Abstract:

The article tackles the political and legal environment within the borders of the European Union (EU) member states. Determinants of the political and legal environment of the European market were identified on two levels: (1) the framework, i.e. supranational European political and legal conditions; (2) the classical political and legal environment of the EU member states. Afterwards, an analysis of individual factors of the political and legal environment in the aforementioned levels was performed. Four legal areas in the EU states were demonstrated: Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and mixed; three jurisdictional systems were identified: case law, continental and Scandinavian law; and the legal framework of the Union was found to consist of primary legislation, secondary legislation and adjudications of the Court of Justice of the EU. The problem of excessive duration of the administrative procedures, untimeliness and incomplete transposition of directives into the national law of the member states was discussed. It was also brought to attention that the diversity of laws and taxes is still a significant barrier to foreign operations of businesses in the EU internal market. It was also indicated that the integration of European law enables economic entities to perform marketing activities in the European market in the form of a representative office or a foreign branch without legal entity. Finally, it was stated that the factors of the political and legal environment are significantly unified in the supranational environment, while in the classical environment, there are some differences among the EU countries, but they allow for the use of unified marketing concepts, e.g. the concept of euromarketing.

Abstract:

The study is devoted to the peculiarities of the investment attractiveness of a country in conditions of uncertainty. The article generalises the scientific approaches to the definition of investment attractiveness. The authors summarise the results of the international ranking of countries by the level of investment attractiveness and define the important role of innovation in ensuring a favourable investment climate. The article considers the peculiarities of the formation of investment attractiveness in Ukraine and summarises the priorities for the implementation of an innovation strategy, which will contribute to the possibility of post-crisis recovery. A promising area of further research is the evaluation of the effectiveness of Ukraine’s international partnership for the implementation of joint innovation projects in the direction of Industry 4.0.

Abstract:

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in consumer interest in participating in the sharing economy. One of the markets in which this is particularly visible is the clothing market. Dynamic technological progress and the virtualisation of life have contributed to the creation of applications with which consumers can buy, exchange or borrow clothes. The use of this type of application is treated as a manifestation of sustainable consumption. The main aim of the article is to determine the influence of selected motives on the attitudes towards these applications and their use. The article discusses the results of the research conducted in 2021 on a sample of 412 respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used in the process of analysing the results. The research results suggest that the most important motives for using the discussed applications were economic and utility, with their impact on attitudes towards these applications and the willingness to use them confirmed. Social motives turned out to be the lowest-rated group of determinants. Moreover, their negative impact on both attitudes towards the application and the willingness to use it was confirmed. Ecological motives turned out to be relatively important determinants of using the discussed solutions. Their influence on attitudes towards the application and consumption behaviour was confirmed.

Abstract:

The article is based on the results of research on the sector of public relation (PR) agencies in Poland, which is an important part of the entire PR industry. The purpose of this article is to determine the potential of this sector in the post-pandemic period in the light of research results. The analysis focused on key parameters that influence the condition of the PR agencies sector, such as the number of agencies, type of activity, legal form, territorial distribution and financial indicators. Desk research (qualitative methodology) was used as the main research technique. The research was conducted on the basis of available databases and own datasets, such as lists of PR agencies, data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), records stored in the Bisnode database, data from PR agencies’ websites and others. At a further stage, quantitative analysis of the collected statistical data was applied. The article illustrates the role of PR agencies in terms of the entire PR industry and presents a scheme for building a sampling frame on this type of companies.

Abstract:

Traditional methods used in marketing research focus on the rationality of individuals and the conscious processes they are able to analyse and verbally expose. Developments in the field of neuroscience have proven that emotions are the fundamental basis from which the thoughts, behaviours and actions of individuals emerge. Thus, this paper explains the importance of the emotional dimension both in consumer decision-making and in measuring the impact of marketing activities. The purpose of the article is to indicate the current position of the use of neuromarketing and its tools in the analysis of consumer behaviour and show how an important role is played by emotions and the unconscious part of consumers’ minds during purchasing decisions. It is a review article, based on interdisciplinary knowledge, which brings to the fore new possibilities of studying not only the observed behaviour of consumers but also their minds — including decision-making processes, as well as the role of emotions and perceptions triggered by brands, products, messages and advertisements. New knowledge from the area of neuromarketing is not a categorical alternative to traditional marketing, but effectively complements it. Companies can adopt new research methods and invest in strategies that allow them to engage consumers emotionally in order to better connect with them and uncover hidden needs and desires.

Abstract:

Year after year, smart home systems continue to increase in popularity among consumer households. Consumption of smart home systems is also predicted to increase steeply in the coming years. Therefore, the article aims at assessing the attitude of young consumers towards a smart home and its devices. The article is based on primary and secondary sources of information. While primary information indicated the attitude of young consumers towards smart homes in their capacity as potential buyers, secondary information allowed for the definition of the issues discussed pertaining to smart homes and their devices. Using direct research, the online survey technique was employed on a sample of 588 consumers aged 18-34 years living in Poland in 2021. The respondents’ declarations showed that they intend using smart home services in the future, and that they thought using smart home devices would be enjoyable. In addition, respondents agreed with the statements that smart home devices are easy to use and valuable in everyday life, and that using smart home devices helps complete household chores faster. In their opinion, using a smart device at home can increase security and safety by detecting gas and smoke emissions and by creating an alert in the event of unauthorised home intrusion.