offer an environment where products can be developed
and prepared to enter a market. They also function using a mechanism of
financing based on good working relationships between different users:
researchers, investors, producers, and other business partners that are
vital for running projects dedicated to the design, development and delivery
of new products.
The establishment and location of the above-listed spaces depend to
a large extend on the public authorities that are responsible for the preparation of spatial development plans. Zoning regulations and other rules
might be applied to promote the concentration of creative activities in selected parts of the city. The development of technical infrastructure may
encourage the creatives to choose locations preferred by the city authorities.
23
MIROSŁAW GROCHOWSKI
However, there are other factors that are not easy to control and that have
had and still have an impact on the establishment of creative spaces. Among
them are:
tt the changes in local urban economies related to changes that take place
at the global, national and / or regional scale;
tt the situation in the real estate market;
tt the evolving approach to dealing with urban development problems;
tt the evolving approach to urban renewal;,
tt the changing role of urban planning;
tt new modes of local economy organization;
tt freelancers boom.
The establishment of creative spaces is a response to an increased demand
generated directly and indirectly by these factors. Post-industrial economies
based on creativity and knowledge require specific spaces that, among other
things, facilitate cross innovation. Creative spaces offer not just physical
space arranged according to user needs, they also offer activities supporting
the functioning of creative firms. The establishment of creative spaces brings
development incentives to urban economies and is an important part of
multi-dimensional urban renewal. The success of the undertakings that are
aimed to lead to the establishment of creative spaces depends to a large
extent on policy-makers who should have a vision for the development of
creative spaces resulting from an understanding of and appreciation for their
potential for cities.
Space – as a priority sphere of public intervention – plays a key role in
the earlier mentioned cross innovation. Thus, dealing with spatial arrangements that foster the development of the creative sector, public authorities
also contribute to cross innovation. Cross innovation is usually defined as
the innovation transfer between sectors. However, cross innovation is also
embedded in creative and innovative products, i.e. goods and services, and
might be identified as a result and, at the same time, as an added value of
the cooperation between different creative firms. Cross innovation itself is
an innovation understood as a new organizational method in business practices. It serves as a vehicle to share information, collaborate and work with
other sectors to promote new thinking, new products and new services. Cross
innovation, its forms and results, is determined by the development of technologies and the conditions for the diffusion of innovation among different
branches of the industry.
From the perspective of the dynamics of cross innovation and the actors
involved in it, one may distinguish cross innovation as a spontaneous activity, which is composed of both informal and formal arrangements bringing
together different actors. Spontaneous activities meet the needs of the
creative sector providing the missing elements of the connections between
individuals and firms. Guided activities are the results of institutional,
organizational and managerial arrangements. These activities are codified
in terms of rules that determine the mechanism of development policy
24
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
formulation and implementation, focused on the creative sector. The existence of creative spaces supports cross innovation since geographic concentration facilitates contacts among firms. Other attributes may also be
ascribed to the locating, making the creative space more attractive. In the
era of electronic media physical space is accompanied by virtual space,
broadening networks and opening new markets for creative products and
services.
Cross innovation is needed to use assets located in the city. To do so, cross
innovation needs friendly ecosystems that are created by appropriate urban
policies, an adequate institutional framework, and a proper allocation of
tasks and responsibilities among different actors: firms from the creative
and other sectors as well as institutions from public and private sectors.
These ecosystems are spatially anchored – they operate in specific urban
spaces that are under the control of public authorities.
THE CREATIVE SECTOR IN WARSAW – DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE
AND PROSPECTS
Warsaw is a metropolis of great creative potential. All national media are
located here – television and radio stations, internet portals and the editorial offices of most newspapers and periodicals with national coverage. The
headquarters of foreign firms operating in Poland, the main offices of national and foreign financial institutions, mass media, educational institutions, R&D institutions, theatres, museums, etc. as well as people with
university degrees and of high material status make Warsaw a leading
centre – both in terms of creative potential and the market for products of
the creative sector.
There are 313,000 companies operating in Warsaw (GUS, 2009). Among
them 3,114 can be granted the status of creative firms. An analysis of the
size and structure of the creative sector presents problems associated with
the availability of current and reliable data. The first and so far the only
thorough analysis of the sector was conducted in years 2009–2010 (Grochowski 2010). According to the results of the analysis the creative sector
in Warsaw is dominated by companies operating in the advertising business
(21% of all creative firms), next in line are architecture (15%) and traditional
publishing houses (10%). They are followed by design (7%), film and television (6%), and music and performance (5%). Most of the creative firms are
located in the city centre and neighboring districts with post-industrial sites.
However, there is a significant concentration of creative firms in the residential area of the district Ursynów (Fig.1). This is because small creative
firms (usually one-person firms) are often registered at the same address as
the place of residence of their owners and Ursynów is inhabited by the youngest and best-educated population in Warsaw, very often working on their
own in the creative sector.
25
MIROSŁAW GROCHOWSKI
Fig. 1.
26
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
The favorite location of creative firms are the Praga Płd. and Praga Płn.
districts (mainly their old parts, which are neglected, but offer affordable
places to run businesses and generally lower costs of functioning; these old
parts also offer a specific atmosphere of pre-war Warsaw; the location of the
first creative firms in this area has quickly made it more attractive and
fashionable). Another area perceived to be attractive is a corridor along the
subway line. There are two main reasons why this location is considered to
be attractive: easy accessibility via the subway and proximity of clients. The
third most attractive area is the historically developed center of film production in Warsaw. The center has been transformed (after restructuring big
state-owned enterprises from the film sector) into a location of smaller,
private firms dealing with TV, video and film production. They have attracted
advertising companies that are located in the close vicinity.
Since the economy of modern Warsaw is dominated by companies operating in the broadly-understood service sector the presence of the creative
sector is a natural result of shifting from the industrial to a post-industrial
phase of the economic development of the city. The creative sector has
found strong supporters in the City Hall. Warsaw authorities have initiated
activities to inform about and to promote the development of the creative
sector. Cyclical meetings called “Creative Mikser” have been organized
since 2011. They bring together people from the sector and others, interested in establishing their own firms. The program “Innovative Warsaw
2020” prepared by the City Hall addresses the issue of entrepreneurship
in the creative sector. Warsaw authorities are proactive in looking for the
best practices to support the development of the creative sector. The international project “Creative Metropoles” implemented in the years 2007–2013
contributed significantly to the discussion on the role of the creative sector
in city development. Other projects like the “European Creative Cluster
Lab” (ECCL) addressed issues related directly to the environment of the
functioning of creative firms. The project “Cross Innovations” focused the
attention of city authorities on the development of creative spaces. The
city’s approach to the creative sector becomes more comprehensive and
practical. The establishment of the Center of Entrepreneurship (new investment: building that houses an incubator and a program offering different forms of support for entrepreneurship) and the plans for the establishment of the Center of Creativity (selected location: the Praga Płn.
district) reflect the determination of the city authorities to continue their
support for the creatives. This is accompanied by other projects focused on
broadly defined entrepreneurship, a good example of which is the Capital
Forum of Entrepreneurship, a project implemented by the city authorities
in cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Center of the Kozminski University.
The results of studies on the development of the creative sector in Warsaw provide information that allows to formulate the following statements
about what is needed the most to foster this development (Grochowski
2010). First, easy access to reliable information on how to run a company
27
MIROSŁAW GROCHOWSKI
is needed. Also important is information about Warsaw as a place of doing
business: finding a place in the market is not an easy task for firms, especially new ones. Thus information about the structure of the Warsaw
market and existing as well as potential demands for companies in a given
branch (and with a particular specialization) is needed. Market research
concerning the current supply of and demand for products and services
should be undertaken. The same concerns research on market development
trends. Creative firms are also looking for financial support from the banking sector, which is not easily available to them. New instruments are
needed, such as the so-called “start-up packages” understood as a specific
sum granted to companies at the beginning of their activities, intended to
cover initial basic expenses; tax relief when purchasing the necessary
equipment or services; preferential rates of rent or a temporary reduction
of contributions to the ZUS (the National Insurance System). Some of the
needs expressed by the representatives of the creative sector are obviously
not sector specific. However, special emphasis was put by the creatives on
support by public authorities in the form of promotional activities, such as
organizing exhibitions of their works, putting information materials in
media, etc. These kind of activities would additionally include free advertising for specific companies. A very important asset that is needed by the
creative sector is space for their activities. Currently the most popular
spaces in Warsaw are co-working spaces. There are also incubators and
fab-labs, but their number is much smaller. The existing co-working spaces
are not dedicated to any specific user group. However, they stress that the
“good creative spaces” shall be established by or in cooperation with its
future users. Spaces shall be customized not only to meet technical requirements but also to follow other needs and preferences of the users. Creative
spaces shall be flexible, so that they can be adapted to the changing needs
of users.
Based on the research results one may state that the weakest component
of the environment for the development of the creative sector is networking
and cooperation. Cross innovation is still at its initial stages of development.
The links between the R&D sector, traditional industrial sectors and the
creative sector need strengthening. Additionally, different urban policies
implemented by the city are not coordinated enough and as a consequence
the results of different undertakings lack the synergy effect. There are no
“innovative districts” in Warsaw. Aside from some concentration areas creative firms are dispersed and located in different places.
CONCLUSIONS
Warsaw has made enormous progress in terms of the development level of
the creative sector and activities aimed at its support. However, the city
authorities are still looking for an optimal way of cooperation with the creatives and using the creative potential for the city development. It is neces-
28
The Creative Sector – An Instrument to Strengthen the Economic Base ...
sary for the city authorities to define their role and position vis-à-vis the
creative sector. At this stage the city authorities play different roles, such as
knowledge broker, enabler, promoter.
Important for the development of creative spaces in Warsaw may be the
new, currently under preparation, program of urban renewal, which is
planned for parts of the three districts in Warsaw: Praga Północ, Praga
Południe and Targówek. Some of these areas have become popular among
the creatives some time ago. It seems that the cross innovation processes
may play an important instrumental role in the urban renewal process. There
are also post-industrial sites that wait for new concepts for their development
(Grochowski, Bogiel 2013). It seems that they might be used to house creative
spaces, such as fab-labs. The development of post-industrial sites for the
purposes of the creative sector may play an important role in the differentiation of the base for the economic development of the city. Additionally,
they may contribute to smart re-industrialization, which shall be considered
as an alternative for the fragile service sector.
REFERENCES
Buitrago P., Duque I. (2013). The Orange Economy: An Infinite Opportunity.
Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank 2013.
European Commission (2010). Green Paper – Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries, COM(2010) 183.
European Commission (2012). Materials: research and innovation in the
creative industries. Report on the round table discussion.
Florida R. (2002). The rise of the Creative Class. Basic Books, New York.
Gang J., Higgins B., Rodriguez R.L., Simpkins A., Zaikos M.M. (2011). From
melting pot to mosaic: The cultural op­portunities and challenges of
immigration. Moving For­ward: The Immigration Debate and Chicago’s
Experience. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Chicago, Ill.: pp.
45–60.
Grochowski M. (2010). The Creative Sector in Warsaw: the Potential and
Development Conditions, in: Jeziorek P., Le Nart A., Petruk E., Świątkowska B. (eds.) Creative people. Creative living in Warsaw. Guide to Warsaw’s
creative sector, Warsaw.
Grochowski M., Bogiel M. (2014). Warszawa ery post-industrialnej – stan
i perspektywy rozwoju terenów poprzemysłowych; in: Madurowicz M. (ed.)
Kształtowanie współczesnej przestrzeni miejskiej, wyd. UW, Warsaw.
Hesmondhalgh D. (2002). The Cultural Industries, SAGE.
Howkins J. (2001a). The creative economy, Allan Lane, London.
Howkins J. (2001). The Creative Economy: How People Make Money From
Ideas, Penguin.
Katz B., Bradley J. (2013). The Metropolitan Revolution, How Cities and Metros
Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy, Brookings Institution
Press, WDC.
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Kourtit K., Nijkamp P. (2012). Creative firms as change agents in creative
spaces. Quaestiones Geographicae 31(4), Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe,
Poznań, pp. 19–31.
Kourtit K., Nijkamp P., Lowik S., van Vught F., Vulto P. (2011). From islands
of innovation to creative hotspots. Re­gional Science Policy and Practice, 3
(3): pp. 145–161.
Landry C., (2000). The creative city: A toolkit for urban innovators. Earthscan,
London.
Landry C., (2007). Creative cities. Earthscan, London.
Scott A.J., (2006). Creative cities: Conceptual issues and policy questions.
Journal of Urban Affairs, 28: pp. 1–17.
Söndermann M., Backes Ch., Brünink A. (2009). Cultural and creative industries in Germany – defining the common characteristics of the heterogeneous core branches of the “cultural industries” from a macro-economic
perspective, Study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economy and
Technology.
Tornqvist G. (1983). Creativity and the renewal of regional life, in: A. Buttimer
(ed.) Creativity and Context: A Seminar Report, pp. 91–112. Lund Studies
in Geography. B. Human Geography, No. 50. Lund: Gleerup.
30
Katarzyna Rostek, Agnieszka Skala
A Profile of the High-Technology
Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to identify and characterize Warsaw’s high-technology (HT) manufacturing sector. Within this topic the usability of Internet
data as the source complementing the analysis of statistical data is indicated,
and the main profiles of enterprises from the tested group are presented.
The analysis uses REGON databases from December 2012 and the data
obtained from websites of the companies in the first half of 2013. For the
initial study group all Warsaw enterprises were chosen whose Polish Classification of Activity (PKD) indicated manufacturers of high technology. Then
those entities were separated that are active, have a website and whose offer
is in accordance with the declared activity in the area of high technology.
Those enterprises were defined as the Warsaw HT sector and characterized
by the means of the method of descriptive statistics. Subsequently, their
segmentation was carried out. In order to perform this, Ward’s clustering
method was applied, and then automatic profiling of the segments was conducted. The presented analysis of the Warsaw high-technology manufacturing sector was carried out as part of the Project “Warsaw Entrepreneurship
Forum”.
Keywords: entrepreneurship, manufacturing, high-technology,
characteristics, Warsaw
31
Katarzyna Rostek, Agnieszka Skala
Profil przedsiębiorstw sektora wytwórczego
wysokich technologii w Warszawie
ABSTRAKT
Celem pracy była identyfikacja oraz scharakteryzowanie warszawskiego
sektora przetwórczego wysokich technologii (HT). Przy tej okazji wykazano
użyteczność danych internetowych jako źródła uzupełniającego analizę
danych statystycznych oraz przedstawiono główne profile podmiotów z badanej grupy przedsiębiorstw. Do analizy wykorzystano dane bazy REGON
z grudnia 2012 r. oraz dane pozyskane ze stron internetowych firm w pierwszej połowie 2013 r. Do wyjściowej grupy badawczej wybrano wszystkie
warszawskie przedsiębiorstwa, których klasyfikacja PKD wskazywała na
produkcję wyrobów wysokiej techniki. Spośród nich wyodrębniono te podmioty, które są: aktywne, mają strony internetowe oraz ich oferta jest zgodna
z deklarowaną działalnością w zakresie wysokich technologii. Przedsiębiorstwa te określono jako warszawski sektor HT i scharakteryzowano za pomocą
metody statystyki opisowej, a następnie dokonano ich segmentacji. W tym
celu zastosowano klasteryzację metodą analizy skupień Warda, a następnie
automatyczne profilowanie segmentów. Przedstawiona analiza warszawskiego sektora przedsiębiorstw produkcyjnych high-tech została wykonana
w ramach projektu „Stołeczne Forum Przedsiębiorczości”.
Słowa kluczowe: przedsiębiorczość, wytwórczość, wysoka technologia,
charakterystyka, Warszawa
32
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
INTRODUCTION
The presented analysis of the Warsaw high-technology manufacturing sector
was carried out as part of the Project “Warsaw Entrepreneurship Forum” 1.
The aim was to identify and characterize the high-tech manufacturing sector in Warsaw2. The first research problem was to identify these companies
among other business entities registered in Warsaw. Subsequently, the study
aimed to identify the characteristics that differentiate the sector being researched from other sectors and that create its nature – provided this nature
actually exists.
There are 374 thousand business entities registered in Warsaw (37% of
all business entities registered in Poland) and, as a result, the number of
companies per one resident of the capital city is more than two times higher
than the average value for the country (3.5 thousand companies per 10
thousand residents in Warsaw vs. the average ratio value in Poland equal to
1.7 thousand). It is also worth noting that, on average, in Poland there are
seven deregistered companies per ten newly registered ones; in Warsaw this
ratio is five to ten – and this is a sign of a higher “vitality” of companies in
Warsaw. Salaries in Warsaw are, on average, 40% higher than the country’s
average, and this makes the capital city a significant market. There are 250
thousand university students in Warsaw, so the city is the biggest academic
center in Poland and offers a flexible labor market, where employees of the
highest qualifications can be found3.
Taking into account the presented data, one can assume that Warsaw is
a good place for manufacturing activities in the field of high technology. This
type of activity plays a significant role in the economy for many reasons, out
of which we will list some of the most important ones. First, high-tech companies (HT) are characterized by a high growth dynamic and this is beneficial
for employment. Second, workplaces created this way are well-paid and intended for qualified specialists. Third, these entities are the sources and car The European Project entitled: Stołeczne Forum Przedsiębiorczości (Warsaw Entrepreneurship Forum) – Development, promotion and pilot implementation of new methods
of collaboration between Warsaw authorities and businesses in order to ensure efficient
management of economic change, co-funded by the EU under the European Social Fund,
agreement no. UDA-POKL.08.01.02-14-137/11.
2
In this article the expressions ‘high-tech’ and ‘high technology’ as well as the abbreviation ‘HT’ are used interchangeably.
3
All data retrieved from the Central Statistical Office of Poland – GUS. (stat.gov.pl)
1
33
KATARZYNA ROSTEK, AGNIESZKA SKALA
riers for the innovations that are spreading under their influence, and they
raise the technological and organizational level of near and distant business
environments. Finally, these companies are mainly exporting leaders, influencing the level of competitiveness of the country in regional markets as well as
globally [Acs 2006; Turowski 2007; Thurik 1999; Zakrzewska-Bielawska 2011].
It must be added that all the above factors are important from the point of
view of the whole economy and they decide on its significance on the local and
regional level. Cities like Warsaw, being the academic centers and labor market focal points, are interested in HT companies being established and operating in their areas. The expected results include guarantee of employment for
the best-qualified employees, stimulation of cooperation between scientific
and business organizations and an increased interest of prospecting customers, subcontractors and venture capital institutions. All the above means
a greater attractiveness of the city, also in the financial dimension.
The analysis of the Warsaw HT business environment shall show the real
growth potential of this sector in the capital city and probably will allow for
more general conclusions. The main focus points include the identification
of the structure of this group of companies and the recognition of the entrepreneurs creating them. Planned in-depth interviews will, in a further stage
of the study, make it possible to recognize the wider context of operation of
this sector.
RESEARCH METHOD
High technology refers to areas of manufacture and products that are highly
science-intensive, i.e. they are characterized by a high level of R&D intensity
[Matusiak 2011]. There are three criteria that define a specific business
entity as a high-technology manufacturing entity: sectoral, the manufactured
products and the patents owned. In accordance with the sectoral criterion,
the high-tech manufacturers group consists of entities with the main area
of activity in the scope of two branches and one subclass of the NACE European classification, with their equivalents in the Polish Classification of
Activities (PKD) [Eurostat 2014, Annex 3]:
tt section 21: manufacture of basic pharmaceutical substances;
tt section 26: manufacture of computers, electronic and optical equipment;
tt subclass 30.3: manufacture of air and spacecraft and related machinery.
On the basis of the manufactured product criterion, nine HT product
groups are distinguished [Eurostat 2014, Annex 5]:
tt aviation and space industry products;
tt computers;
tt electronic and telecommunication products;
tt pharmaceuticals;
tt research and development equipment;
tt electric machinery;
34
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
chemicals;
non-electric machinery;
tt weapons and ammunition.
tt
tt
Both criteria, sectoral and product-based, are in some aspects ineffective.
The sectoral criterion: some companies declaring themselves as being hightech companies do not, in fact, manufacture any products that fulfill the
criteria of high technology and vice versa – companies from other sectors do.
“In consequence, technological intensity in some sectors may be overestimated and in other sectors – underestimated (it is assumed that, for example, a great part of R+D investments in the space industry is spent on
electronics and, as a result, technological intensity in the first area is overestimated and R+D intensity in the second area is underestimated).” [Matusiak 2011]. The product criterion solves this problem theoretically, however
it is hindered by the lack of detailed data on all products manufactured by
companies and requires very labor-intensive analyses.
Therefore, in the process of identifying high-tech companies, two additional criteria are applied (rather locally than globally, mainly due to the
lack of adequate data to, for example, compare companies on the international level). The first criterion refers to patents registered or license agreements signed by a company in areas perceived as HT areas. The second
criterion is the level of employment of highly qualified research and technical personnel in a company [Trajtenberg 2001]. However, the OECD stresses
that due to the lack of such data in a wider dimension, only the sectoral
criterion can be useful for international comparisons.
The research study described in this article is divided into three stages:
tt identification of business entities belonging to the sector being studied;
tt descriptive analysis of the sector;
tt segmentation analysis of the sector.
The identification and descriptive characteristics were conducted on the
basis of a statistical analysis of two data sets:
tt a dataset retrieved from the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS)
(REGON database), supplemented by an indicator of the Polish Social
Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the export-import activity ratio, valid
for December 2012;
tt a dataset created on the basis of surveys of the websites of Warsaw HT
companies, valid for June 2013.
From the Central Statistical Office of Poland, the REGON database was
obtained, limited to those organizations that are registered in Warsaw, which
declare their main area of activity in the HT sections (PKD: 21, 26 and 30.3)
of the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD). As a result, the initial database with 1,363 entities seated in Warsaw (18 districts) was created. Subsequently, out of the set of all attributes in the REGON database those were
selected which were regarded as useful classifiers for the descriptive analy-
35
KATARZYNA ROSTEK, AGNIESZKA SKALA
sis. The classifiers are characterized by a finite number of discrete values
and informative significance for a descriptive and a classification analysis.
Table 1 shows the list of classifiers within the GUS dataset.
Table 1. Classification attributes within the GUS and ZUS datasets
(own compilation)
Item
Name
1
High-Tech
2
Description
Type
Length
PKD class
Characters
4
GD
Municipality identification number
Characters
3
3
OP
Type of legal personality
Characters
1
4
FP
Type of legal form
Characters
2
5
FW
Type of ownership form
Characters
3
6
FZ_1
Is this a foreign form of ownership?
Numbers
8
7
LPRAC
Employment size bands
Numbers
8
8
WWW
Does the company have a website?
Numbers
8
9
E_I
Export-import activity indicator
Numbers
8
10
WA
ZUS activity indicator
Characters
1
On the basis of previous research experiences, it was assumed at this
stage that a significant number of these companies are inactive or suspended
and that this fact is not shown in the REGON database. Therefore, the
verification of the initial database was originally intended to “filter” these
entities. For this purpose data was obtained that allowed the identification
of active social security premium payers in the population being studied.
The activity indicator of ZUS (WA) had binary values: WAЄ{0;1}.
This step of the study appeared more difficult than was initially assumed,
for two reasons:
tt on the basis of a sampling analysis it was determined that the business
entity database, being the assumed basis for analysis of the HT sector,
contained a significant number of entities that cannot be counted as such;
tt available statistics concerning the sector were not clear as for their methodology and results.
Therefore, some actions to increase the credibility of the identification of
organizations belonging to the HT sector were taken. In addition to the
previously mentioned activity indicator (WA) that allowed to remove inactive
entities from the database, it was decided to conduct a qualitative analysis
36
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
of the websites of companies being studied. On these websites companies
themselves, freely, in their own best interest, publish comprehensive data
concerning their offers, as well as information on: the technologies employed,
patents and certificates owned, main customers, cooperation with scientific
institutions, etc. This analysis of websites was performed in two steps and
included:
tt verification if the company really conducts the activity declared as its
main activity; an analysis was performed by comparing the product offer
published on the website with the declared PKD activity. The analysis
result was expressed as a binary value: PKDЄ{0;1};
tt for positive verification results, i.e. PKD indicator = 1, an in-depth
analysis of the website was performed, to obtain the company’s in-depth
characteristics and to identify the features that distinguish it from other
companies in the market. The list of those features follows the structure
shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Classification attributes in the Internet dataset (own compilation)
Item
Name
Description
Type
Length
1
EMPLOY
Does the company employ workers?
Numbers
8
2
AKTIV
Is the company active? Is the data on
the website up to date?
Numbers
8
3
SOCIAL
Does the company have social media
accounts?
Numbers
8
4
PATENT
Does the company hold a patent or
trademark registration?
Numbers
8
5
SCIENCE
Does the company cooperate with
research centers? Does it have own
research laboratories?
Numbers
8
6
LANG
Does the company have a website in
a foreign language?
Numbers
8
7
B2C
Does the company sell to individual
customers?
Numbers
8
8
B2B
Does the company sell to other
companies?
Numbers
8
9
EXPORT
Does the company export?
Numbers
8
10
CERT
Does the company have certificates?
Numbers
8
11
INNOV
Does the company describe itself as
innovative?
Numbers
8
37
KATARZYNA ROSTEK, AGNIESZKA SKALA
On the basis of the data from the set presented in Table 1, supplemented
with data presented in Table 2, identification was performed, followed by
a two-step analysis (descriptive and segmentation) of the resulting set of
enterprises.
The descriptive analysis and a further detailed analysis of the assumed
features distinguishing the high-tech manufacturing sector were prepared
on the basis of quantity distribution statistics of the features being analyzed,
breaking them down to particular categories. The outcomes of this part of
the project consist in a general knowledge on the population profile of the
Warsaw HT manufacturing sector.
The segmentation analysis was performed with the use of Ward’s clustering method and with segmentation profiling. The aim of this analytical stage
was to distinguish, in the general population of Warsaw HT, outstanding
subgroups and to define a classification description of each of these subgroups. To maintain the significance of the resulting characteristics, the
number of created subgroups was limited to five – and this number appeared
to be optimal in the view of further experiments.
The analysis also allowed for the identification of the strongest features
distinguishing Warsaw companies from the high technology manufacturing
sector. The resulting classification can be applied for the identification of
companies that are worth further in-depth analyses.
RESEARCH RESULTS: IDENTIFICATION AND SIZE OF SECTOR
For the identification of the Warsaw HT sector, the results of the conducted
research were as follows:
tt stage: REGON DATABASE, i.e. business entities declaring that their
main business activity includes one of the three industries recognized as
the HT manufacturing industries (pharmaceutics, electronics, aviation
and space industry); 1363 companies;
tt stage WA=1, i.e. after verification of the activity of these companies with
the ZUS activity indicator, the set of active companies included 558 entities;
tt stage www+, i.e. after taking into account companies with their own
websites, the size of the set was 226;
tt stage HT, i.e. upon positive verification of compliance between offers
published on websites and declarations of type of activity in the REGON
database, 137 business entities remained.
It was surprising that only in 137 cases (51.5% of the active entities with
websites and only 10% of the initial REGON database) the research result
was positive, i.e. the particular enterprise really belonged to the HT manufacturing sector.
Based on the above, it can be assumed that the classification of a company
as high-tech based on the type of activity expressed by the PKD classification
38
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
code may be subject to substantial error in at least a half of the cases
(Fig. 1). In light of these findings, unverified (declaratory) PKD classification
cannot be treated as a reliable criterion for qualifying a company as hightech.
1400
1193
1200
1000
800
21
600
494
26
400
200
30.3
218
148
22
53
0
GUS baseline
data ∑1363
39
11
WA=1 ∑558
9
www+ ∑266*
25
106
6
HT ∑137
Fig. 1. Structure of the number of companies according to the PKD type
of business activity during the respective stages of the study (own
compilation)
* without branches of foreign companies
RESEARCH RESULTS: DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS
The descriptive analysis includes 137 companies, qualified to the Warsaw
high-technology sector based on the conducted research. This set is characterized by features retrieved from the REGON database and from the websites of the companies. The results are presented in Table 3.
Table 3. The results of the feature distribution characterizing the set of Warsaw
high-tech enterprises (own compilation)
Name of
attribute
Description of
attribute
REGON
REGON number, set
identifier
AKTYW
Assessment of activity
Distribution of value
Value
Quantity
Individual value
0
1
None
14
120
3
39
KATARZYNA ROSTEK, AGNIESZKA SKALA
B2B
Type of sale: B2B
B2C
Type of sale: B2C
CERT
Certificates
EKSPORT
Information on
exporting from website
E_I
Import/export ratio
FP
Specific legal form
FW
FZ_1
40
Type of ownership
Share of foreign capital
0
1
None
0
1
None
0
1
None
0
1
None
0
1
None
16 Joint-stock company
17 Limited liability company
18 General partnership
19 Civil law partnership
20 Limited partnership
21 Private unlimited company with
share capital
40 Cooperative
99 One-man business
111 State Treasury
132 mixed sector ownership, with
prevalence of public sector, including
prevalence of state legal persons
214 ownership of domestic physical
persons
215 other private domestic
ownership
216 foreign ownership
224 mixed ownership in private
sector, with prevalence of ownership
of domestic physical persons
225 mixed ownership in private
sector, with prevalence of other
private domestic ownership
226 mixed ownership in private
sector, with prevalence of foreign
ownership
234 mixed sector ownership, with
prevalence of private sector,
including prevalence of ownership of
domestic physical persons
235 mixed sector ownership, with
prevalence of private sector,
including prevalence of other
domestic private ownership
0
1
None
7
127
3
89
45
3
51
83
3
59
75
3
38
99
0
15
54
5
10
1
1
2
49
1
1
95
15
7
5
2
5
2
4
124
13
0
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
GD
HiTech
INNO
District of Warsaw
PKD group
Self-assessment of
innovative nature
028 Bemowo
038 Białołęka
048 Bielany
058 Mokotów
068 Ochota
078 Praga-Południe
088 Praga-Północ
108 Śródmieście
118 Targówek
128 Ursus
138 Ursynów
148 Wawer
158 Wesoła
168 Wilanów
178 Włochy
188 Wola
198 Żoliborz
2110 Manufacture of basic
pharmaceutical products
2120 Manufacture of medicines and
other healthcare products
2611 Manufacture of electronic
components
2612 Manufacture of loaded
electronic boards
2620 Manufacture of computers and
peripheral equipment
2630 Manufacture of communication
equipment
2640 Manufacture of consumer
electronics
2651 Manufacture of instruments and
appliances for measuring, testing and
navigation
2660 Manufacture of irradiation,
electromedical and
electrotherapeutic equipment
2670 Manufacture of optical
instruments and photographic
equipment
2680 Manufacture of unrecorded
magnetic and optical media
3030 Manufacture of air and
spacecraft and related machinery
0
1
None
8
10
12
9
3
12
4
9
2
5
15
14
2
3
11
15
3
9
17
17
6
16
11
5
35
9
5
1
6
36
98
3
41
KATARZYNA ROSTEK, AGNIESZKA SKALA
LANG
Website in foreign
language
LPRAC
Number of employees
NAUKA
Cooperation with
science centers
PATENT
Patents
PRACOW
Searching for new
employees
SOCIAL
Social networking
service account
0
1
None
0-9
10-49
50-249
250-999
>999
0
1
None
0
1
None
0
1
None
0
1
None
55
79
3
99
19
12
5
2
94
40
3
115
19
3
19
115
3
127
7
3
The general nature of the set of Warsaw high-tech companies is as follows:
more than seventy five percent of the sector is comprised of companies
manufacturing electronic products (77%), with the main groups including:
the manufacture of instruments and appliances for measuring, testing
and navigation;
tt half of the sector (50%) consists of commercial law companies (joint-stock
companies or limited liability companies);
tt micro-companies are dominating (up to 9 employees);
tt the companies are located in the whole area of Warsaw, mainly in Ursynów,
Wola and Wawer;
tt the dominating ownership type is ownership of domestic natural persons,
foreign capital share is limited and includes less than 10% of the companies;
tt most of the companies are active on the Internet and maintain websites
in foreign languages; however, they do not maintain any social networking service accounts;
tt most of the companies (72%) describe themselves as innovative;
tt the companies strongly prefer B2B over B2C type of sale;
tt the companies have certificates, but only 1/3 of them cooperate with science centers and only a few (14%) have their own patents;
tt they are developing companies – active in exporting and searching for
new employees.
tt
42
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
RESEARCH RESULTS: SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS
An in-depth analysis suggests that high-tech businesses differ from other
companies with respect to the following features: conducting business to business (B2B) activity, export activity and searching for new employees. A certain
ambiguity arose with respect to some activities related to science: cooperation
with research centers, patents and obtaining certification. On the one hand,
these seem to be the most important features of companies associated with
high technology, but on the other hand, the number of companies that confirm
conducting this type of activity is relatively low. To verify those assumptions,
a segmentation analysis of the set was performed using two analytical methods: 1) Ward’s clustering method, by means of which 3 segments were identified; and 2) Kohonen’s self-organizing map (SOM), where 4 segments were
identified. The segmentation carried out by means of two different methods
confirmed that there is considerable variation between the criteria distinguishing particular subgroups of entities within the high-tech population.
Segmentation by means of Ward’s method produced a visible gradation
of companies in terms of their export activity and scientific activity, understood as: patenting, obtaining certification and cooperation in the field of
research (or running own laboratories). On the basis of this segmentation,
two growth segments were distinguished containing the exporting companies
and the scientifically active companies (the segments differ in their level of
development). The third segment includes companies that maintain their
status quo rather than develop.
Using the self-organizing map, four segments were distinguished. This
type of segmentation also distinguished between companies with a lower
and a higher level of exports and scientific activity. However, this description
was enriched by adding new distinctive features. Thus, segment 1 included
companies that were active in terms of exports and scientific research, but
did not hold patents. Whereas segment 3 included companies that were active in terms of exports and held patents. Segment 4, the characteristics of
which are very similar to segment 1, has the biggest foreign capital share of
all groups. Segment 2, the specification of which is similar to that of segment
3, based on a cluster analysis, does not compare favorably with the other
segments. It contains companies that currently do not have many features
conducive to development.
Based on the obtained results, it should be concluded that the strongest
criteria differentiating Warsaw high-tech companies are, in the order of
importance:
tt export activity;
tt scientific activity, understood as: obtaining certification, cooperation with
research centers (or running own laboratories), holding patents;
tt searching for and employing new workers;
tt share of foreign capital in the form of ownership;
tt preference of B2B sale over B2C sale.
43
KATARZYNA ROSTEK, AGNIESZKA SKALA
summary
The presented results of the study on the Warsaw high-tech population revealed that these companies are usually micro-enterprises involved in the
manufacture of computers, electronic and optical equipment, with the
dominating form of domestic ownership. However, the segmentation analysis of this group identified two subgroups, significantly different than the
population’s average – segment no. 1 (enterprises active in the export/import
area) and segment no. 5 (enterprises with the dominating form of foreign
ownership). An analysis of the data supplemented with the results of a survey of websites indicated that Warsaw high-tech enterprises are developing
companies (they employ new employees, own patents), operating in international markets (exporting), who positively assess their market activity
and innovativeness.
The segmentation analysis revealed two sectors that stood out: enterprises
active in exports and enterprises with foreign capital share, supplementing
the previously performed analyses. It appeared that exporting enterprises
are particularly active in certification processes and cooperation with scientific centers. This analysis also identified an additional segment of companies
active in the B2B area and employing new personnel.
This is the basis for the most important criteria potentially shaping the
development of Warsaw high-tech enterprises. These are mainly: export
activity and cooperation with scientific centers, and secondly: increasing
employment and foreign capital share in the ownership structures of companies.
During this study a need arose for defining a standard procedure of gathering and verifying web data. Therefore, a method for enriching the analyzed
data was created, which can be implemented in manual as well as automated
survey studies of enterprises via their websites. The proposed method is
a starting point for defining the design assumptions of an IT tool, standardizing the collection and use of web data for supplementing basic data.
The presented research results and a draft of the method are a starting
point for an in-depth analysis of Polish high-tech sector enterprises, aimed
at answering the question on the features that characterize this sector and
differentiate it from others. The revealed conclusions lead to a general observation that the PKD classification cannot be a reliable measure, because
it generates many false assumptions. During the study, the scope of these
errors was found to be surprisingly high and therefore the coherence between
the activities that companies declared in the GUS databases and the actually
performed activities (i.e. described on the company’s website) was diligently
verified.
The next stage of the in-depth study had two goals. The first one included
gathering further information necessary for the creation of an image of the
Warsaw high-tech sector, reliable and reflecting the real nature of the sector.
The second goal was to analyze particularly prospective groups of enterprises,
44
A Profile of the High-Technology Manufacturing Sector in Warsaw
identified at this stage, and to create their in-depth characteristics. This is
to answer the question whether, and if yes, to what degree, the high-technology sector is exceptional in comparison to other sectors and whether it
really has over-proportional development potential, justifying the specific
attitude towards these entities, e.g. in the distribution of public funds. The
issue of the methods that can be implemented and are worth implementing
to give the answers to the above questions is a parallel, equally important
research issue in the analyses.
References
[1] Acs, Z., How is entrepreneurship good for economic growth?, Innovations,
1(1), pp. 97–107, 2006.
[2] Eurostat, Indicators of High-tech industry and knowledge-intensive services. Annex 3 – High-tech aggregation by NACE Rev. 2., 2014.
[3] Eurostat, Indicators of High-tech industry and knowledge–intensive services, Annex 5 – High-tech aggregation by SITC Rev. 4 High-technology
products., 2014.
[4] Matusiak, K.B. Wysoka Technika. in: Matusiak, K.B. (ed.), Innowacje
i transfer technologii. Słownik pojęć (ed. 3, pp. 328–331). Polska Agencja
Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości, Warsaw, 2011.
[5] Trajtenberg M. (2001). Innovation in Israel 1968–1997: a comparative
analysis using patent data. Research Policy, 30(3), pp. 363–389.
[6] Turowski K. (2007). Mechanizm rozwoju sektora wysokiej techniki
w warunkach polskiej gospodarki. III Konferencja Naukowa z cyklu Wiedza i Innowacje. Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Collegium Novum, Kraków.
url: http://www.instytut.info/IIIkonf/referaty/1a/turowski.pdf.
[7] Zakrzewska-Bielawska, A., Relacje między strategią a strukturą organizacyjną w przedsiębiorstwach sektora wysokich technologii, Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Łódzkiej, Vol. 1095, 2011.
45
Magdalena Kubów
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local
Dimension. A Case Study of Warsaw
ABSTRACT
The basic purpose of the article is to present the local determinants of entrepreneurship development in the fast-developing sports industry in Warsaw. The purpose of the research is to present the external factors of entrepreneurship development in the sports industry in the context of Warsaw.
The field research, which was the main part of my research project, was done
by means of the anthropological interview method. The research done so far
reveals that entrepreneurs running their businesses in Warsaw can see the
development potential resulting from working together with the city. During
interviews, entrepreneurs outlined the areas of possible activities. The local
government is a partner for the sports industry entrepreneurs who run their
businesses in Warsaw. The project tackles an area that is interesting from
the research point of view. This is due to the fact that so far no research
taking into account such a wide context has been done in this area. My research is carried out in an environment which is hardly ever explored. A great
need for contextual research on the entrepreneurship phenomenon has been
recognized.
JEL Classification: L2
Keywords: entrepreneurship, sports industry, local conditions
47
Magdalena Kubów
Przedsiębiorczość w sporcie w wymiarze
lokalnym. Studium przypadku miasta
stołecznego Warszawy
ABSTRAKT
Celem niniejszego opracowania jest przedstawienie lokalnych uwarunkowań
rozwoju przedsiębiorczości w branży sportowej w Warszawie. Uwypuklono
także aspekt związku między przedsiębiorczością w sporcie w regionie a jego
rozwojem. Badania terenowe, stanowiące zasadniczą część mojego projektu
badawczego, są przeprowadzane z wykorzystaniem metody badań
jakościowych – wywiadu antropologicznego. Część empiryczna poświęcona
została na zaprezentowanie fragmentu wyników badań własnych dotyczących
lokalnych uwarunkowań rozwoju przedsiębiorczości w branży sportowej.
Wyniki badań wskazują na to, że przedsiębiorcy z branży sportowej
dostrzegają możliwości współpracy z miastem. Pogłębienie rozumienia
zjawiska przedsiębiorczości z uwydatnieniem specyfiki określonej branży
w kontekście regionalnym jest tematem istotnym, gdyż tak ściśle zawężony
obszar nie podlegał eksploracji na gruncie polskich badań naukowych.
Słowa kluczowe: przedsiębiorczość, rynek sportowy, uwarunkowania
lokalne
48
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension. A Case Study of Warsaw
INTRODUCTION
Sports is a significant area of the economic and social life. It is a result of
both the policies of developed countries and the growing awareness of people
with respect to the social and health benefits of practicing sports. The industry is functioning and developing in specific institutional, economic, social,
cultural, historical and technological conditions. In the literature Kaczyński
noticed that “the world of sport is a very important participant of the market
game” (Kaczyński, 2007, p. 196). In the literature on the subject a lot of
authors emphasize the aspect of economic significance of the sports sector
in the whole economy of the country (Goldsby, Kuratko, Bishop, 2005; Godlewski, 2012). In the last years we can observe a raise in the value of the
sports sector and its influence on the upswing of other sectors of the economy
(Godlewski, 2012).
As Pedersen, Miloch and Laucella noticed in the literature, because of its
enormous size the sports industry is best understood when its various components are categorized into segments (Pedersen, Miloch and Laucella, 2007).
One of the most widely accepted segmentation models was developed by
Pitts, Fielding and Miller, sport management professors. “The three main
segments are:
tt the sport performance segment (e.g. sport businesses, fitness and sport
firms, amateur and professional athletics);
tt the sport production segment (e.g. outfitting products);
tt the sport promotion segment (e.g. the media, sponsorship)” (Pitts, Fielding, Miller, 1994, p. 176).
In 2010, according to the Report on the condition of the small and mediumsized enterprise sector in Poland elaborated by the PARP (Polish Agency for
Enterprise Development), in Poland, there were 71,614 enterprises classified
as businesses related to culture, entertainment, sports and recreation. The
vast majority of them operated in the private sector (64,358) and 7,256 of
them in the public sector. As regards newly established enterprises, only in
2011, 7,386 entities were created in the industry, of which a considerable
number (7,189) belonged to the private sector (Tarnawa, Zadura-Lichota,
2012). The branch data is presented in statistical tables in a considerably
general way, which is an essential limitation as far as my research area is
concerned.
49
MAGDALENA KUBÓW
THE POTENTIAL OF WARSAW AS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL
CITY IN THE SPORTS AREA
Warsaw is a special place, having multiple functions – as the capital of the
country, the capital of the region, and finally, a European metropolis. It is
the place of living and residence for over 2 million people. Since the beginning of the transformation the economic development of Warsaw is undergoing dynamic changes. Warsaw plays a significant role and holds a strong
position on the national map of entrepreneurship. In Warsaw, there are
approximately 146 thousand business entities, which amounts to 50% of
active entities in the Mazovia region and over 8% of all enterprises in Poland.
This means that every 12th active Polish entrepreneur has their registered
office in Warsaw. The current Warsaw economy is based on the service sector,
which employs over 70% of the city labor force.
In 2011, in the Mazovia region, there were app. 10 thousand enterprises
working in culture, entertainment and recreation (15.3% of all enterprises
of this kind in Poland). Half of them did business in Warsaw (Strategia Rozwoju Województwa Mazowieckiego do 2030 roku Innowacyjne Mazowsze –
“The Mazovia Voivodeship Development Strategy until 2030 Innovative
Mazovia”, p. 30). The aspects of entrepreneurship in sports in Warsaw can
be analyzed based on the studies conducted within the framework of the
project “The Capital City Forum of Entrepreneurship” (Stołeczne Forum
Przedsiębiorczości) – a project of the City Council Office and the Kozminski
University (ALK).
THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
IN SPORTS DEVELOPMENT. CONTEXT OF DOCUMENTS
Warsaw is a special place, having multiple functions – as the capital of the
country, the capital of the region, and finally, a European metropolis. It is
the place of living and residence for over 2 million people. The potential for
entrepreneurship development in Warsaw is related to, among other things,
the strategy of the Capital City of Warsaw. In this document sports is regarded as a significant element of city promotion and development. In 2005
the “Development Strategy of the Capital City of Warsaw until 2020” (Strategia Rozwoju Miasta Stołecznego Warszawy do 2020 roku) was adopted. This
strategy regards sports as an essential element of the city social policy. In
2008, the Council of the Capital City of Warsaw adopted as its resolution the
document “The Warsaw Social Strategy” (Społeczna Strategia Warszawy).
This document also considers sports to be an important factor for developing
human capital and social capital.
50
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension. A Case Study of Warsaw
Finally, in 2010, the Sports and Recreation Department of the City Council Office of Warsaw adopted a document entitled The Strategy of Sports
Development in Warsaw until 2020 (Strategia Rozwoju Sportu w Warszawie
do roku 2020).
Moreover, on the central level, there is a document entitled Strategy of
Sport Development in Poland until 2015. The strategy that is described in
the document aims to establish the direction of sports development in general for the country as a whole.
The potential for entrepreneurship development in sports in Warsaw,
against the background of city development priority objectives, is huge.
Entrepreneurship in the sports industry, against the background of the tasks
outlined in the strategy, manifests itself in numerous opportunities of collaboration between entrepreneurs as well as the district sports and recreation
departments. The entrepreneurs who were interviewed during the field
research focused on this aspect.
In the next part of the article I will present information about my research
project and the main results.
RESEARCH PROJECT
The basic scientific purpose of my project is to widen the knowledge on the
determinants of entrepreneurship development in the fast-developing sports
industry. My objective is to characterize the ways of running business in the
sports industry, taking into account such a wide context of factors. Moreover,
I take into account the internal conditions of entrepreneurship development
in the sports industry. The hypotheses concern both the aforementioned
external and internal conditions:
1) Cultural and institutional determinants play a key role among the external factors of entrepreneurship in the sports industry.
2) Passion, interests and sports experiences are the main sources of business
ideas for entrepreneurs from the sports industry.
The main purpose of the study is to present the external and internal
factors of entrepreneurship development in the sports industry. I am interested in what role a wider social, cultural, legal and economic context plays
in the development of enterprises in this industry. As regards the internal
determinants, my goal is to describe who the entrepreneurs working in the
sports industry are and what competencies they possess. Moreover, I am
interested in how they define and shape their social roles. While describing
the research area, I am going to concentrate on recognizing the possibilities
of shaping a specific culture of the sports industry companies.
Considering the above, the research objectives of the project are:
tt characterizing the conditions of business activity in the sports industry
while taking into account the working environment of the entrepreneurs
from this industry;
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MAGDALENA KUBÓW
recognizing the nature of business activity in the sports industry as regards the external factors;
tt characterizing the method of shaping social roles by entrepreneurs from
the industry and the key factors in this process;
tt describing the culture of the companies working in the sports industry.
tt
The account of meetings and in-depth interviews with sports industry
entrepreneurs are to depict how particular behaviors and relationships may
develop in other companies.
The project tackles an area that is interesting from the research point of
view. This is due to the fact that so far no research taking into account such
a wide context has been done in this area. Thus, the gap will be completed.
The project outcomes may be crucial to the discipline. Deepening the understanding of the entrepreneurship phenomenon while highlighting the nature
of a particular industry – the sports industry – is a significant subject matter
for several reasons. First, by focusing on the topic of entrepreneurship in
sports I would like to fill a niche that I have noticed. Specialized literature
mentions the fact that studies on entrepreneurship carried out in a given
industry are extremely valuable because of the possibility of highlighting
the nature of business activity (Gelderen, Masurel, 2012). A great need for
contextual research on the entrepreneurship phenomenon has been recognized. My research is carried out in an environment which is hardly ever
explored. Doing preliminary literature research, I did not encounter a study
devoted strictly to the industry that is going to be the subject of my interest.
What is more, there is no study covering such a wide context of external
factors. The issues that I am interested in are, however, more and more often
tackled by the leading academic journals devoted to entrepreneurship
(Goldsby, Kuratko, Bishop, 2005; Ratten, 2011; McNamee, Fleming, 2007;
Roy, Goss, 2007; Sheth, Babiak, 2010). Touching on the entrepreneurship
determinants in sports and presenting the potential to generate entrepreneurial chances in this area, I am becoming part of the present global research trends. While there is a significant number of theoretical studies on
entrepreneurship in general, the project devoted to entrepreneurship in
a particular industry – the sports industry – that I have chosen seems to be
inventive in comparison. Such a strictly narrowed area has not yet been
subject to exploration in Polish academic studies, which is why it is extremely
difficult to find research outcomes obtained so far. On the one hand, it is
a chance and a challenge for me as a researcher. On the other, I can see that
it is an essential limitation. As there are no references to other research
outcomes, while concluding I will strictly follow the canons of anthropological work and make sure that the conclusions will not go beyond the
empirical material. The research and theoretical significance of the project will be shown in
the following areas:
1) knowledge – improving the knowledge in the area of generally understood
entrepreneurship and the determinants of its development; improving
52
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension. A Case Study of Warsaw
the knowledge regarding the nature of the enterprises connected with
the industry;
2) systemization – the existing Polish and, first of all, foreign studies concerning the issues covered by the project will be systemized and presented
in a synthetic form as part of the studies that are to be one of the final
effects of the project;
3) recognizing the nature of running a business in Poland taking into account the wide context of entrepreneurial activity;
4) verification of popular opinions on entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and
the sports world taking into account the nature of the industry.
A lot of publications from other countries are the result of understanding
sports as a part of the economy. Unfortunately, there is a lack of such publications in Poland. Although there is some research and publications on
defining and delineating the sports industry in other countries, there is a lack
of that in Poland.
For the purpose of this research project I use the definitions of sport and
sports industry from Pitts, Fielding and Miller. In my research project I take
into account entrepreneurs from the Sport Performance Segment. As a product, “sport performance” is offered to buyers primarily in two ways: as
a product for participants and as a product for spectators. The most important for me as a researcher is the area where entrepreneurs offer sport
performance to buyers as a product for participants.
The expected theoretical effects of the project include improving the
knowledge on the entrepreneurship development determinants with a special consideration of the nature of the examined industry. The expected
influence of the research outcomes on further scientific advancements includes setting further directions in research on industry entrepreneurship
factors through comparative analyses in this matter between Poland and
other countries. It seems extremely interesting to conduct such analyses in
the USA, the cradle of entrepreneurship and the source of numerous behavior models for the development of special industries, such as the sports
industry.
The general schedule of the research
In order to conduct a thorough analysis of the examined problem, the research was carried out in several stages, which conforms to the principles of
qualitative research methodology. I started with preliminary literature research. In the beginning I set the research area, problem, objectives and
questions. The main stage of my research included non-directive interviews
with entrepreneurs. The pilot research outcomes indicate that entrepreneurs
pay attention to a wide institutional, social and cultural context of initiatives.
Additionally, the pilot research revealed how widely the category entrepreneurship in sports may be understood and how diversified the group of entrepreneurs from this industry is. Thanks to the pilot research outcomes,
53
MAGDALENA KUBÓW
I noticed the need to clarify what group of entrepreneurs will be examined
at the stage of the real research.
During the real research, I am going to focus on enterprises dealing with
organizing sports, according to the perspective of Pitts, Fielding, Miller
(Pitts, Fielding, Miller, 1994). My study did not cover entities producing
sports goods, because they only manufacture and provide the necessary gear
and accessories for practicing sports. As they do not directly deal with organizing sports, they do not have a crucial influence on the situation in the
discussed market. I also excluded the entities that deal with sports promotion, meaning all kinds of sports media or sponsors. Those entities have an
indirect influence on the discussed industry development and that is why
I do not include them in my field research.
The selection of interviewees was based on purposive sampling taking
into account the diversity of potential activities conducted by entrepreneurs
in this area. The names of the enterprises are anonymous, which results
from the specificity of the research methods that I use in the project. The
interviews were unstructured. A crucial factor is the researcher’s orientation
to a continuous problematization – possessing the so-called anthropological
frame of mind (Czarniawska, 2004).
Methodology
The field research, which is the main part of my research project, was done
by means of the anthropological interview method. While selecting the research method, one should take into account that various paradigms of research make me, as a researcher, adopt the appropriate methodology. As
a researcher of the determinants of entrepreneurship development in sports,
I decided to select qualitative methods. I conducted 21 interviews with entrepreneurs from the sports industry, who are organizers of sports. In my
study the selection of a method was strictly defined: it was ethnographic
qualitative research on entrepreneurs in the sports industry in their natural
and real business environment. Ethnographic methods allowed me as a researcher to describe the phenomena in a social context and to understand
the social actors, who are, according to me, the entrepreneurs working in the
selected industry (Kostera, 2003, p. 10). According to Kostera it is “the most
frequently used type of interview in ethnographic research, and its character
results from the lack of standardization” (Kostera, 2003, p. 123). The anthropological interviews that I conducted with the entrepreneurs were unstructured and non-directive. According to the guidelines by Czarniawska, as
a researcher, I made an attempt to encourage my interviewees to tell stories
about, for example, the beginnings of their business and developing their
organization. This allowed me to understand the logics they followed while
identifying or creating an entrepreneurial chance and deciding on its accomplishment within their business activity in sports (Kostera, 2003).
In the later stage of the research process, I am going to apply another
research method taken from ethnography, namely document analysis. As
54
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension. A Case Study of Warsaw
Kostera points out, “organizations produce numerous documents, including
those addressed to their own members and those addressed outside, to the
environment” (Kostera, 2003, p. 14). I am going to conduct an analysis, with
the content of enterprise websites being the most important subject of my
analysis. Moreover, I will do a critical analysis of culture as regards the
analysis of texts coming from the mass media. I will analyze materials from
the press.
Generally, in my research, a special emphasis was put on the examined
industry context and thanks to this, I fulfilled one of the basic principles
concerning ethnographic methodology, thus ensuring a complete methodological correctness. As Glinka noticed (Glinka, 2008), it is characteristic of
the research paradigm that I selected that ethnographic methods (Garfinkel
2007, Kostera 2003), procedures of the grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss
2009; Konecki 2000; Charmaz, 2009) and various methods of culture text
analysis (Denzin and Lincoln, 2010; Kostera, 2003) are applied. Referring
to researchers’ opinions, the abovementioned author points out that applying those methods may appear to be useful in the analysis of the entrepreneurship phenomenon. The methods are characterized by the fact that
a researcher’s objective is to verify the hypotheses formulated at the beginning of the research. A researcher’s goal is to articulate the working hypotheses emerging during the research. Thus, the researcher’s task is to answer
research questions as completely as possible (Glinka, 2008, p. 51). To describe
the determinants of entrepreneurial activity in a specific industry, I found
the methodology of qualitative research to be the right one.
It is worth mentioning that the selection of a method results from the
research purpose. I would like to understand entrepreneurship in sports,
and I am seeking this understanding – following Kostera’s guidelines – by
interpreting the examined phenomena. Thus, concluding will be possible,
but it must be based on similarity and social significance (Kostera, 2003, p.
9). Miles and Huberman express the opinion that qualitative research, by
emphasizing experience, “is adjusted to recognizing meanings which people
attribute to events and processes, and adjusted to relating these meanings
to the people’s social environment” (Miles, Huberman, 2000, p. 10). According to the abovementioned authors, whose views are similar to Geertz’s
(Geertz, 1973/2005), an unquestionable strength of qualitative research is
its richness and comprehensive nature as well as the possibility of revealing
complexity itself (...) while the data coming from the field deliver dense descriptions placed in the real context (Miles, Huberman, 2000).
To make the research material multi-faceted and to avoid the accusation
of unreliability, I applied triangulation, which is a process of making research
more trustworthy (Kostera, 2005). This entailed that I used the empirical
material gathered during the field research, and at the subsequent stage,
I analyzed the material from the examined enterprises (document analysis,
review of communication formulated by websites) and the media communication. The supporters of qualitative research often use texts as the supplementing sources of data (Charmaz, 2009. p. 55). I used the empirical mate-
55
MAGDALENA KUBÓW
rial gathered during the interviews with the entrepreneurs as the basis of
the project argumentation. I fulfilled the methodological requirement of
triangulation by applying different ethnographic research methods. To follow
the principles of the research procedure, I took notes and made observations.
At the analysis stage, I used the grounded theory procedures. As Charmaz
noticed, the methods of the grounded theory enable developing theoretical
aspects of ethnographic research. The grounded theory can make it easier
to penetrate the issues emerging in the examined field (Charmaz, 2009, p.
38). In the specialized literature on the subject it is pointed out that ethnographers who use the grounded theory can reach deeply into experience and
obtain interpretative results. With the use of triangulation, it was possible
to present the conclusions established in the field.
While interpreting the research outcomes based on the interviews, I followed the guidelines formulated as part of the grounded theory (Glaser,
Strauss, 2009). All the interviews were transcribed. The gathered empirical
material was coded. Coding reveals categories and based on them, it is possible to compare different parts of the empirical material (Hensel, Glinka,
2012, p. 95). While interpreting the research material, I aimed at finding
repeating themes. When coding the research material, such themes constituted categories. Thanks to the interpretation of the research results, it was
possible to create a picture of entrepreneurship in sports, understand the
nature of the functioning of entrepreneurs and the determinants that are
crucial to shaping entrepreneurship in this specific industry in the regional
context.
Opportunities for cooperation of the local governments and enterprises
of the sports industry in Warsaw – some results of the research project
The research done so far reveals that entrepreneurs running their businesses
in Warsaw can see the development potential resulting from working together
with the city. During the interviews the entrepreneurs outlined the areas of
possible activities. The local government is a partner for the sports industry
entrepreneurs who run their businesses in Warsaw. The entrepreneurs enthusiastically talked about the opportunities resulting from such a form of
collaboration with the city and about the relationship between them and the
city council office.
“I work together with several districts, with local councils. The Żoliborz
district, the Bielany district are great examples of promoting an active lifestyle.” (ZT)
During the interviews, one of the entrepreneurs explained the mechanism
of starting collaboration with the city. He treats the local government as one
of his key customers, or even partners, with whom he accomplishes all kinds
of sports and recreation undertakings and projects.
“It is like that – when a tender or a competition of offers is announced,
then there is a specification which you have to conform with and a part of
56
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension. A Case Study of Warsaw
ideas – when there is a general category for doing something, we suggested
just a kind of stands or activities. If there was something clearly defined, if
a specification was detailed, we just adjusted to it.”(SF)
The beginning of cooperation with the city – in the account of one of the
entrepreneurs – is not easy for everyone. Sometimes it is difficult to start
this kind of cooperation. Trying to do it, one of the entrepreneurs offered to
the city as much as he could to be noticed.
“Every event, every kind of sport and recreational activity. For the Children’s Day Celebration, for every kind of local celebrations – everything in
a sports context.” (BS)
Establishing cooperation between an entrepreneur and a local government is sometimes made possible through a network of personal contacts.
A network of contacts is in that case one of the determinants of gaining
valuable information from the opportunity identification point of view.
“I do not remember who the originator was, I wanted to create fitness
lessons for seniors, and at the same time the mum of a friend of mine was
working in one of the districts. I told her about my idea and it turned out
that there is an opportunity to finance my project for seniors in the
district.”(SF)
A project realized in cooperation with the local government can be a huge
challenge. A preliminary plan and optimistic approach do not always lead to
a successful venture.
“The fitness activities were very cheap for the inhabitants. At the start
of the project they (seniors) took part in these activities regularly, but then
it was a difficult moment when the financing from the district stopped. This
venture was weakly promoted in the local community, and it turned out to
be a failure.” (SF)
A network of personal contacts is a very important factor, but more importantly, the mechanism of establishing cooperation is relatively universal.
“We have a very friendly district, Bemowo. The local authorities promote
sports very strongly, but it is necessary to fulfill the requirements and they
can’t just take money out of their pockets and give it to you. They can support, help and advise us. (...) And they do this. There is a great woman there
(...). And in other districts, I haven’t got much experience.” (SF)
In this case it is worth emphasizing that the entrepreneur points to the
need for flexibility.
The entrepreneurs positively assessed co-working with the local government, outlining how this partnership was established. Networking is not
necessary to appear in the local market. An entrepreneur who organizes
sports events, for example, pays attention to the opportunity of participating
in tender proceedings. Winning such a tender, fulfilling an order may become
the beginning of a long-lasting partnership.
“I find working with the city very positive. I organized two recreation
events for the Bemowo district, which is part of the Capital City of Warsaw.
I started the partnership after winning a tender and more precisely a competition of offers and I find this collaboration very positive.”(TS)
57
MAGDALENA KUBÓW
Sometimes it is very difficult to respond to questions regarding the cooperation with local governments. One of the entrepreneurs found it difficult
to evaluate this form of partnership.
“For me the cooperation with the local government is a difficult subject.
Every local government unit in every Warsaw district has got its budget
planned in advance. Sometimes, unfortunately, only a small amount of money
is dedicated to sports activity in the district. I am happy because of the fact
that when there is a situation that in the district they have any extra money,
they call and the say – let’s do something! Any sports event, sports activities
for inhabitants!”(ZT)
When making a critical assessment of the situation of tenders, one of
the entrepreneurs showed that he is aware of the “rules of the market
game”.
“I know that there are rules, that there must be two applicants (firms)
and the most important is the price. But this is not a good solution. Sometimes this low price for the service is connected with a low quality of it.”(SF)
Looking at the situation realistically and critically, the examined entrepreneurs expressed their opinions on the collaboration with the city taking
into account the aspect of the relationship between an entrepreneur and
official. Generally speaking, the opinions of the industry entrepreneurs regarding the officials were positive. The interviewees praised the professionalism of the officials in the sports, recreation and culture departments.
“Generally, they are smiling, not stressed out, slightly older, but having
a very positive attitude to life, to what they do. I could see that they were
great people, I would like to meet such people more often.” (TS)
“As far as Bemowo is concerned, I can speak highly of them. Yet, there
is a huge bureaucracy machine, which is difficult to move. First of all,
I can’t see solidarity in society, people do not want to do something jointly.”
(SF)
The professionalism of local government workers was assessed by one of
the entrepreneurs in the context of their approach to his personality.
“I felt like they treated me as a person who knows what should be done.
They did not try to disturb me in my work, they did not try to prove that
they are the specialists in the field of sports. They trusted my knowledge
and my work experience.”(TS)
One of the entrepreneurs emphasized the open attitude of help presented
by the local government worker.
“Yes, yes, they were very helpful. The formal kind of contact with them
is between 8 A.M and 4 P.M.. But the worker of the sports unit gave me her
private phone number and there was the possibility to contact her at any
time.”(TS)
One of the entrepreneurs preferred the activity and openness of the officials in the sports departments over the activity of the district as a whole.
If the employees are open and willing to act, the district has a development
potential, and this, in turn, results in opportunities to fulfill orders by the
industry entrepreneurs.
58
Entrepreneurship in Sports – The Local Dimension. A Case Study of Warsaw
“The people that work in two districts – Żoliborz and Ursynów, these are
very active districts in the field of sports. With a low budget you can organize
great events and Zumba fits in here perfectly well.” (ZT)
THE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AND PERSPECTIVES
OF COOPERATION IN THE ACCOUNTS OF THE ENTREPRENEURS
The industry entrepreneurs can see the perspectives of working together
with the city. Looking at this issue realistically, they pointed to the fact that
this is one of the ways to find fulfillment in business – not the only or
dominating, but a considerable one.
“If there is a need, I will be willing to look for offers of this type. But they
appear occasionally and it is always precisely defined who must fulfill what
kind of requirements connected with experience as well as formal issues,
who can enter, and unfortunately, I am not able to run as a potential contractor in all the events I would like to take part in, and this is because of those
limitations.” (TS)
The entrepreneurs showed a lot of advantages of starting a collaboration
with the city.
“It is worth starting a collaboration with the city, with the district, and
based on their ideas, to do something useful; at the same time you get
a money injection which lets you accomplish some projects and achieve your
goals.” (ZS)
One of the entrepreneurs shortly summarized his cooperation with the
city council, outlining the directions for future collaboration.
“Last year we started benefitting from the city financing programs, where
I found out that you can do great things with children, for example, because
a project of swimming lessons for the disabled was launched. We are also
doing a program: “Seniors older and fitter”, so we collaborate with them in
two ways. It is worth starting a collaboration with the city, with the district,
and based on their ideas, to do something useful; at the same time you get
a money injection which lets you accomplish some projects and achieve your
goals.” (AQ)
SUMMARY
Sports has become a phenomenon that involves processes in the global
economy and the economy of individual countries. Moreover, the sports sector significantly affects other sectors of the economy. In this article Warsaw
is described as an entrepreneurial city, where sports is a tool for marketing
and city development, and at the same time, it is a great area for entrepreneurship development. As demonstrated by the conducted research, there
are many opportunities to develop entrepreneurship in sports in Warsaw
through collaboration with the local government. The interviewees widely
59
MAGDALENA KUBÓW
outlined the potential areas of such activities and assessed their usefulness
as regards the functioning and development of their businesses. The entrepreneurs showed a lot of benefits of that kind of partnership. Moreover, the
entrepreneurs emphasized the key factors of the development of sports
enterprises in Warsaw, especially the significance of a network of personal
contacts and an alertness for opportunities. What is more, this article illustrates the associations and possibilities of cooperation between sports
entrepreneurs and the district governments. The article describes examples
of such projects, where entrepreneurs identify the entrepreneurial opportunities of cooperation with district governments.
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61
Julita E. Wasilczuk, Krzysztof Zięba
The Impact of Urban Localizations
on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the differences in the
profiles of firms and their owners in urban and non-urban locations and also
to assess the impact of those differences on the possibilities of growth for
firms from both types of locations.
Design/methodology/approach: Based on the theoretical revision, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 1005 small firms in the selected
powiats of the Pomeranian region in Poland. 436 small firms located in the
urban powiats of Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia were then compared with 569
of their counterparts located in the outskirt areas of the Pomeranian region.
The existing differences were identified and tested with the use of simple
statistical techniques.
Findings: We found that urban entrepreneurs are better educated, more
experienced and more positively motivated. Their firms are more innovative,
with more qualified employees and better access to entrepreneurial infrastructure. However, they are not growing better than non-urban ones. This
is a powerful suggestion, meaning that all possible benefits coming from the
urban environment may be balanced out by the accompanying disadvantages.
Research limitations/implications: The research sample was limited only to
the Pomeranian region. Some non-urban firms were located in small towns,
which makes them somewhat similar to urban firms. The research should
be continued using a more polarized sample, where the differences between
urban and non-urban firms could be more significant.
Originality/value: The research sheds some light on the influence of urban
and non-urban location on the growth possibilities for SMEs, which remains
an under-researched topic, especially in Poland.
JEL Classification: L21, M13, P25, R39
Keywords: start-ups, firm growth, localization, profile of micro-firms
63
Julita E. Wasilczuk, Krzysztof Zięba
Wpływ miejskiej lokalizacji na możliwości
wzrostowe małych firm
ABSTRAKT
Cel: Celem badania była identyfikacja różnic między profilami firm oraz
profilami ich właścicieli w zależności od miejskiej/pozamiejskiej lokalizacji
firm. Ponadto, celem było zbadanie znaczenia tych różnic dla osiągania
wzrostu przez firmy z obu rodzajów lokalizacji.
Metodologia: W oparciu o studia literaturowe sporządzono kwestionariusz
badawczy, którym przebadano 1005 małych firm z wybranych powiatów
województwa pomorskiego. Porównano 436 małych firm zlokalizowanych
w powiatach miejskich Gdańsk, Sopot i Gdynia z 569 firmami zlokalizowanymi
na obszarach pozamiejskich. Zaobserwowane różnice przebadano pod kątem
ich statystycznej istotności.
Rezultaty: Miejscy przedsiębiorcy okazują się być lepiej wykształceni, bardziej
doświadczeni i w większym stopniu wykazują się pozytywnymi motywacjami
przedsiębiorczymi. Ich firmy są bardziej innowacyjne, częściej podnoszą
kwalifikacje pracowników i mają lepszy dostęp do infrastruktury
przedsiębiorczej. Jednakże nie rosną w tempie szybszym niż firmy pozamiejskie. To sugeruje, że korzyści płynące z lokalizacji miejskiej są
równoważone towarzyszącymi im kosztami takiej lokalizacji.
Ograniczenia badania: Badania były ograniczone jedynie do terenu województwa pomorskiego. Co więcej, niektóre firmy sklasyfikowane jako pozamiejskie były zlokalizowane w niewielkich miasteczkach, co czyni je nieco
podobnymi do firm miejskich. Ten rodzaj badań powinien być kontynuowany
z wykorzystaniem bardziej spolaryzowanej próby badawczej, gdzie zróżnicowanie obu grup podmiotów byłoby wyraźniejsze.
Znaczenie: Przeprowadzone badania rzucają światło na problematykę wpływu
miejskiej/pozamiejskiej lokalizacji małych firm na ich możliwości wzrostowe.
W Polsce brak jest, jak dotąd, szczegółowych badań na ten temat.
Słowa kluczowe: zakładanie firm, wzrost firmy, lokalizacja, profil
mikroprzedsiębiorstwa
64
The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
INTRODUCTION
Region and especially the proximity of large cities has a tremendous influence on entrepreneurs. It applies to actual entrepreneurs already operating
in the market, to potential entrepreneurs who are just considering starting
up their business and to start-up owners. Certainly, so far much more attention has been given to entrepreneurs in cities and, as a result, we know more
about starting a business in a city than running it in an urban environment.
While analyzing the literature on the subject the impression is given that
being a small firm in a big city is a great benefit. The most often stressed
factor influencing the prosperity of small firms in big cities is the presence
of a higher demand, easier access to support facilities and access to a knowledge environment, which makes it easier for firms to be innovative (Lee,
Rodríguez-Pose, 2013). Additionally, the business creation rate is higher due
to the presence of better developed education systems (Barreneche and
García, 2014). It also seems that opportunity perception is regionally differentiated (Stuetzer, Obschonka, Brixy, Sternberg and Cantner, 2014).
The interest in the topic of start-ups and setting new firms in the context
of location gradually increases, even quicker than in entrepreneurship research itself (Sternberg, 2009). However we still know little about the advantages of being a firm in a big city. The number of publications is limited,
therefore one can only expect that some of the factors suitable for starting
operation in a city are also good for increasing the scale of this operation –
for growth. The most often used proxy for growth of a firm is employment.
This kind of data is much easier to obtain, especially when compared with
financial statements from small firms, which are hardly available.
Trying to identify what the possible benefits and disadvantages are of
running a small firm in an urban environment, we decided to investigate
the differences in the profiles of entrepreneurs and their firms. We also tried
to link the observed differences with the alleged determinants of employment
growth in small firms, which are relatively well identified in the existing
literature.
THE CITY AS A BUSINESS INCUBATOR
The theory that the city is an incubator for entrepreneurship has been
proved by quite a lot of researchers. No matter whether they use the reg-
65
JULITA E. WASILCZUK, KRZYSZTOF ZIĘBA
istered number of new firms (Renski, 2011), the start-up intention (Stuetzer, Obschonka, Brixy, Sternberg and Cantner, 2013) or the self-employment start-ups (Eliasson, Westlund, 2012) as the entrepreneurship proxy,
cities have a higher entrepreneurship rate than the suburban/rural locations. Generally, the city, and especially the metropolitan city, offers a good
environment for starting and operating small firms. The difference between a city/urban environment and suburban/rural regions is not only
in the population density (increasing the demand), but also in the quality
of human resources, knowledge spillovers and entrepreneurship infrastructure, i.e. supporting agencies, possible networks, incubators, technology parks etc.
The very first hypothesis about the relation between setting up firms and
cities was formulated by Hoover and Vernon (1959), who stated that small
manufacturing firms look for high density, easy access to space and of course
human resources. This simple hypothesis, nowadays called the urban incubator hypothesis, was proved by its authors to be true on the basis of data
from US cities, and then further supported by the work of Creamers (Struyk,
Leone, 1976), mainly based on the data coming from manufacturing companies. Subsequently, investigators began to add more factors associated with
the city, which may affect start-ups, like the innovation environment in
cities, clusters of similar firms, as a co-opetition promises or knowledge
spillovers. However, more recent researchers rather perceive specialization
as a key factor, which helps new firms in starting up (Tödtling, Wanzenböck,
2003). This is more in line with the contemporary view on co-opetition,
combining cooperation with competition, which is the feature of modern
districts/clusters. In such an environment it is easier for start-ups and very
new firms to benefit from the pool of knowledge and practice. Additionally,
the specialization of the region/cities can bring tailor-made services. Those
advantages can exist mainly in clusters of firms, which is mostly possible in
cities.
Nowadays, when developed economies are predominated by the service
sector and not the manufacturing one, the urban incubator hypothesis
seems to be even more convincing. Cities are the spaces where more citizens
are looking for cultural, intellectual, habitual and other services connected
with everyday life. The difference between the city and suburban/rural
area in the context of service demand is even more obvious in Poland than
in other western European countries. The idea of going out (for coffee, for
dinner or just to sit, drink and talk) is almost nonexistent in Polish small
towns and villages. This cannot be explained entirely with income differences; lifestyle differences between urban and rural areas come into play
here as well.
Some researchers state that it is not only the high rate of starts-ups that
differentiates cities from peripheries, but also the characteristics of settled
firms. In cities owners tend to possess better formal qualifications and they
are involved in more technology- and knowledge-intensive products and
services (Tödtling, Wanzenböck, 2003).
66
The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
Despite the fact that research studies on entrepreneurship start-ups (at
first referring only to production firms) have been conducted since the late
1950s (see Hoover and Vernon), authors dealing with this topic usually select
new groups of factors affecting the process. As almost all of them are somehow connected with density and numbers of people, it may be concluded that
the vast majority of them can be, in fact, derived from the first theory – the
urban incubator hypothesis.
The urban incubator hypothesis was based mainly on the higher density
in cities than in a suburban/rural environment. This leads to higher demand,
which is underlined in the market model, showing that the possibility to
start up in an environment with an almost unlimited number of customers
is much easier (Audresch, Fritsch, 2002).
The resource model approach stresses the physical, financial, human and
sociocultural resources, which are more available in bigger settings. Renski
(2011) emphasizes skilled labor or producers and suppliers of intermediate
goods. Moreover, indivisible public goods, such as infrastructure (also internet access), are not to be underestimated. While the milieu model relies
on the role of the business climate – either physical or social, within this
theory clusters and innovation networks can be analyzed, like the number
of patents (Carlino, Chatterjee and Hunt, 2007), knowledge spillovers
(Braunerhjelm, Acs, Audretsch and Carlsson, 2010), (Leyden, Link, 2013).
But there is still no clear evidence that closeness to innovation hubs increases the activity or firms. However, a higher openness to cooperate,
specialization in the sector and low entry barriers can definitely lead to
a high density of SMEs.
The career model refers to the fact that people very often start their activity in an environment that is well-known to them, which can be the place
when they were born, where they worked or studied.
As Sternberg states, it is important to differentiate between localization
economies and urbanization economies (2009). The first are associated with
the presence of other firms, which enables clustering together or gaining
from knowledge spillovers (Leyden, Link, 2013). The latter refer only to the
city itself with its infrastructure (human and technological) and higher
density. However, in most cases, especially in Poland, both localization and
urbanization effects go together, especially when we look at the service sector, which is chosen as a start-up activity by most entrepreneurs. It is the
city where all the institutions operate that lead to creating the right atmosphere for start-ups, for example supporting agencies, incubators, business
parks, universities.
Apart from all the discussed advantages of higher density in a city/
urban area, there is also more competition in terms of customers, suppliers and grants for support. In case of Poland, for example, peripheral
areas have a higher priority in granting money for entrepreneurship support. Higher costs of premises, congestions, a more anonymous environment are just a few potential disadvantages associated with locating a firm
in a large city.
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JULITA E. WASILCZUK, KRZYSZTOF ZIĘBA
SURVIVING AND GROWING IN THE CITY
One can predict that the advantages of setting up a business in a city also
apply to company growth. However, good conditions for entry do not always
mean good conditions for further performance. This especially refers to the
young industries, with favorable conditions of entry, consequently leading
to high competition (Stuart, Sorenson, 2003). Additionally, higher costs of
operation, such as premises, municipal payments, including taxes, can be
a burden for firms operating in a big city. Moreover, the higher density of
firms makes the competition more demanding. On the other hand, some
factors mentioned as favorable for start-ups can also be perceived as a future
accelerator in the growth process. Renski (2009) analyzed new firms created
in 1994 and 1995 for seven years to conclude about their performance. Generally, he found higher failure rates in cities, and at the same time, faster
rates of employment growth. The explanation for the higher failure rates
can be derived from the above-mentioned disadvantages of locating firms in
big cities. It is a natural process of creating destruction.
WHY FIRMS GROW
The growth of firms is an area of entrepreneurship intensely studied for
many years, but without much success – for an extensive literature review
on growth see: (Coad, 2007). Some of the growth factors, however, have been
confirmed in most of the studies reported in the literature. Some of them
coincide with those that are referred to as conducive to start-ups in cities.
This includes the existence of social networks. Extensive social networks
lead to a better recognition of opportunities (Shane, 2000), and also help to
understand risk factors. How social relations are important one can learn
from Anderson, Dodd and Jack, who perceive entrepreneurs as a product of
their social environment (2010). Extensive support for the innovation-growth
relation thesis can be found in the literature, deriving from the seminal work
of Schumpeter. Nowadays, a lot of research studies proved this relation (e.g.
Thornhill, 2006, Coad and Rao, 2008, Coad, Blasco, and Teruel, 2013). This,
in turn, goes hand in hand with the above-mentioned knowledge spillover,
or the existence of university facilities, which in Polish conditions is the case
only in large urban centers.
Other factors that support the growth of firms are linked directly to the
entrepreneur: the level of education, experience in the branch and in entrepreneurship, motivation, growth orientation, age (see more in Table 1).
Faster growth of firms is influenced by greater experience of their owners
(Nichter, Goldmark, 2009).
68
The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
Table 1. Growth factors
Factor
Description
Authors
Higher education
Some researchers point out that
being too highly educated is not
enough, while others shows that
entrepreneurial skills go together
with education.
Storey, 1994 Davidsson, 1991
Barringer and Jonew, 2004
Omri, Ayadi-Frikha, 2014
Entrepreneurial
experience
Previous experience in business
helps to avoid risk, increases the
ability to recognize opportunity.
Storey, 1994
Wasilczuk, 2005
Social and
professional
networks
It increases access to information,
capital, and intangible support,
better opportunity recognition,
helps growing through the use of
an external network: clients, suppliers, competitors.
Birley, 1985
Lechner and Dowling, 2003
Shane, 2000
Anderson et al., 2010
Growth orientations
Those with growth plans and aspirations have higher incentives to
achieve it. And those without
growth orientations are not
achieving their highest potential.
Scott and Rosa, 1996
Wasilczuk, 2005
Planning
Planning helps entrepreneurs to
evaluate the potential of the firm,
and set the path for growth.
Storey, 1994
Zinger, LeBrasseur, 2003
Wasilczuk, 2005
Innovation
Innovation keeps firms ahead of
competitors.
Coad, Blasco, and Teruel,
2013
Motivations
Positive motives lead to higher
possibilities of growth for firms.
Gatewood, Shaver, Powers
and Gartner, 2002
Geographic
location:
–
providing pool of
human resources
–
high buyer
concentration
–
Being close to the cluster of
firms helps to obtain better,
qualified employees.
– Demand concentration.
– Renski, 2011
– Audresch, Fritsch, 2002
Source: own elaboration.
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODOLOGY
In most studies the relation between localization and entrepreneurial activities is investigated with a focus on new venture creation, as researchers
69
JULITA E. WASILCZUK, KRZYSZTOF ZIĘBA
use new firm formation as a proxy for entrepreneurship. However, as Renski
(2009) pointed out, the “entry rate does not tell the whole story”. Apart from
the creation of new firms, their survival and subsequent growth are just as
important. In fact, relatively little is known about the relation between the
success of entrepreneurs (measured as surviving or growing) and their location. Having knowledge about the factors that promote the growth of enterprises, we decided to investigate the characteristics of entrepreneurs and
their firms in Tricity and the suburban/rural areas to examine the possibilities for growth in both types of locations. The research questions are as
follows:
1. What are the differences in profiles of firms and entrepreneurs in both
types of locations?
2. What is the impact of those differences on growth possibilities?
Based on the theoretical revision, a questionnaire was developed and
administered to small firms in selected powiats of the Pomeranian region in
Poland. One of the main ideas behind the research was to find out what the
major differences are between urban and non-urban small firms. Therefore,
small firms located in the urban subregions of Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia
(three cities of more than 750,000 inhabitants in total, forming a joint metropolis in the northern part of Poland) were compared with their counterparts located in the outskirt areas of the Pomeranian region. The existing
differences were identified, investigated using contingency tables, verified
with the use of simple statistical techniques and explained as much as possible.
Research sample
The research was carried out within the framework of the third edition of
the Pomeranian Economic Observatory (PEO III). The research sample was
composed of small firms from three groups of subregions (powiats):
1. The HU group: the subregions of Nowy Dwór, Sztum and Malbork (three
non-urban subregions with the highest unemployment rate at the time
of developing the methodology of PEO III).
2. The LU group: the subregions of Kartuzy, Wejherowo and Puck (three
non-urban subregions with the lowest unemployment rate).
3. The URBAN group: the urban subregions of Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia.
The choice of firms was limited to those that were set up in 2005 or
later and – at the time of the research – were employing at least one employee (apart from the owner). This was a way to eliminate pure selfemployment (employees forced by their employers to set up their own
business in order to reduce labor costs or businesses being a workplace
exclusively for the owner). The total number of firms was 1005, out of
which 160 belonged to the first group (Nowy Dwór, Sztum and Malbork),
409 belonged to the second group (Kartuzy, Wejherowo, Puck) and the
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The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
remaining 436 belonged to the urban group of Tricity (Gdańsk, Sopot and
Gdynia). The difference in size between the first group and the other two
is due to the limited availability of firms meeting the criteria set in the
methodology.
General information about the subregions
The most intense economic activity was manifested by people living in
Sopot, where per 1000 people almost 200 companies were registered (Fig.
1). The powiat of Sopot was followed by Gdańsk and Gdynia, both showing
practically the same prevalence rate of businesses. This high rate of entrepreneurship in the whole URBAN group was quite predictable. The
highest prevalence rate in non-urban powiats existed in the powiat of Puck
(belonging to the LU group), which directly borders Gdynia. The powiat
of Nowy Dwór was the next one with as much as 106.2 enterprises per
1000 inhabitants. And although it is bordered by Gdańsk, the unemployment rate was one of the highest in the region. Other four powiats, those
belonging to the LU (Kartuzy and Wejherowo) as well as the HU group
(Sztum and Malbork) had a prevalence rate ranging between 82.8 and
92.9.
HU
Malbork
Nowy Dwór
Sztum
LU
Puck
Kartuzy
Wejherowo
URBAN
Sopot
Gdynia
Gdańsk
0
50
100
150
200
250
Fig. 1. Number of registered firms per 1000 citizens in the researched powiats,
based on GUS, 2008
The registered unemployment rate in 2008 in the surveyed powiats is
shown in Figure 2. In the URBAN group the unemployment rate was between
1.9% and 2.6%, in the LU group: 6.3%–8.4%, while in the HU group: 16.9%–
21.9%.
71
JULITA E. WASILCZUK, KRZYSZTOF ZIĘBA
25.0%
21.9%
20.0%
17.8%
16.9%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
8.1%
1.9%
6.3%
8.4%
2.6%
2.3%
0.0%
Fig. 2. Unemployment rate in 2008 in the researched powiats
Findings and discussion
The general conclusion from our research is that urban firms and their owners do not differ from their non-urban counterparts in any dramatic way. In
fact, we found more similarities than we had expected. Nevertheless, some
important and statistically significant differences have been identified.
Urban entrepreneurs clearly tend to be better educated. Nearly 40% of
them graduated from universities comparing with approximately 25% university graduates among non-urban entrepreneurs (Tab. 2). This supports
the general urban incubator hypothesis about better education of entrepreneurs starting up their businesses.
Table 2. Education of entrepreneurs (p-value<0.001)
Education
Entrepreneurs:
HU
n
LU
URBAN
%
n
%
n
%
35
21.88%
112
27.38%
170
38.99%
Non-higher
111
69.38%
239
58.44%
168
38.53%
No answer
14
8.5%
58
14.18%
98
22.48%
Higher
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
Another advantage of urban entrepreneurs is based on their entrepreneurial experience. Before starting their current business, nearly 10% of
72
The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
them had another business (twice as much compared to non-urban entrepreneurs) and another 12% used to be managers (again just about twice as
much compared to non-urban entrepreneurs) (Tab. 3).
Table 3. Entrepreneurial experience (p-value<0.001)
Professional experience before starting business
Entrepreneurs:
HU
n
LU
URBAN
%
n
%
n
%
9
5.63%
20
4.89%
42
9.63%
Manager
11
6.88%
32
7.82%
54
12.39%
Employee
97
60.63%
233
56.97%
203
46.56%
Business owner
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
Being more entrepreneurially experienced, they less often perceive the
act of setting up a business as something entrepreneurial. This is clearly
visible when the respondents are asked about their self-perception as entrepreneurial individuals. Urban entrepreneurs less often perceive themselves
as entrepreneurial (Tab. 4).
Table 4. Entrepreneurial self-perception (p-value<0.001)
Are you entrepreneurial? Yes, rather yes.
Entrepreneurs:
HU
n
127
LU
%
79.38%
n
307
URBAN
%
75.06%
n
311
%
71.33%
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
Another important difference is associated with entrepreneurial motivations. The motivation that pushes or pulls people to start up a business is
not without future consequence for the growth of the firm. Those who follow
positive motives (opportunity entrepreneurship), such as the need for autonomy, self-realization, or fulfilling dreams usually have a higher propensity
to develop their firms and to grow, while those motivated by push factors,
such as the lack of a job, the need for money (necessity entrepreneurship),
are more passive in running their business. Bosma and Sternberg (2014),
73
JULITA E. WASILCZUK, KRZYSZTOF ZIĘBA
using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), analyzed data from 47
urban areas in 22 EU countries and found that entrepreneurs from those
areas were more opportunity-driven than their counterparts from other
areas. This is in line with our findings presented in Table 5. Urban entrepreneurs are more frequently motivated by the need for autonomy and selfrealization.
Table 5. Entrepreneurial motivations (p-value<0.001)
Need for autonomy and self-realization
Entrepreneurs:
HU
LU
URBAN
n
%
n
%
n
%
49
30.63%
158
38.63%
214
49.08%
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
There are also some interesting differences with regard to the actual
firms. First of all, urban firms are more innovative. This difference is captured by finding firms performing absolutely no activities associated with
innovation. As can be seen in Table 6, urban firms rarely belong to this
category of business. The most evident difference is when they are compared
to firms from the HU group.
Table 6. Innovativeness of the business (p-value = 0.0191)
Lack of innovative activities last year
Entrepreneurs:
HU
n
14
LU
%
8.75%
n
20
URBAN
%
4.89%
n
14
%
3.21%
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
Another observation is that urban firms more often invest in their employee qualifications, as presented in Table 7. This finding is in line with the
identified greater innovativeness of those firms. Offering better products,
operating more advanced machines, implementing organizational changes
– all that requires more from the staff: more competencies, more knowledge,
more skills.
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The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
Table 7. Employee training (p-value = 0.04)
Increasing employee qualifications in the last two years
Entrepreneurs:
HU
LU
URBAN
n
%
n
%
n
%
No
98
61.25%
218
53.30%
216
49.54%
Yes
62
38.75%
188
45.97%
219
50.23%
0
0.00%
3
0.73%
1
0.23%
No answer
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
Our findings also suggest that the scale of IT use can be bigger in urban
firms. The proxy for IT use was the fact of owning a business website. As
can be seen from the data in Table 8, business website ownership is more
popular among urban firms. However, urban entrepreneurs do not seem to
be more enthusiastic about this form of maintaining contact with their business partners (suppliers or customers). Even though more urban firms posses a website, the intensity of its use (defined as frequency of modifications
and updates) is similar across the whole research sample. Out of the website
owners of all groups (HU, LU and URBAN) slightly more than half hardly
ever update their websites.
Table 8. Internet use (p-value<0.001)
Owning and updating business website
Entrepreneurs:
HU
n
No website
LU
%
n
URBAN
%
n
%
119
74.38%
252
61.61%
221
50.69%
Frequent updates (at
least monthly)
18
11.25%
57
13.94%
93
21.33%
Infrequent updates (less
than monthly)
19
11.88%
87
21.27%
110
25.23%
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
The last important difference is presented in Table 9 and it applies to
sources of business financing. Availability of business infrastructure, typical
for the urban environment, results in a greater use of leasing among urban
75
JULITA E. WASILCZUK, KRZYSZTOF ZIĘBA
firms. Surprisingly, non-urban firms use EU funds much more often than
their urban counterparts.
Table 9. Sources of business financing (p-value = 0.02 for leasing and <0.001 for
EU structural funds)
Sources of business financing
Entrepreneurs:
HU
LU
URBAN
n
%
n
%
n
%
Leasing
13
8.13%
37
9.05%
62
14.22%
EU structural funds
15
9.38%
20
4.89%
10
2.29%
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
As it was already mentioned, apart from a few differences, urban and
non-urban entrepreneurs and their firms proved to be relatively similar. We
did not find any differences in the type of business activities (such as trade,
services or production), even though one could expect to find more servicebased businesses among urban firms. There were no differences in business
goals between urban and non-urban entrepreneurs, even though their business motivations differed. More entrepreneurial experience and better education do not make urban entrepreneurs different from their non-urban
counterparts with respect to business planning activities.
The most unexpected finding, however, was that urban and non-urban
firms were similar in terms of size. This can be seen in Table 10. The firm
size was measured based on the number of people employed on a full-time
basis.
Table 10. Size of firms measured with employment – no significant difference
Business size
Entrepreneurs:
HU
LU
2.35
URBAN
2.24
2.26
Source: Own calculations based on PEO III data.
To sum up, we could say that the general picture of urban firms and their
owners seems to be better in comparison with their non-urban counterparts.
Urban entrepreneurs are better educated, more experienced and more
76
The Impact of Urban Localizations on the Growth Possibilities for Small Firms
positively motivated. Their firms are more innovative, with more qualified
employees and better access to entrepreneurial infrastructure. However,
against expectations, they are not growing better than their non-urban
counterparts. This is a powerful suggestion, meaning that all possible benefits coming from the urban environment are balanced out by the accompanying disadvantages. It seems that the level of competition in cities is significantly higher and that is why better education and greater experience
do not help much – the competitors are also educated and experienced. There
is probably greater pressure to be innovative, but since others do it as well,
innovation-related activities do not give any substantial advantage over
competitors. The same applies to increasing employee qualifications; this
can be either the effect of needs (in order to handle more innovative business
conduct) or the demand of employees (who can quit their current job if not
satisfied). In any of those two cases, increasing employee qualifications may
not contribute to achieving firm growth.
If the benefits of running a firm in a city are balanced out by the disadvantages deeply rooted in the urban environment and therefore growth
possibilities in cities are not greater than outside of them, it seems interesting to investigate whether the survival rates are also similar. Perhaps the
above-mentioned general better picture of urban entrepreneurs and their
firms cannot contribute to growth, but it can improve their survival. This,
however, requires more longitudinal studies.
Limitations and future research
The research sample was limited only to the Pomeranian region. What is
more, some firms belonging to the first and second group were located in
small towns (like Kartuzy or Wejherowo). Such a location makes them somewhat similar to urban firms, which decreases the differences observed during
the research. We believe it would be worthwhile to continue this kind of
research using a more polarized sample, in which differences between urban
and non-urban business entities could be more significant. Last, but not
least, it would be beneficial to trace the subsequent development of the examined firms to investigate not only their ensuing growth, but also their
survival.
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79
PART II
ENTREPRENEURSHIP – A MAJOR
CHALLENGE FOR LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
część II
przedsiębiorczość – ważne
WYZWANIE DLA WŁADZ
LOKALNYCH
Lidia Kaliszczak
The Development of a Favorable Climate
for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level
ABSTRACT
The study tackles the issue of developing a climate of entrepreneurship by
local municipality authorities, which constitutes a key factor in supporting
economic activity. The aim of the study is to exhibit the role of local authorities in stimulating entrepreneurship in the context of developing a climate which favors entrepreneurial attitudes in the scope of undertaking and
conducting business. The formulated thesis is an assertion that entrepreneurship at the local level is notably determined by the attitude of local
authorities, manifested in behaviors expressing responsibility for creating
conditions for entrepreneurship and subjectivity in governance processes.
The analysis and evaluation of entrepreneurship stimulating processes at
the local level in terms of shaping a business climate have been conducted
based on survey research, carried out among 35 randomly selected municipalities of the Podkarpacie province. Participation has been declared by 25
rural and 10 urban as well as mixed (rural-urban) municipalities. The following issues have been evaluated during the research:
–the competence of staff liable for activities supporting local initiatives, or
creating such initiatives;
–comprehending the essence of entrepreneurship by the employees of the
municipality;
–the values underlying behaviors and actions that support entrepreneurship.
The research is of cognitive nature as regards the entrepreneurial orientation of the municipalities as an entity shaping the culture of entrepreneurship, which makes this study valuable.
JEL Classification: A13, D04, H79
Keywords: J. Schumpeter, climate of entrepreneurship, municipality,
local entrepreneurship
83
Lidia Kaliszczak
Kształtowanie klimatu sprzyjającego
przedsiębiorczości na poziomie lokalnym
ABSTRAKT
W opracowaniu podjęto problem kształtowania klimatu przedsiębiorczości
przez władze samorządowe gmin, jako zasadniczego czynnika wspierania
aktywności gospodarczej. Celem opracowania jest ukazanie roli lokalnych
władz w stymulowaniu przedsiębiorczości w kontekście kształtowania klimatu sprzyjającego przedsiębiorczym postawom, w zakresie podejmowania
i prowadzenia działalności gospodarczej. Przyjętą tezą badawczą jest twierdzenie, że przedsiębiorczość na poziomie lokalnym determinuje w znacznej
mierze postawę lokalnej władzy publicznej, przejawianą w zachowaniach
wyrażających odpowiedzialność za kreowanie przesłanek przedsiębiorczości
i podmiotowości w procesach sprawowania władzy.
Analizy i oceny procesów stymulowania przedsiębiorczości na poziomie lokalnym w aspekcie kształtowania klimatu przedsiębiorczości dokonano
w toku sondażowych badań ankietowych, zrealizowanych wśród losowo
wybranych 35 gmin województwa podkarpackiego. Udział w badaniach
zadeklarowało 25 gmin wiejskich oraz 10 miejskich i miejsko-wiejskich.
Przedmiotem analizy w realizowanych badaniach były takie zagadnienia,
jak:
–kompetencje pracowników odpowiedzialnych za działania wspierające
lokalne inicjatywy bądź te inicjatywy tworzące;
–pojmowanie istoty przedsiębiorczości przez pracowników gminy;
–wartości stanowiące podstawę zachowań i działań na rzecz wspierania
przedsiębiorczości.
Badania mają charakter poznawczy w zakresie przedsiębiorczej orientacji
gminy jako podmiotu kształtującego kulturę przedsiębiorczości, co stanowi
cenną wartość pracy.
Słowa kluczowe: J. Schumpeter, klimat przedsiębiorczości, gmina,
przedsiębiorczość lokalna
84
The Development of a Favorable Climate for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level
INTRODUCTION
The concept of modern local development underlines the importance of an
entrepreneurial orientation of the entire local community, including the local authorities. They create the municipality, which learns entrepreneurial
“grasping” of development opportunities (Barczyk, Biniecki and Szczupak,
2002, pp. 83–84). The process of Schumpeter’s “creative destruction” generates a deep context of social changes, which must be accepted by the majority. This means the necessity for shaping a culture of entrepreneurship and
innovations, an increase in societies’ entrepreneurial awareness, promotion
of proactive attitudes and building cooperative relations between enterprises
and both local and external partners: clients, suppliers, local administration
institutions, universities, research centers, and support institutions. Cultural
acceptance of entrepreneurial activity is expressed through the creation of
an entrepreneurship climate (Matusiak, 2010, pp. 32–33), conducive to the
creation of new economic entities and pro-development structural changes
both in the local economy and in enterprises (Kuciński ed., 2010, p. 25;
Drucker, 1992, pp. 271–272)1. Undoubtedly, local authorities play a significant
role in this aspect. Primarily, it comes down to creating conditions conducive
to the emergence of the desire to undertake and run a business. The primary
focus is on developing entrepreneurial attitudes among citizens, which results in new, dynamic initiatives that activate socioeconomic development,
on supporting learning and knowledge accumulation processes, on creating
better functioning conditions for enterprises, and on initiating and co-creating supporting institutions.
To summarize, literature references indicate a significant dependence
of municipality development on the range of activities of local authorities.
In the functioning process of municipalities, one may distinguish traditional
and entrepreneurial authority approaches in terms of stimulating and supporting development. The traditional one is indirectly focused on the person,
as it is based on the external conditions in the person’s activity process
(regulatory, infrastructure, competence or tax support from the authorities
and public institutions established to support economic activity). On the
other hand, the actions of local authorities that develop an entrepreneurial
Moreover, as noted by P.F. Drucker, “Innovation and entrepreneurship are needed to
the same extent by the society, as well as economy, public institutions, and enterprises”
(Drucker, 1992, pp. 271–272).
1
85
LIDIA KALISZCZAK
culture are causal – they are based on the stimulation of the person’s activity, the creation of a value system and attitudes opposed to passive acceptance of reality. They should therefore substantially exceed issues such as
taxes, energy costs or lease rent rates. Therefore, the category of entrepreneurship sets new challenges for local authorities, pertinent to creating
a culture, or rather as argued by Kuciński (2010, p. 25), to a climate of
entrepreneurship for an efficient and effective implementation of the community’s objectives.
The aim of the study is to exhibit the role of local authorities in stimulating entrepreneurship in the context of developing a climate which favors
entrepreneurial attitudes in the scope of undertaking and conducting business. The formulated thesis is an assertion that entrepreneurship at the
local level is notably determined by the attitude of local authorities, manifested in behaviors expressing responsibility for creating conditions for
entrepreneurship and subjectivity in governance processes.
The analysis and evaluation of entrepreneurship stimulating processes
at the local level in terms of creating a business climate have been conducted
based on survey research, carried out among randomly selected municipalities of the Podkarpacie province. The research was carried out in 35 municipalities, which answered the questions in the questionnaire. They constituted 23.1% of all municipalities, which can be considered to be
a representative sample. The responses were analyzed in a group of municipalities in terms of their urban and rural character, which constitutes
a certain reflection of their characteristics and level of development resulting
from the state of the economy, its structure, as well as social, cultural, technical and institutional conditions (cf.: Kuciński, ed., 2010, p. 24).
THE ESSENCE OF CREATING A CLIMATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurship in its nature is primarily a culturally determined value.
Entrepreneurship, as postulated by Barczyk, while constituting a demonstration of the social culture, also “produces” its own culture in a way which
changes societies (Barczyk, 2010, pp. 79–80). The culture of entrepreneurship
standards in the local community is very important for the competitiveness
of municipalities. They reflect the climate, the atmosphere, or as argued by
Schumpeter, the “spirit” of entrepreneurship. An important issue is to provide an answer to the question of defining the entrepreneurship supporting
climate. This issue is often the subject of analysis at the level of enterprises
which are interested in maintaining activity and a creative atmosphere. S.G.
Isaken, K. Lauer, G. Ekvall and A. Britz (2001, p. 172, cited after Karwowski,
2003, pp. 123–124) define climate as “permanent behavior, attitudes, and
feelings patterns, which characterize life in an organization”. On the other
hand, “climate for creativity and change” is what supports the production
and introduction of new products and solutions. This climate supports the
development and assimilation of new, various proposals. The notion of cli-
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The Development of a Favorable Climate for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level
mate understood in this way is one of the variables that affect the organization’s ability to modernize and permanent development.
In regard to the concept of local entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial
local authorities, the perception of these types of terms is identified through
a positive or skeptical attitude towards an entrepreneur. One can encounter
skeptical social acceptance in places where phenomena of entrepreneurship
are assessed negatively. In the cultures of many East European countries,
including the Polish culture, the concept of entrepreneurship, and an entrepreneurial person focused on finding opportunities (an opportunist),
similarly to the concept of an entrepreneur regarded as a “privateer” (pejorative association), do not indicate any positive development aspects of
these phenomena. E. Bończak Kucharczyk, K. Herbst and K. Chmura attempted to define the climate of entrepreneurship at the municipality level
(1998, p. 143). The culture of entrepreneurship, i.e. the social belief that
entrepreneurship constitutes a standard behavior, may be identified through
signals and information included in daily activities, which create a positive
(or not) climate. The authors propose studying signs (c.f. Bończak Kucharczyk, Herbst and Chmura, 1998, pp. 151–153)2 of the entrepreneurship
culture, such as: the approach of the inhabitants and municipality authorities towards entrepreneurs, expressed through colloquial terms, showing respect or even admiration for the risks and difficulties undertaken by
the entrepreneurs, partnership – entrepreneurs participating in planning
the municipality development, caring for a professional and quick service
of entrepreneurs, the approach of authorities towards innovations, promoting cooperation between various institutions, especially the ones acting to
stimulate activity.
RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the process of performing the tasks of local authorities, employee competence should constitute an essential condition for working in a particular
position. The notion of competence encompasses a wide array of components
– formal qualifications, experience, knowledge and practical professional
skills, attitudes (e.g. commitment), internal motivation (Janowska 2001,
cited after J.M. Moczydłowska, 2011, p. 71), and according to some authors
– personal abilities (Oleksyn, 2006; Moczydłowska, 2011, pp. 71–76).
The conducted research showed that in 44.4% of the entities covered by
the research (16 municipalities), there is a separate unit for entrepreneurship support and promotion, as well as 13 full-time jobs. In two municipalities the employees whose range of activities included duties pertinent to
The authors also mention specific forms of supporting the development of entrepreneurship
by municipalities, such as: coordinating the activities of institutions and organizations important
to the development of entrepreneurship, cooperation with non-profit organizations supporting
entrepreneurship. Cf.: E. Bończak Kucharczyk, K. Herbst and K. Chmura, (1998, pp. 151–153).
2
87
LIDIA KALISZCZAK
business activity issues, performed them on a part-time basis. In another
municipality however, two full-time jobs were distinguished.
Most frequently in municipalities the posts associated with entrepreneurship (activity of smaller enterprises as a rule) and servicing external investors
are separated. In the group of municipalities under research, such a post
was distinguished in six units (16.6%), including four urban municipalities.
The overall number of posts was 8, including one rural municipality where
there were four full-time jobs associated with servicing external investors
(located in close proximity to Rzeszów), in two municipalities – this was
a part-time job.
In the municipalities under research women were most frequently entrusted with the task of dealing with entrepreneurship issues. In the rural
environment they constitute a vast majority – almost 70% of posts associated
with entrepreneurship.
While analyzing the formal education of people employed in some municipalities in independent posts dealing with entrepreneurship or people
whose range of duties includes dealing with issues pertinent to business
activity, it was concluded that there is a decided advantage of people with
university degrees both in the rural and urban environment. Taking into
account the education profile, people with a degree in law and administration
constitute 47.1% in urban municipalities. In rural municipalities however,
there is a bigger percentage of people with a technical education.
In the course of the research it was attempted to find out the respondents’
opinions on the education and skills required by the post they occupy. These
opinions, admittedly subjective, enabled the assessment of the usage level
of the qualifications that they have. More than 70% of the respondents answered this question.
The biggest percentage of respondents – 33.3% believe that their work
may be successfully performed by a person with secondary education. However, 25% of them claim that their work requires higher education, and 13.9%
say that both a university degree and years of practice are required.
At the local level entrepreneurship is perceived in terms of activities conducted to improve economic and social life. Schumpeter considered entrepreneurs leaders of changes, promoters of “the process of creative destruction”.
Thanks to their creative, changes-oriented attitude, endogenous production
factors remain used and are useful – it may refer both to tangible assets
(resources) and to human work or potential markets. This activity is usually
institutional – in economic practice, conducting entrepreneurial behaviors is
reflected in efforts of organizing and running one’s own business, taking into
account risk and responsibility. Simultaneously, the nature of these actions
is emphasized, which should change current patterns (Osborne, Gaebler,
1992)3. However, it needs remarking that nobody any longer demands the
very notion of entrepreneurship to be reduced to the establishment of new
An interesting viewpoint on issues regarding local authority entrepreneurial actions
was presented in the book: D. Osborne, T. Gaebler (1992).
3
88
The Development of a Favorable Climate for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level
companies. It may well be said that we deal with entrepreneurship everywhere
where a process of connecting people occurs in terms of creative, innovative
acts of adding new values, thanks to a new combination of measures that has
not been applied before or is unknown in a particular environment. This is
due to many various entrepreneurs who cooperate or interact with each other
and other processes participants (Barczyk, 2010, p. 72).
Recognizing these interactions is of crucial importance as regards determining a municipality’s ability to strengthen the entrepreneurial potential
of the local community, and consequently the competitiveness and attractiveness of a particular area. It may be assumed that this kind of approach is
expressed in interpreting the notion of entrepreneurship itself.
Table 1. Comprehension of the notion of entrepreneurship by municipality
employees (% of answers)
Nature of the
municipality
Specification
a)person’s attitude towards reality, characterized by
initiative, dynamics, resourcefulness, inclination
to taking risk, ability to solve problems
b)individual economic activity at one’s own risk
c)innovative ideas, solutions, projects leading to
obtaining particular profits
d)mettle, cleverness, resourcefulness, ability to
manage in any situation
e)economic activity in the SMEs sector
f )development of economic undertakings and
companies
g)organizing and running one’s own business
h)other*
Municipalities in Rural and Rural
mixed
general
municimunicipalities
palities
61.1
25.0
63.6
36.4
60.0
20.0
19.4
18.2
20.0
2.8
5.0
0.0
27.3
4.0
24.0
16.7
30.6
2.8
18.2
18.2
9.1
16.0
36.0
0.0
Source: Own elaboration based on surveys.
* One of the respondents perceived entrepreneurship as an action targeted at making as
much profits as possible (income).
The respondents indicated more than one answer, therefore the answers
do not add up to 100.
An analysis of the signs of identifying the notion of entrepreneurship by
the municipality employees under research indicates that most respondents
perceive entrepreneurship in terms of an attitude (Table 1).
The second most popular answer of the respondents was perceiving entrepreneurship as a process – especially in terms of organizing and running
one’s own business. On average, 30.6% of all the respondents showed ac-
89
LIDIA KALISZCZAK
ceptance of this definition, particularly in the environment of rural municipalities (36% of the respondents).
The respondents’ opinions also point to a bigger acceptance of defining
entrepreneurship through the prism of individual activity and of indicating
an entrepreneur as a main actor of creating the competitiveness potential
of local communities in the SMEs sector.
It needs remarking that 25% of municipalities, as regards the very notion
of entrepreneurship, took into account the risk taken by anybody who runs
their own business.
Innovative ideas and solutions that lead to particular profits (in accordance with Schumpeter’s definition), were mentioned by only 19.4% of all
the respondents, and slightly more frequently by those from rural municipalities (20%).
All in all, interpreting the entrepreneurship phenomenon emphasizes to
a great extent the meaning of an individual’s active attitude, expressed
through initiative, courage (taking risk) and the ability to solve problems,
resulting in organizing and running one’s own business. The subject of
entrepreneurship – mainly an individual entrepreneur in the SMEs sector
– is more recognizable, which is expressed through a substantially bigger
percentage of people considering entrepreneurship as organizing and running one’s own business (Table 1).
Comprehending the essence of the notion of entrepreneurship by local
authorities is of substantial importance, taking into account their role in the
field of methods and sources that they use for supporting local initiatives in
the field of socioeconomic development. It is also essential while identifying
the nature of one’s own actions in the field of public utility. An “external”
example is always more effective. Promoting certain values results in behaviors and actions; then values like resourcefulness, innovativeness, entrepreneurship are viable to become commonplace in a social community.
The attitude of local authorities towards acknowledging the undertaken initiatives and conducted tasks as entrepreneurial was reflected in
the respondents’ opinions. On average, one out of three municipalities
under research believes that local authority activities in the field of public utility can be considered entrepreneurial (33.3%). Among the urban
municipalities, this view is shared by 45.4%, but among rural municipalities only by 19.5%. Examples of these actions do not extend typical
activities, constituting the scope of the authorities’ own tasks in terms
of the municipality being a basic administrative unit, i.e. attention to
development and improvement in the quality of life of the local community. These examples include renovations, modernizations, building district and municipality roads, building and modernizing water and sewage
drain systems, garbage collection, land and real estate management. Only
in two urban municipalities actions promoting entrepreneurship in terms
of its institutional support were indicated. These actions are: establishing
the Mielec Regional Development Agency, the Euro-Park Mielec Special
Economic Zone and supporting it, establishing the IN-MARR Entrepre-
90
The Development of a Favorable Climate for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level
neurship Incubator in Mielec, the Mielec Industrial Park, and the Incubator of New Technologies.
In the course of the research an empirical verification was conducted as
regards the attitude of inhabitants and municipality authorities towards entrepreneurs and widely understood entrepreneurship in terms of a slightly
simplified picture of the values present in a society, its co-existence culture and
management, as well as attitude and behavioral patterns. The picture may
preliminarily be seen through the identification of everyday speech of entrepreneurs (Table 2).
Table 2. Terms referring to entrepreneurs, identified among municipality
inhabitants (% of indications)
Specification
Municipalities in
general
Urban and mixed
municipalities
Rural
municipalities
entrepreneur
75.0
90.9
68.0
producer
11.1
–
16.0
businessman
38.9
54.5
32.0
trader
16.7
18.2
16.0
“privateer”
41.7
36.4
44.0
Source: Own elaboration based on surveys.
The research results prove the advantage of defining an enterprise owner
as an “entrepreneur”. However, this term is replaced by over 40% of the
respondents with another one – “privateer” – and has a clearly pejorative
connotation. It was created by the previous system. This is particularly
noticeable in rural municipalities4.
Another question that dealt with the attitude of inhabitants and municipality authorities towards entrepreneurs demonstrated an attitude of respect or
even admiration for entrepreneurial difficulty and risk. According to 72.2% of
the respondents, entrepreneurs deserve to be called particularly valuable
citizens (since they work more, take business risks, pay bigger taxes than
ordinary citizens). Only 19.4% of the respondents expressed a negative
opinion (including 9.1% in urban municipalities and 24% in rural municipalities; the rest have no opinion).
Another problem of the analysis of entrepreneurship culture encompassed
the range of entrepreneurial participation in planning the municipality’s
4 Furthermore, the respondents were asked if the chosen terms are also used by the
municipality employees in everyday speech. The given answers depict the entrepreneurship
climate similarly as in the case of inhabitant terms – 72.2% of the respondents confirmed
using these terms (including 90.9% in urban municipalities and 64% in rural municipalities).
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LIDIA KALISZCZAK
development. On average, every fourth municipality under research considers entrepreneurs as partners in planning and conducting the development,
and 36.1% do it sometimes (including 45.4% of urban and 32% of rural
municipalities). The context of this approach may reveal the authorities’
approach to private and public property, and consequently the way of comprehending the role of municipality authorities, and even the way of understanding the very definition of municipality and economic development in
terms of local democracy5.
When creating a favorable climate for entrepreneurship, it is also essential to take care of professional and quick service for investors, since 80.5%
of the municipalities under research, rural ones in particular, declared attention to the quality of this service. Among examples of concrete actions,
the following ones were mentioned (the order according to the answer frequency): the “one window” institution (the most answers), obtaining and
employing workers whose qualifications ensure efficient servicing of entrepreneurs; comprehensive service by deploying competent employees, dealing
with issues “offhand”, establishing a Client Service Office or an office of
stakeholder service, adjusting office working hours, assistance in filling out
application forms, implementation of the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System and others.
The attitudes of municipality authorities in terms of causation are also
revealed through the approach to innovation. The objective was to examine
the attitudes in terms of expressing acceptance for new ideas, innovative
problem solving, which creates an appropriate activity climate. The atmosphere that is conducive to innovativeness supports the activity of all local
community participants. The research results demonstrate an awareness of
the role of such an approach in (on average) 66.7% of the municipalities
under research, especially in rural municipalities. Meetings of all employees
organized at least once a month constitute a sign of the aforementioned attitude. The workers discuss the future of the municipality, they share ideas
on how the work of the authorities may be improved, so that the municipality is perceived in a better way by stakeholders (33% of indication on average), the most interesting ideas are rewarded (2.8%), and other actions
(19.4%). 44.4% of municipalities did not provide any answer in this case.
Promoting cooperation with various institutions, especially those operating for the stimulation of activity, also constitutes an important sign of
creating an entrepreneurial climate at the local level. The research results
indicate that on average every third municipality under research presents
such attitudes. Almost half of them (47%) however, do not undertake such
activities (no answer was given by 19.5% of the municipalities, which may
be an indication of a lack of activity in this regard). As examples of such
5
In the beginning of the 1st term of office of the local authorities in 1990, a municipality was
most frequently defined through the prism of common communal property. It was not noticed
however, that an individual citizen, an entrepreneur, creates this community on equal rights
(Bończak Kucharczyk, Herbst and Chmura, 1998, p. 144).
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The Development of a Favorable Climate for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level
cooperation, most frequently participation in Local Action Groups were
indicated as well as activities undertaken with the District Labor Office for
the establishment of new workplaces and organizing trainings.
The research results prove that creating an entrepreneurial climate is
considered by the respondents to be the most important instrument of
stimulating and supporting entrepreneurship (Table 3). This was pointed
out by 52.8% of the respondents, and given priority to income and outcome
instruments. Only in urban municipalities the importance of outcome instruments was highly ranked, including investment and other entrepreneurship
supporting expenses conducive to local development.
Table 3. The place of  “entrepreneurship climate” in a group of
entrepreneurship support instruments (% of indications)
Specification
Municipalities
in general
Urban
municipalities
and mixed
municipalities
Rural
municipalities
Outcome instruments
38.9
54.5
32.0
Income instruments
27.8
18.2
32.0
Creating a “climate” of
entrepreneurship
52.8
54.5
52.0
Respondents indicated more than one answer, therefore the answers do not add up to 100.
Source: Own elaboration based on surveys.
In economic practice, at the local level, entrepreneurship is usually identified with the SMEs sector. Their role in balancing the local socioeconomic
development is underlined in terms of employment, diversity in production
and services offer for purchasers, financial support of the municipality budget through taxes. The respondents expressed their opinion regarding
whether local authorities should or should not support entrepreneurship
through creating a special support program for the SMEs sector (Table 4).
While analyzing all the answers given by the respondents, one may notice
the distinctive fact that the percentage of people supporting and that are
undecided is the same. In rural municipalities, local authorities target their
actions to a greater extent at supporting small and medium enterprises.
Local authority consciousness towards the expectations of entrepreneurs
regarding particular sorts of support may result in the fact that aid policy
will be effective. Only in one municipality a positive answer was given to the
question of whether municipality authorities are familiar with the expectation of entrepreneurs in the field of the necessary support. More than half
of the respondents (58.3%) said “rather yes”. In urban municipalities there
is a bigger level of awareness of these expectations (72.2%) than in rural
93
LIDIA KALISZCZAK
municipalities (36.1%). Among the kinds of support that is mostly desired
by entrepreneurs, as far as municipality employees’ opinion is concerned,
the following ones were enumerated: tax reductions (80.6% on average),
comprehensive promotion of companies in a municipality by the local authorities (36.1%), and creating an entrepreneurial climate (friendly atmosphere for entrepreneurs – 30.6%), as well as improving administration
services (longer working hours, establishing a center for servicing investors,
or an information center – 30.6%).
Table 4. Opinions on whether municipality authorities should support
entrepreneurship through creating a special support program for
the sector of small and medium enterprises (% of indications)
Specification
Definitely yes
Municipalities in
general
Urban
municipalities and
mixed
municipalities
Rural
municipalities
8.3
9.1
8.0
Rather yes
38.9
27.3
44.0
Rather no
5.5
9.1
4.0
It is hard to
determine
38.9
27.3
44.0
No answer
8.4
27.3
–
Source: Own elaboration based on surveys.
Summing up the results, one may infer that in the awareness of local
authorities the importance of entrepreneurial climate increases, as regards
processes of stimulating economic activity when compared to the commonly
applied outcome instruments and to a smaller extent income instruments.
In the practice of acting in favor of supporting entrepreneurship, the traditional dimension predominates. This is confirmed by the answers of the
respondents, which determine the forms of supporting entrepreneurship.
These are in particular: the development of road infrastructure and providing areas with water and sewage drain systems, passing plans of spatial
planning for business locations, gaining EU funds for infrastructure investments and social initiatives, reduction of timeframes for obtaining construction and zoning conditions, municipality promotion, and free promotion of
entrepreneurs on the municipality website.
Local authorities have limited possibilities of helping entrepreneurs,
resulting from budget arrangements. These limits may be divided into two
problem groups: pertinent to local authority actions in the field of supporting entrepreneurship, and resulting from the attitudes and behaviors of
94
The Development of a Favorable Climate for Entrepreneurship at the Local Level
entrepreneurs. The most essential barrier of entrepreneurship stimulation
in municipalities was the lack of financial resources to support it. Particularly
this lack was pertinent to budget resources that restrict introducing exemptions and concessions for entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the complex procedures associated with applying for EU funding exacerbate the difficulties of
gaining them. Amid the constraints, also the lack of investment areas was
indicated. Staff constraints in municipalities constitute another factor (too
few posts in comparison with the scope of duties).
CONCLUSION
The research results demonstrate that in the policy of entrepreneurship
promotion and support, the “hard” instruments clearly predominate compared to the “soft” ones. Therefore, it seems necessary to change the approach to “investing” in people – entrepreneurs. Hence, entrepreneurship
support focused on creating personality potential is postulated, and especially
in the case of creating entrepreneurial attitudes. Developing entrepreneurial behavior requires a change of governance style – from administration to
leadership (Kaliszczak, 2012a; 2012b). Creating an entrepreneurship climate
should result in an increase in undertaken initiatives and activities of inhabitants.
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Katowice, Wydawnictwo AE w Katowicach.
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i przedsiębiorczości – wyzwania wobec przywódców współczesnych przedsiębiorstw. “Management”, J. Stankiewicz (ed.), CD-ROM, pp. 367–378.
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  8.Kaliszczak L. (2012b). Przywództwo w procesie kształtowania kreatywności i innowacyjności w organizacji wobec imperatywu przedsiębiorczości,
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11.Matusiak K.B. (2010). Budowa powiązań nauki z biznesem w gospodarce
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14.Osborne D., Gaebler T. (1992). Rządzić inaczej. Jak duch przedsiębiorczości przenika i przekształca administrację publiczną. Poznań: Media Rodzina of Poznań.
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Małgorzata Osińska
Hong Kong Was an Island. The Process of
Creating a Global City
ABSTRACT
Purpose: This paper is about to examine the process of constructing a global
city based on the example of Hong Kong, which during its relatively short
history was transformed from a fishing village to a megacity, from an isolated
island to the heart of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region.
Methodology/Approach: Based on the historical perspective the article will
present the successive steps of Hong Kong’s integration with Mainland
China, especially with Shenzhen. It also analyzes how small-scale changes
in urban space between and inside the PRD cities impact the integration
process of the whole conurbation.
Findings: The article stresses that these interventions reconstruct the urban
space of the cities and the communication networks between them. At the
same time they redefine the concept of city center and periphery, and they
reconfigure the social, political and economic geography of the region. The
relation between Hong Kong, Shenzhen and the PRD has changed during
last 30 years, becoming complementary rather than competitive.
Value/Originality: The analysis of the bilateral relation between Hong Kong
and Shenzhen can result in a better understanding of the local context of
this place. By understanding the changes in the urban structure one can
have a better knowledge of the strategic location of the business and production centers in the region.
JEL Classification: R49
Keywords: entrepreneurship, global city, Hong Kong, Shenzhen,
urbanization
97
Małgorzata Osińska
Hongkong był wyspą. Proces powstawania
globalnego miasta
ABSTRAKT
Cel: Celem poniższego artykułu jest analiza procesu powstawania globalnego
miasta na przykładzie Hongkongu, który w czasie swojej stosunkowo krótkiej
historii dokonał transformacji z małego portu rybackiego w megamiasto,
z odizolowanej wyspy w główne centrum całego regionu Delty Rzeki Perłowej
(DRP).
Metodologia: Przyjmując perspektywę historyczną w artykule zostaną przedstawione kolejne stopnie integracji Hongkongu z Chinami kontynentalnymi,
w szczególności zaś z Shenzhen. Artykuł ma również na celu przeanalizowanie
jak niewielkie zmiany w przestrzeni miejskiej pomiędzy oraz wewnątrz miast
regionu DRP wpływają na proces integracji całej konurbacji.
Wnioski: Artykuł podkreśla, iż te interwencje rekonstruują przestrzeń
danych miast oraz sieć połączeń komunikacyjnych pomiędzy nimi.
Jednocześnie redefiniując przy tym koncepcję centrum i peryferii, a także
rekonfigurując znaczenie geografii społeczno-politycznej i ekonomicznej
całego regionu. Relacja między Hongkongiem, a Shenzhen i regionem DRP
w ciągu ostatnich 30 lat przekształciła się z konkurencyjnej w komplementarną.
Wartość/Oryginalność: Analiza dwustronnej relacji pomiędzy Hongkongiem
a Shenzhen może pomóc w lepszym zrozumieniu lokalnego kontekstu tego
miejsca. Poprzez lepsze poznanie infrastruktury regionu poszerza się również
wiedza o lokalizacji i strategicznym położeniu centrów biznesowych i linii
produkcyjnych.
Słowa kluczowe: Hongkong, globalne miasto, przedsiębiorczość,
Shenzhen, urbanizacja
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Hong Kong Was an Island. The Process of Creating a Global City
INTRODUCTION
Hong Kong is a place with a relatively short history, especially when compared to many other Chinese cities. But during that history it went through
a tempestuous process, which has transformed this place from a fishing
village into a megalopolis with the world’s tallest skyline and one of the most
densely populated cities in the world (Photo 1). Moreover, the transformation
is still going on, and under it, Hong Kong is becoming an integral part of the
whole Pearl River Delta region, which in turn is one of the fastest developing
regions in the world.
Photo 1. Most famous view of Hong Kong from Victoria’s Peak.
Photo: M. Osińska
I would like to show how the process of historical and political events
combined together with slight shifts in the urban structure between Hong
Kong and other cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), on the one hand are
transforming Hong Kong into an integral part of the whole PRD region, and
on the other hand are also changing the structure and shape of the whole
conurbation. The term ‘global city’ refers to a process rather than a place,
similar to Manuel Castells’ definition (Castells, 1996). This process is not
only changing the visible urban structure of the PRD region and Hong Kong,
but it is also creating better conditions for entrepreneurship.
99
MAŁGORZATA OSIŃSKA
Structuring my essay based on a historical perspective, I first analyzed
how the geographical, historical, political and cultural factors served to
isolate Hong Kong from the Mainland. Then I presented a short history
of entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and the role of Shanghainese people
in building Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial class. That paragraph will end
with the description of the present situation of entrepreneurship in Hong
Kong and the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Next,
I shift my focus to the bilateral relation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen
and I examine how the increasing economic interdependence and inexorable cultural differences are molding Hong Kong and Shenzhen into one
enormous city, separated only by a frontier. Finally, I am going to focus on
the relation between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta, to see how
even a small change in one of the PRD centers may potentially shake the
whole region and how those small changes are transforming the whole
region into one inseparable network, which in the future might become
one city.
AN ISOLATED ISLAND
Hong Kong is a territory located in Southern China, bordering the Guangdong Province on the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west
and south. In the Western imagination Hong Kong always was a place apart,
apart from the Mainland but also apart from Great Britain – a politically,
geographically and culturally isolated island. Indeed, Hong Kong’s territory
in the beginning was located on the island (Hong Kong Island). But later on
it also became a part of the Mainland: Kowloon and the New Territories.
Beside those three main areas, Hong Kong also has more than 260 smaller
islands, with a total surface area of 1,104 sq km of land. It is worth noting
that only around 25% of Hong Kong’s whole surface is developed land,
whereas parks and nature reserves constitute 40% of that surface. This is
in part because of the fact that the land where Hong Kong is located was
formed from volcanic rocks. The vertical character of the topography makes
it even more difficult to plan a city.
The history of Hong Kong was always strongly connected with events
going on in Guangzhou – the main city of the Guangdong Province and the
Pearl River Delta. Today’s Hong Kong is a result of the Opium Wars between
China and Great Britain. Hong Kong Island was occupied by British forces
in 1841, and formally ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking at the
end of the First Opium War, one year later. It is worth noting that none of
the conflicted parties respected the Treaty. But before the decision came to
London, and back to Hong Kong it was too late – The British established
a Crown Colony with the founding of Victoria City the following year. In
1860, after defeating China in the Second Opium War, a part of the Mainland
known as the Kowloon Peninsula (South of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter’s Island were ceded to Britain under the Convention of Beijing. In 1898
100
Hong Kong Was an Island. The Process of Creating a Global City
Britain obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island and the adjacent northern
lands, which became known as the New Territories. As we can see, the entire
territory named Hong Kong was under British control from the very beginning, but each part with a different status. Of course the most complicated
was the status of the New Territories, which later became an excuse to start
negotiations between Great Britain and China about the handover. Before
the handover Hong Kong could be described as “a Chinese city, but unlike
other Chinese cities it has never before belonged to China. It is also a British
city, but its Britishness is only a kind of decoration, a memory, and more
fiction than reality. Hong Kong was neither created by Great Britain nor by
China. It was created by British people who were free from Great Britain’s
commitments and by Chinese people who have never been subordinated to
China”1.
BUILDING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL CITY
The economic success of Hong Kong is very much based on entrepreneurship,
which is a dynamic force for business innovations. Hong Kong’s present day
entrepreneurship is characterized by SMEs. SMEs are defined as any manufacturing business, which employs fewer than 100 persons in Hong Kong, or
any non-manufacturing business, which employs fewer than 50 persons in
Hong Kong (Hong Kong Legislative Council Paper, 2007). SMEs account for
over 98% of the total number of business units. According to this definition,
at present there are 320,000 SMEs in Hong Kong, which employ 1.3 million
people (47% of total employment). Most of the SMEs are in the import/export
trade and wholesale industries, followed by the retail industry. They account
for over 50% of the SMEs in Hong Kong and represent about half of SMEs
employment2. The success of Hong Kong as a world business center would not
be possible without the migration of Shanghainese people to Hong Kong, first
during the second Sino-Japan War in 1937, and later during the Chinese Civil
War resumed in 1946. In total, about 1.4 million people are estimated to have
fled to Hong Kong, among them many were former entrepreneurs, who had
lost their fortunes after the Communist takeover of the country. Ming Chan
of the Hoover Institution describes this exodus as “nothing less than the exile
of Chinese capitalism to Hong Kong” and it definitely has contributed to the
Hong Kong transformation from a small fishing port into a manufacturing
power (Burton, 1999). The significance of that group is proven by the fact that
under the British colonial government and the laissez-faire policy they built,
and in many cases rebuilt, their fortunes, mainly working for the textile and
manufacturing industry. Shanghai’s connections are still present and important in contemporary Hong Kong. For example, the prominent politicians in
Translated from Polish. Darewicz, 1997, p. 6.
Data available online: http://www.success.tid.gov.hk/english/lin_sup_org/gov_dep/servi-
1
2
ce_detail_6863.html (last accessed: 10 August 2014).
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MAŁGORZATA OSIŃSKA
Hong Kong, including the former Chief Executive, Tung Chee Hwa, have
Shanghai roots.
During the British colonial period, Hong Kong was always regarded as
a “window to the world for China”, especially after 1949 when the Communists came into power. But after the handover, in 1997, it became an
integral part of the Mainland (though, the real integration process started
in 1980 when the first Special Economic Zone was opened in the small fishing port located just next to the border with Hong Kong – Shenzhen). Actually, to many entrepreneurs Hong Kong, with its population of around
7 million people, is considered a small market, but with its strong integration with the Mainland (especially with all the small changes in the urban
structure between Shenzhen and Hong Kong) and with its colonial (Western)
past it can be regarded, especially for the Mainland entrepreneurs, as
a window to the world. Hong Kong’s manufacturing sector employs about
5 million workers in the Mainland. By mid-1999, 55% of all foreign-invested
projects in China came from Hong Kong companies, mostly in the Pearl
River Delta. By the end of 2001, the cumulative value of Hong Kong’s realized direct investment was US$187 billion, accounting for 48% of the total
external direct investment3. Mainland private investors consider Hong Kong
as, first of all, a place to access market intelligence, and second of all, as
a strategic location to manage regional business activities. Hong Kong’s
SMEs are extended to the Mainland in the following proportions: PRD –
59.7%; Guangdong (other than PRD) and Fujian – 12.4%; Yangtze River
Delta (including Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang) – 14%; other coastal areas
– 5.9%; inland provinces – 8%4. From the above data we can clearly see how
strong the connection is between Hong Kong and the Greater PRD region,
as well as its connection with Shanghai and the entire Yangtze River Delta
(partly because of the past and the migration from Shanghai to Hong Kong
in the first half of the twentieth century). In 2001, transport and other
infrastructure were the main deciding factors for overseas companies with
regional headquarters in Hong Kong to locate their investments in Hong
Kong5. Now, when the transportation system and whole infrastructure
between Hong Kong and the PRD region is well-developed, Hong Kong has
started connecting with other main Chinese cities. There are direct trains
from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai – which with all the high-speed
railway system inside and outside of China are called China’s New Silk
Railroads (Lee Chor Pharn and Sim Phei Sunn, 2011). A better connection
between Hong Kong and the Mainland provides better import and export
Hong Kong’s Investment in the Mainland. Hong Kong Government, Financial Services
Bureau (June 2002), in: Bee-Leng Chua, p. 9.
4
Hong Kong’s Trade and Trade Supporting Services: New Developments and Prospects.
Hong Kong Trade Development Council, (January 2002), in: Bee-Leng Chua, p. 10.
5
Annual Survey of Regional Offices Representing Overseas Companies in Hong Kong
conducted by the Census and Statistics Department (2001).
3
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Hong Kong Was an Island. The Process of Creating a Global City
facilities for all kinds of goods, as well as a better mobility of people6, which
in the end might have a great influence on the creation of an entrepreneurial city.
ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS
The real breakthrough in Hong Kong’s history came in 1978, when Deng
Xiaoping proclaimed the reforms and decided to open a Special Economic
Zone (SEZ) in Shenzhen in 1980 – a small fishing village located in the immediate neighborhood of Hong Kong. At that time Hong Kong already was
the middleman between China and the West in trade relations, and the decision to open a SEZ just on the border with it was going to improve the role
of Hong Kong as a ‘window’ for China in contacts with Western countries,
although at that time, i.e. the end of the 1980s, Shenzhen was just a small
fishing village (as Hong Kong used to be when the British overtook it in 1842).
At the same time both sides – Great Britain and China – were preparing
for the negotiations about the future of Hong Kong. From the very beginning
it was quite obvious that Hong Kong could not be split between China and
Great Britain. First, because that would mean that the border would have
to be set up on Boundary Street, which was located in the middle of the city.
Second, because Hong Kong could not exist without the New Territories –
which constitute 80% of the whole Hong Kong land area and are the main
sources of water and energy supplies. Third, because Great Britain was
unable to protect Hong Kong. Based on these facts we can clearly see that
the core of negotiations was not about if Hong Kong should return to China,
but the conditions for the handover and how much autonomy it would be
given. Finally, both sides agreed on Deng Xiaoping’s concept: “One Country,
Two Systems”, which was originally conceived for Taiwan. The Sino-British
Joint Declaration was signed by the two countries in 1984, and both sides
agreed to transfer the sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of
China in 1997, stipulating that Hong Kong will be governed as a Special
Administrative Region, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for
at least fifty years after the handover. Hong Kong was going to be an integral
part of China and there was no turning back. The Hong Kong Basic Law,
which would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer, was
ratified in 1990, and the transfer of sovereignty occurred at midnight on the
1st of July 1997, marked by a handover ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The concept of “One Country, Two Systems” has changed the relation
between Hong Kong and China forever, although the real process of integration began almost 20 years earlier with the opening of the SEZ in Shenzhen,
the real starting point for connecting Hong Kong with the Mainland.
6
However, the inland migration between Chinese cities is still controlled by the hukou
system.
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MAŁGORZATA OSIŃSKA
TWO SYSTEMS, ONE CITY7
In the early 1980s Shenzhen was a fishing village, and now it is one of
China’s most important cities, the urban hub of China’s southeastern coast.
It was designed as China’s first SEZ, which means that it was also the first
Chinese city allowed to receive foreign investment. This spectacular success
was, to a large extent, possible thanks to the huge support of the Chinese
government, as well as the coastal location and proximity to Hong Kong and
Taiwan (a major source of investment capital). In 2009 the central government decided to set up ChiNext in Shenzhen, a NASDAQ-style stock exchange. Three years ago Beijing chose Shenzhen to be a model city for
Kashgar – one of the latest designed SEZs in China (Fish, 2010). Not to
mention that one of the first trips of the new president Xi Jinping was to
Shenzhen. All those facts show how the role of Shenzhen has changed and
how it developed, but this success would not be possible without Hong Kong.
In the last 20 years the relations between Hong Kong and Shenzhen have
changed a lot, as Shenzhen has transformed from a subordinate city to a serious partner. The main reason for this transformation is, of course, the increasing economic interdependence, but cultural differences are also of great
importance. Increasingly, the two cities cannot exist without each other and
they are quickly transforming into one twin-city, separated with a border
between the Special Administrative Region and Mainland China. “South of
the border is Hong Kong, a sophisticated global financial hub whose cosmopolitan, if aging, population enjoys personal and professional ties around the
world. On the other side is Shenzhen, a brash, nouveau-rich upstart whose
chaotic landscape encapsulates both the admirable and deplorable dimensions
of China’s meteoric rise.” (Hirsh, M. and Solomon, Jonathan D, 2012, p. 99).
The central government is still paying much of its attention to developing
this unique and complex union between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and there
are many top-down megaprojects that will change the networks of communication between Hong Kong and Shenzhen – especially the underground
high-speed train that will cut travel time between Hong Kong and Shenzhen
to 8 minutes. Among those megaprojects, there are also many small-scale,
bottom-up interventions in the urban space of both cities, which are constantly changing the space of this twin-city megalopolis. One of the latest of
such interventions is the development of cross-border airport check-in facilities. “Located inside inner-city shopping centers, these airport terminals
are reconfiguring the social and political geography of the Pearl River Delta,
as well as redefining conceptions of center and periphery in a twin-city
megalopolis.” (Hirsh, M. and Solomon, Jonathan D, 2012, p. 99). Elements
The phrase first used by Hirsh, M. and Solomon, Jonathan D. in their article about the
bilateral relations between Hong Kong and Shenzhen: Does Your Mall Have An Airport?
In: Bracken G. (editor), Aspects of Urbanization in China: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou (pp. 99–106). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
7
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Hong Kong Was an Island. The Process of Creating a Global City
in Hong Kong and Kingkey Banner New Lifestyle Center in Shenzhen provide an international check-in service and a cross-border bus connection
between the two airports. The bus goes over the 5-kilometer bridge across
Shenzhen Bay, which is a part of a larger infrastructure project called the
“Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor Link”. The bridge is not interesting for its architectural form or materials used in the construction, but for
the ways in which the political borders were manipulated to accommodate
the cross-border facilities. There is just a single checkpoint located in Shenzhen Bay Point, but it required an extension of Hong Kong’s territory across
the deck. This means that the border-crossing facilities are legally located
in Hong Kong – the deck, but from a geographical point of view they are in
the territory of Shenzhen – the ground (Picture 1). What is also worth mentioning is that the original intention of building the bridge was to alleviate
the traffic of commercial goods at Hong Kong’s other borders, but the tolls
on the bridge successfully dissuaded truck drivers from using it. Despite the
fact that the original intentions of designing the bridge failed to materialize,
it has developed other important facilities and uses. And these, in turn, are
completely changing the political geography of the twin-city.
The airports of Shenzhen and Hong Kong are much like the two cities
– connected in symbiotic and interdependent relations: Hong Kong, the
Picture 1. The location of Elements Mall and Kingkey Mall and both airports:
Hong Kong Airport and Shenzhen Airport with marked Shenzhen Bay Point
– where the border facilities between Shenzhen and Kong Kong are located.
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MAŁGORZATA OSIŃSKA
gateway to the world, connected with Shenzhen, the gateway to Mainland
China.
PEARL RIVER NETWORK-CITY
The Pearl River Delta is one of the 11 megadeltas8 in the costal zones of Asia
that are continuously being enlarged by sedimentation from rivers originating in the Tibetan Plateau. The PRD is built on land that has been created
with rapid filling of the topsoil of upstream deforestation in the late-imperial
times. The PRD with its biggest city Guangzhou was already recognized as
one of the macroregions during the Qing Dynasty (Spence, 1991, pp. 91–92),
although until modernity the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers were much more
important than the Pearl River as a connection with global trading networks,
because both of them were much closer to Beijing. Being far from the political center later gave the PRD an opportunity for rapid development when
the treaty ports were established in the mid-19th century. The distance from
the political center also allowed the PRD to become the first place in China
with a SEZ – an experiment which was later exported north to cities on the
Yangtze River.
Picture 2. Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta region with the biggest cities.
A megadelta is defined as an area of more than 10,000 sq. km (Haar and Marshal 2013,
p. 146).
8
106
Hong Kong Was an Island. The Process of Creating a Global City
The PRD is one of the fastest developing regions in the whole of China.
Some of the changes, which are going on in the region, have been of a violent
and abhorrent nature, but are perhaps unavoidable. Those changes are
transforming the relation between Hong Kong and the PRD, which in the
past was more competitive, and nowadays is more complementary. For example, the original heavy dependence on Hong Kong transportation facilities to handle the transit of goods produced in the PRD is now challenged
by the increasing number of container terminals in Shenzhen and other
PRD cities. As ports get closer to production lines, more highways and roads
are using infrastructure to connect and minimize the distance with other
Mainland provinces. These circumstances trigger a situation where each
city depends on other cities – the PRD, with its cities and whole infrastructure, is like a network, where everything and everyone is a part of everything
(Picture 2). Even a small change in one of the centers potentially has an
impact on the whole PRD conurbation. But as much as they reinforce the
cultural and political differences, they also allow for a smooth transportation of goods through the region.
Recently political and economic elites have initiated a program for a 45-kilometer-long bridge between Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, designed for
a smoother integration and a short-cut between the east and west sides of
the PRD. This project might also facilitate travel opportunities between each
part of the PRD for millions of travelers visiting Hong Kong.
CONCLUSION
The problems raised in this paper are meant to point to areas for future
investigation and research, not as an indictment. The “global city” is not
without its tensions, especially in a city like Hong Kong, where economic
goals face cultural traditions and development imperatives face a lack of
ground, and where urban space is very limited. In a long historical perspective, Hong Kong transformed from an isolated island into a key part of the
PRD. The process continues as China’s political and economic elites are
paying a lot of attention to continuously developing this region.
Can this phenomenon be transferred to other Chinese megadeltas? Does
this way of small urban intervention help to create more sustainable places
for living in a region that is already defined by politics and infrastructure?
When we look at the whole PRD it looks more like a patchwork, a mixture
of cultures, where each center has its own unique specification and function.
But somehow this place turned into a coherent whole instead of being a fragmented competitive region.
107
MAŁGORZATA OSIŃSKA
REFERENCES
Books by author:
Castells, M. (1996). The rise of the network society. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444319514.
Darewicz, K. (1997). Hongkong historia niezwykła. Warsaw: Presspublica.
Spence, Jonathan D. (1991). The Search for Modern China. New York: W.W.
Northon & Company.
Chapters in books:
Haar, Sh., Marshall, V. (2013). Mega Urban Ecologies. In: McGrath, B. (editor),
Urban Design Ecologies (pp. 144–159). New York: Willey.
Hirsh, M., Solomon, Jonathan D. (2012). Does Your Mall Have An Airport?
In: Bracken G. (editor), Aspects of Urbanization in China: Shanghai, Hong
Kong, Guangzhou (pp. 99–106). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Solomon, Jonathan D. (2010). Abhorrent Infrastructure. Three Dimensional
Sovereignty: Pearl River City. In: Stoll K., Lloyd S. (editors), Infrastructure as architecture: designing composite networks (pp. 112–117). Berlin:
Jovis.
Articles in journals – many authors:
Lee Chor Pharn, Sim Phei Sunn (2011). China’s New Silk Railroads. Global
Asia. Vol. 6 No.1, pp. 60–67.
Articles in newspapers:
Burton, S. Exodus of the Business Class. Time (09.1999). Online: http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2054251,00.html (last accessed:
10 August 2014).
Fish, Isaac Stone. China’s Hottest Cities and Kashgar. Newsweek (09.2010).
Online: http://www.newsweek.com/chinas-hottest-cities-and-kashgar-72333
(last accessed: 9 June 2013).
Internet sources – articles:
Annual Survey of Regional Offices Representing Overseas Companies in Hong
Kong conducted by the Census and Statistics Department (2001). Online:
http://www.statistics.gov.hk/pub/B11100042011AN11B0100.pdf (last accessed: 10 August 2014).
Chua, Bee-Leng. Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong: Revitalization of entrepreneurship. Online: http://www.mansfieldfdn.org/backup/programs/program_pdfs/ent_hongkong.pdf (last accessed: 10 August 2014).
Hong Kong Legislative Council Paper (2007). Legislative Council Panel on
Commerce and Industry. Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Funding
Schemes. Online: http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr06-07/english/panels/ci/papers/
ci0612cb1-1849-3-e.pdflast accessed: 10 August 2014).
Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department. Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs. Online: http://www.success.tid.gov.hk/english/lin_sup_org/
gov_dep/service_detail_6863.html (last accessed: 10 August 2014).
108
Leszek Kwieciński, Agnieszka Młodzińska-Granek
A Systemic Approach to Entrepreneurship
on the Regional and Local Level
ABSTRACT
Currently entrepreneurship and innovation do not only include technological or economic aspects. Particularly when it comes to the creation of local
or regional initiatives that should comprise all endogenous elements, it is
crucial to focus on all indicators, even if it is exclusively innovation itself
that is being considered. The European Commission and the OECD created
a new dimension for regional development, taking into account social and
institutional factors. In the paper the authors introduce a new approach for
understanding and describing the regional innovation system, called the
systemic approach to entrepreneurship on the regional and local level.
Keywords: entrepreneurship, regional innovation systems, innovation
policy
109
Leszek Kwieciński, Agnieszka Młodzińska-Granek
Przedsiębiorczość na poziomie regionalnym
i lokalnym – podejście systemowe
ABSTRAKT
Obecnie przedsiębiorczość i innowacyjność nie dotyczą wyłącznie aspektów
technologicznych, czy ekonomicznych. Szczególnie w przypadku tworzenia
lokalnych i regionalnych inicjatyw, uwzględniających endogeniczne elementy,
kluczowe są wszystkie czynniki dotyczące innowacji. Komisja Europejska
i OECD stworzyły nowy wymiar dla rozwoju regionalnego, w którym uwzględnia sie również czynniki społeczne i instytucjonalne. W artykule autorzy
prezentują nowe podejście do rozumienia i opisywania regionalnego system
innowacji, mianowicie: systemowe podejście do przedsiębiorczości na poziomie regionalnym i lokalnym.
Słowa kluczowe: przedsiębiorczość, regionalne systemy innowacji,
polityka innowacyjna
110
A Systemic Approach to Entrepreneurship on the Regional and Local Level
Introduction
The study presents the concept of a system, i.e. a holistic approach to the
creation, promotion and development of entrepreneurship. This study is
based on the methodology of social sciences and economics.
The main objective is to propose and define a framework for the creation
and development of an entrepreneurship system support, especially on the
regional and local level. This concept is the result of the international research project entitled “Culture of entrepreneurship in the humanities and
social sciences. Comparative study based on the example of Poland and Germany”. The project is conducted by Leszek Kwieciński and Agnieszka
Młodzińska-Granek, and the Fraunhofer Institute MOEZ from Lepizig,
Germany. However, the very concept introduced in the article is an individual proposal of the Polish authors.
From the Regional Innovation System to a systemic
approach to entrepreneurship – composite elements
The Regional Innovation System (RIS) is a set of various entities (actors)
that affect the processes of innovation and the connections (relations) taking
place between them. This is a system of entities, interactions and events,
which as a result of synergy are generated in a specific territory and increase
the capacity to absorb and diffuse innovations in the region. The regional
innovation system is a system of interdependencies and connections taking
place among the spheres of science, R&D, industry, finances and public authorities, which favor the processes of adaptation and collective learning.
The existence of network connections and an innovation environment is the
basis for such an activity (Kwieciński, 2011).
The OECD identified four forms of connections in such a regional innovation system1:
tt enterprise-enterprise connections, including the connections with commercial knowledge-intensive services for business (e.g. joint R&D activities, common products, patents) – frequently, as a result of such connections, clusters develop;
1 See more in: OECD (1999), Managing National Innovation Systems, OECD Paris.
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LESZEK KWIECIŃSKI, AGNIESZKA MŁODZIŃSKA-GRANEK
e nterprise-sphere of knowledge and research connections as well as public transfer of technology institutions (joint R&D activities);
tt market transfer of technology, i.e. diffusion of knowledge and innovations
by e.g. the purchase of machinery, equipment, licenses (indirect expenditures on R&D);
tt mobility of employees and transfer of hidden and unidentified knowledge.
tt
The regional innovation system consists of complementary and interdependent subsystems, which include (Markowski, 2000):
tt a production and services subsystem, which is created by business entities
dealing with technological and industrial operations, implementations
and the commercialization of new solutions;
tt a research and development subsystem, which comprises different kinds
of research and development entities, universities and other institutions
of science operating in the area of innovations and transfer of technology;
tt an institutional subsystem, which consists of the whole myriad of entities
supporting the course of innovation processes (centers supporting innovations and transfer of technology), such as parks and incubators of
technology, transfer of technology centers;
tt a financial subsystem, which is composed of financial entities and instruments facilitating the generation of innovations and transfer of technology to the economy, such as loan funds, banks, venture capital and private
equity funds;
tt a social and cultural subsystem, which constitutes the cultural features
characteristic and specific of a given region (tradition, history), systems
of values, forms and channels of communication, level of trust – system
of specific behaviors and unrepeatable cultural and structural features
of a given region, which at the same time is a consultation platform with
social and civic partners.
Scheme 1. Regional Innovation System – traditional approach
Public authority on the regional or local level (public offices, agencies)
R&D Sector
Universities
Research
Institutions
Institutions of business development
and support
Regional development agencies
Centers of knowledge and technology
transfers
Academic and technology incubators
Technology parks
Finance institutions: Venture capital,
business angels networks, Loan and
Guarantee Funds
Clients, customers, stakeholders
Source: Own proposal.
112
Business sector
SMEs especially: spin-offs,
spin-outs, start-ups
A Systemic Approach to Entrepreneurship on the Regional and Local Level
Thus, the regional innovation system is a complex, territorial and systemic
approach to the problem of innovativeness of the economy. Its functioning
favors the reduction of innovation risk for a specific business entity, it facilitates the absorption of different kinds of knowledge, it provides the possibility of interactive learning and an exchange of experiences. It is the basis
for building competitiveness of the region in the era of a global economy
where innovation, knowledge and the process of learning are the key factors
of business success. It also allows for the adaptation of the regional economies
to the process of globalization (Tödling, 1999).
The regional innovation policy should be created on the basis of the aforedefined regional innovation system, through which it becomes a kind of
materialization of the provisions of the regional innovation strategy. The
regional authorities are the element binding the activities of individual elements of the regional innovation system together.
Regional innovation systems are usually administratively separate systems. In addition to the administrative approach, each region should rely on
its historically determined sense of regional identity or geographic conditions.
Based on human, social and endogenous factors, the authors suggest that
there is a need for a wider approach for understanding and describing the
RIS.
The authors’ systemic approach related to social sciences is understood
as the recognition of macro- and medium-ranged enterprises, and it encompasses entrepreneurship at three levels: input, system, output.
At the level of input behavioral aspects are being identified, e.g. potential
resources (human, relational [network], social capital) related to entrepreneurial attitudes. It is based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Icek Ajzen,
1991) and the Model of Entrepreneurial Event (A. Shapero, I. Sokol, 1982).
In this aspect quantitative research (surveys) should be conducted.
The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), to a great extent, belongs
to the psychological research field. It assumes that human behavior is the
outcome of intentions that are determined by three factors associated with
perception:
tt the perception of the attractiveness of the object or activity (attitude)
that is presented towards these objects or activities;
tt the perception of the social norms, i.e. the belief whether society accepts
a given behavior or not;
tt the perception of control over behavior, i.e. predicting the possibilities
and constraints of a given behavior.
The Model of Entrepreneurial Event (Shapero i Sokol, 1982) assumes
that it is the intention that preludes an entrepreneurial behavior. If there
is a proper opportunity, this kind of behavior will occur. It depends first of
all on the individual’s perception of her/his own willingness (perceived desirability) and feasibility of her/his intentions (perceived feasibility). Both these
factors depend on the external impacts. The third indicator of human intentions is the propensity to act. Events play an extremely important role in
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LESZEK KWIECIŃSKI, AGNIESZKA MŁODZIŃSKA-GRANEK
the process of activating entrepreneurship. Events are specific incentives
that invigorate economic activity. An event might be a graduation, institutional incentives or market offer, but also the loss of a job.
Basing on the above theoretical assumptions, the authors suggest that
surveys should be the used research tool. The proposed general content of
the surveys is as follows:
1. Entrepreneurial attitudes (assessment of own entrepreneurship, education and activity during studies, motivation to start own company).
2. Issues concerning planned activity after graduation.
3. Evaluation of innovation and entrepreneurship centers by students, researchers and graduates.
The second level – the system – is defined as a network of public and
private institutions and programs, which comprise support for entrepreneurship. This system has been described in the Concept of Innovative Milieu
(Jean-Claude Perrin, 1989) and the Concept of a Growth Pole (F. Perroux,
1949; A.O. Hirschman, G. Myrdal). Institutions are understood here as described in the neo-institutional approach (J.G. March and J.P. Olsen) (March
and Olsen, 2005).
The Concept of Innovative Milieu is based on the geographical conditions
(economic, social, physical) of production. Jean-Claude Perrin has defined
the “innovative environment” as a territorial distinct, where innovation
networks evolve through cooperation of actors who exchange their stocks,
through cooperation (convergence). This exchange generates very specific
effects for innovation.
In the Concept of a Growth Pole economic growth does not develop
equally, but appears in points/poles with different intensity. These poles are
fundamental for new entrepreneurial activities. A crucial element of this
concept is the communication infrastructure (institutions of business development and support), which is necessary for gaining and processing information regarding innovation processes (Kwieciński, 2005).
These elements should be identified by quantitative and qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews (IDIs) with selected public and
private institutions. Quantitative research should include the number and
type of support institutions and programs, which are dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation in the local or regional dimension.
At the third level – the output side – the available company resources are
being identified. The theoretical basis is the Economic Base Theory (Robert
Murray Haig, 1928). This theory helps to describe the endogenous factors
and possibilities of SMEs (city, region), and it allows to identify the so-called
basic activities (products, services), which are specific to “the power of region
or city”, especially in terms of internationalization. Currently the European
Commission is implementing this concept, among other things, within the
idea of smart specialization (Kwieciński, 2005).
The elements should be identified by quantitative and qualitative research
in the form of IDIs with SMEs. Quantitative research should include the
114
A Systemic Approach to Entrepreneurship on the Regional and Local Level
number and type of innovative and non-innovative SMEs, the type of innovation and internationalization activities, which are strongly linked to
the local or regional resources.
As a result, having the identified effects on the output side, and using the
feedback mechanism, it is possible to determine the elements of the system,
which should be modified both on the input (education, skills) as well as on
the very system side (institutions, programs).
The above-described approach allows to determine the endogenous and
the actual characteristics and properties of the system, fully based on its
strengths and weaknesses. This could be particularly useful for comparative
research.
Based on this approach, the authors have already conducted research in
Wrocław, Poznań and Kraków (Kwieciński i Młodzińska-Granek, 2014).
INPUT
(entrepreneurship
attitudes, human
resources)
SYSTEM
(Institutions, Organizations, Programs)
OUTPUT
(firms, products,
services, factors of
competitiveness)
Feedback
Scheme 2. Systemic approach to entrepreneurship – original concept
Source: Own proposal.
Summary
There is a clear drawback in the perception of innovation policies, especially
on the regional and local level. It seems that the traditional approach towards
the RIS does not cover all the necessary factors that influence the development of innovativeness of regions. Hence, more and more approaches appear
that emphasize the significance of factors other than just the technology or
economy of the region. The proposal introduced in the article also underlines
the meaning of such factors, and these are, among others: the institutional
environment, human resources, entrepreneurial attitudes, or support programs. Furthermore, the significance of communication between all the
elements of the system is emphasized.
Such holistic approaches might bring more actual changes not only to
the field of research on innovation policy, but also to the realm of regional
entrepreneurship and innovativeness.
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LESZEK KWIECIŃSKI, AGNIESZKA MŁODZIŃSKA-GRANEK
References
Ajzen I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior, Organizational Behavior
and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 50.
Kwieciński L. (2005). Parki technologiczne jako element polityki badawczo-rozwojowej w Polsce i w krajach Unii Europejskiej, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, Wrocław.
Kwieciński L., Młodzińska-Granek A. (2014). Academic Entrepreneurship in
the Humanities and Social Sciences. Research Conducted among Students
of Wroclaw University, Horizons of Education, Entrepreneurship Education,
Vol. 13, No. 26.
Kwieciński L. (2011). The creation of the Regional Innovation System – interdisciplinary point of view. In: A. Trzcielińska-Polus, B. Curyłło, S. Garsztecki (eds.), Collective identity, international cooperation and national
interest in Europe and beyond. Wydawnictwo Instytut Śląski, Opole.
March J.G., Olsen J.P. (2005). Instytucje. Organizacyjne podstawy polityki.
Wydawnictwo Scholar, Warsaw.
Markowski T. (2000). Regionalne systemy innowacji w aspekcie strategii rozwoju regionalnego Polski 2000–2006. In: J. Szlachta (ed.), Narodowa Strategia Rozwoju, Biuletyn KPZK PAN nr 191/2000, Warsaw.
OECD (1999). Managing National Innovation Systems, Paris: OECD.
Shapero A., Sokol L. (1982). Social Dimensions of Entrepreneurship. In:
C. Kent, D. Sexton, K. Vespers (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship,
Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New York.
Tödling F. (1999). Innovation Networks. Collective Learning and Industrial
Policy In Regions of Europe, European Planning Studies 7, Brussels.
116
abstrakty
abstrakty
Mirosław Grochowski
Sektor kreatywny – instrument wzmacniania
bazy rozwoju ekonomicznego miasta
ABSTRAKT
Celem artykułu jest zarysowanie roli sektora kreatywnego w procesach
rozwoju ekonomicznego miast oraz wskazanie sfer interwencji władz publicznych, których celem jest mobilizacja, wsparcie rozwoju i efektywne
wykorzystanie potencjału rozwojowego sektora kreatywnego. W artykule
wykorzystano wyniki dwóch projektów: Creative Metropoles i Cross Innovations, realizowanych w ramach Programu Współpracy Międzyregionalnej
INTERREG IVC, w których udział brało Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa. Sytuację i doświadczenia Warszawy wykorzystano w artykule dla zilustrowania
zawartych w nim tez i rekomendacji, dotyczących m.in. roli i zadań władz
publicznych we wspieraniu rozwoju sektora kreatywnego.
Słowa kluczowe: sektor kreatywny, rozwój miast
119
abstrakty
Katarzyna Rostek, Agnieszka Skala
Profil przedsiębiorstw sektora wytwórczego
wysokich technologii w Warszawie
ABSTRAKT
Celem pracy była identyfikacja oraz scharakteryzowanie warszawskiego
sektora przetwórczego wysokich technologii (HT). Przy tej okazji wykazano
użyteczność danych internetowych jako źródła uzupełniającego analizę
danych statystycznych oraz przedstawiono główne profile podmiotów z badanej grupy przedsiębiorstw. Do analizy wykorzystano dane bazy REGON
z grudnia 2012 r. oraz dane pozyskane ze stron internetowych firm w pierwszej połowie 2013 r. Do wyjściowej grupy badawczej wybrano wszystkie
warszawskie przedsiębiorstwa, których klasyfikacja PKD wskazywała na
produkcję wyrobów wysokiej techniki. Spośród nich wyodrębniono te podmioty, które są: aktywne, mają strony internetowe oraz ich oferta jest zgodna
z deklarowaną działalnością w zakresie wysokich technologii. Przedsiębiorstwa te określono jako warszawski sektor HT i scharakteryzowano za pomocą
metody statystyki opisowej, a następnie dokonano ich segmentacji. W tym
celu zastosowano klasteryzację metodą analizy skupień Warda, a następnie
automatyczne profilowanie segmentów. Przedstawiona analiza warszawskiego sektora przedsiębiorstw produkcyjnych high-tech została wykonana
w ramach projektu „Stołeczne Forum Przedsiębiorczości”.
Słowa kluczowe: przedsiębiorczość, wytwórczość, wysoka technologia,
charakterystyka, Warszawa
120
abstrakty
Magdalena Kubów
Przedsiębiorczość w sporcie w wymiarze
lokalnym. Studium przypadku miasta
stołecznego Warszawy
ABSTRAKT
Celem niniejszego opracowania jest przedstawienie lokalnych uwarunkowań
rozwoju przedsiębiorczości w branży sportowej w Warszawie. Uwypuklono
także aspekt związku między przedsiębiorczością w sporcie w regionie a jego
rozwojem. Badania terenowe, stanowiące zasadniczą część mojego projektu
badawczego, są przeprowadzane z wykorzystaniem metody badań
jakościowych – wywiadu antropologicznego. Część empiryczna poświęcona
została na zaprezentowanie fragmentu wyników badań własnych dotyczących
lokalnych uwarunkowań rozwoju przedsiębiorczości w branży sportowej.
Wyniki badań wskazują na to, że przedsiębiorcy z branży sportowej
dostrzegają możliwości współpracy z miastem. Pogłębienie rozumienia
zjawiska przedsiębiorczości z uwydatnieniem specyfiki określonej branży
w kontekście regionalnym jest tematem istotnym, gdyż tak ściśle zawężony
obszar nie podlegał eksploracji na gruncie polskich badań naukowych.
Słowa kluczowe: przedsiębiorczość, rynek sportowy, uwarunkowania
lokalne
121
abstrakty
Julita E. Wasilczuk, Krzysztof Zięba
Wpływ miejskiej lokalizacji na możliwości
wzrostowe małych firm
ABSTRAKT
Cel: Celem badania była identyfikacja różnic między profilami firm oraz
profilami ich właścicieli w zależności od miejskiej/pozamiejskiej lokalizacji
firm. Ponadto, celem było zbadanie znaczenia tych różnic dla osiągania wzrostu przez firmy z obu rodzajów lokalizacji.
Metodologia: W oparciu o studia literaturowe sporządzono kwestionariusz
badawczy, którym przebadano 1005 małych firm z wybranych powiatów
województwa pomorskiego. Porównano 436 małych firm zlokalizowanych
w powiatach miejskich Gdańsk, Sopot i Gdynia z 569 firmami zlokalizowanymi
na obszarach pozamiejskich. Zaobserwowane różnice przebadano pod kątem
ich statystycznej istotności.
Rezultaty: Miejscy przedsiębiorcy okazują się być lepiej wykształceni, bardziej
doświadczeni i w większym stopniu wykazują się pozytywnymi motywacjami
przedsiębiorczymi. Ich firmy są bardziej innowacyjne, częściej podnoszą
kwalifikacje pracowników i mają lepszy dostęp do infrastruktury
przedsiębiorczej. Jednakże nie rosną w tempie szybszym niż firmy pozamiejskie. To sugeruje, że korzyści płynące z lokalizacji miejskiej są
równoważone towarzyszącymi im kosztami takiej lokalizacji.
Ograniczenia badania: Badania były ograniczone jedynie do terenu województwa pomorskiego. Co więcej, niektóre firmy sklasyfikowane jako pozamiejskie były zlokalizowane w niewielkich miasteczkach, co czyni je nieco
podobnymi do firm miejskich. Ten rodzaj badań powinien być kontynuowany
z wykorzystaniem bardziej spolaryzowanej próby badawczej, gdzie
zróżnicowanie obu grup podmiotów byłoby wyraźniejsze.
Znaczenie: Przeprowadzone badania rzucają światło na problematykę wpływu
miejskiej/pozamiejskiej lokalizacji małych firm na ich możliwości wzrostowe.
W Polsce brak jest, jak dotąd, szczegółowych badań na ten temat.
Słowa kluczowe: zakładanie firm, wzrost firmy, lokalizacja, profil
mikroprzedsiębiorstwa
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abstrakty
Lidia Kaliszczak
Kształtowanie klimatu sprzyjającego
przedsiębiorczości na poziomie lokalnym
ABSTRAKT
W opracowaniu podjęto problem kształtowania klimatu przedsiębiorczości
przez władze samorządowe gmin, jako zasadniczego czynnika wspierania
aktywności gospodarczej. Celem opracowania jest ukazanie roli lokalnych
władz w stymulowaniu przedsiębiorczości w kontekście kształtowania klimatu sprzyjającego przedsiębiorczym postawom, w zakresie podejmowania
i prowadzenia działalności gospodarczej. Przyjętą tezą badawczą jest twierdzenie, że przedsiębiorczość na poziomie lokalnym determinuje w znacznej
mierze postawę lokalnej władzy publicznej, przejawianą w zachowaniach
wyrażających odpowiedzialność za kreowanie przesłanek przedsiębiorczości
i podmiotowości w procesach sprawowania władzy.
Analizy i oceny procesów stymulowania przedsiębiorczości na poziomie lokalnym w aspekcie kształtowania klimatu przedsiębiorczości dokonano
w toku sondażowych badań ankietowych, zrealizowanych wśród losowo
wybranych 35 gmin województwa podkarpackiego. Udział w badaniach
zadeklarowało 25 gmin wiejskich oraz 10 miejskich i miejsko-wiejskich.
Przedmiotem analizy w realizowanych badaniach były takie zagadnienia,
jak:
–kompetencje pracowników odpowiedzialnych za działania wspierające
lokalne inicjatywy bądź te inicjatywy tworzące;
–pojmowanie istoty przedsiębiorczości przez pracowników gminy;
–wartości stanowiące podstawę zachowań i działań na rzecz wspierania
przedsiębiorczości.
Badania mają charakter poznawczy w zakresie przedsiębiorczej orientacji
gminy jako podmiotu kształtującego kulturę przedsiębiorczości, co stanowi
cenną wartość pracy.
Słowa kluczowe: J. Schumpeter, klimat przedsiębiorczości, gmina,
przedsiębiorczość lokalna
123
abstrakty
Małgorzata Osińska
Hongkong był wyspą. Proces powstawania
globalnego miasta
ABSTRAKT
Cel: Celem poniższego artykułu jest analiza procesu powstawania globalnego
miasta na przykładzie Hongkongu, który w czasie swojej stosunkowo krótkiej
historii dokonał transformacji z małego portu rybackiego w megamiasto,
z odizolowanej wyspy w główne centrum całego regionu Delty Rzeki Perłowej
(DRP).
Metodologia: Przyjmując perspektywę historyczną w artykule zostaną przedstawione kolejne stopnie integracji Hongkongu z Chinami kontynentalnymi,
w szczególności zaś z Shenzhen. Artykuł ma również na celu przeanalizowanie
jak niewielkie zmiany w przestrzeni miejskiej pomiędzy oraz wewnątrz miast
regionu DRP wpływają na proces integracji całej konurbacji.
Wnioski: Artykuł podkreśla, iż te interwencje rekonstruują przestrzeń
danych miast oraz sieć połączeń komunikacyjnych pomiędzy nimi.
Jednocześnie redefiniując przy tym koncepcję centrum i peryferii, a także
rekonfigurując znaczenie geografii społeczno-politycznej i ekonomicznej
całego regionu. Relacja między Hongkongiem, a Shenzhen i regionem DRP
w ciągu ostatnich 30 lat przekształciła się z konkurencyjnej w komplementarną.
Wartość/Oryginalność: Analiza dwustronnej relacji pomiędzy Hongkongiem
a Shenzhen może pomóc w lepszym zrozumieniu lokalnego kontekstu tego
miejsca. Poprzez lepsze poznanie infrastruktury regionu poszerza się również
wiedza o lokalizacji i strategicznym położeniu centrów biznesowych i linii
produkcyjnych.
Słowa kluczowe: Hongkong, globalne miasto, przedsiębiorczość,
Shenzhen, urbanizacja
124
abstrakty
Leszek Kwieciński, Agnieszka Młodzińska-Granek
Przedsiębiorczość na poziomie regionalnym
i lokalnym – podejście systemowe
ABSTRAKT
Obecnie przedsiębiorczość i innowacyjność nie dotyczą wyłącznie aspektów
technologicznych, czy ekonomicznych. Szczególnie w przypadku tworzenia
lokalnych i regionalnych inicjatyw, uwzględniających endogeniczne elementy,
kluczowe są wszystkie czynniki dotyczące innowacji. Komisja Europejska
i OECD stworzyły nowy wymiar dla rozwoju regionalnego, w którym uwzględnia sie również czynniki społeczne i instytucjonalne. W artykule autorzy
prezentują nowe podejście do rozumienia i opisywania regionalnego system
innowacji, mianowicie: systemowe podejście do przedsiębiorczości na poziomie regionalnym i lokalnym.
Słowa kluczowe: przedsiębiorczość, regionalne systemy innowacji,
polityka innowacyjna
125
ABOUT AUTHORS
About authors
Prof. Jerzy Cieślik
Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego
e-mail: cieslik@kozminski.edu.pl
Mirosław Grochowski, Ph.D.
University of Warsaw
e-mail: m.grochowski@uw.edu.pl
Lidia Kaliszczak, Ph.D.
University of Rzeszów
e-mail: lidia.kaliszczak@neostrada.pl
Prof. Izabela Koładkiewicz
Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego
e-mail: izabela@kozminski.edu.pl
Magdalena Kubów, MA
Warsaw University
e-mail: mkubow@wz.uw.edu.pl
Prof. Leszek Kwieciński
University of Wrocław
e-mail: leszek.kwiecinski@uni.wroc.pl
Agnieszka Młodzińska-Granek, MA, Ph.D. Candidate
University of Wrocław
e-mail: agnieszka.mlodzinska@uni.wroc.pl
Małgorzata Osińska, Ph.D. Candidate
Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China
e-mail: malosi1875@gmail.com
Katarzyna Rostek, Ph.D.
Warsaw University of Technology
e-mail: K.Rostek@wz.pw.edu.pl
127
ABOUT AUTHORS
Agnieszka Skala, Ph.D.
Warsaw University of Technology
e-mail: askala@wt.pw.edu.pl
Prof. Julita E. Wasilczuk
Gdańsk University of Technology
e-mail: jwas@zie.pg.gda.pl
Krzysztof Zięba, Ph.D.
Gdańsk University of Technology
e-mail: kzieba@zie.pg.gda.pl
128
T
his book contains the results of the Conference “Entrepreneurial Cities”, which
was organized in July 2014 as part of the Project “The Warsaw Entrepreneurship Forum” by the Kozminski University in collaboration with the Authorities
of the City of Warsaw. It brought together Polish and foreign researchers from
various research centers. The by them presented research results allowed for
a broader perception and a better understanding of the complex issue of urban
entrepreneurship, especially in large metropolitan areas, which offer a unique
environment for business activity that translates into their further development.
Urban entrepreneurship can be perceived and studied on many different levels and in various dimensions. There is no doubt, however, that its basic components are the local business communities and entrepreneurial city authorities.
Without the collaboration of these actors, the creation of an entrepreneurial city
would not be possible. The starting point for this cooperation should be a mutual
understanding of each other between these groups. City authorities should start
by getting to know the needs and expectations of entrepreneurs, while entrepreneurs should be aware of the possibilities for action that the ofcials of local government units have and what limitations there are in this respect.
We hope that this book will be an inspiration to undertake further studies
of the phenomenon of entrepreneurial cities, and that the obtained results will
expand our knowledge in this eld.
Prof. ALK dr hab. Izabela Koładkiewicz
Prof. ALK dr hab. Jerzy Cieślik
P110 90 10 1
Publikacja współfinansowana przez Unię Europejską w ramach Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego