A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S FOLIA OECONOMICA 182, 2004 W aldem ar Polak * C O N D IT IO N S O F F U N C T IO N IN G O F S M A L L A N D M E D IU M -S IZ E D C O M P A N IE S IN P O L A N D IN T H E A S P E C T O F T H E C O U N T R Y 'S M E M B E R S H IP IN T H E E U R O P E A N U N IO N 1. In tro d u ctio n
The actions began by Poland, aim ing at receiving m em bership in the European U nion was o f great significance to our country. T hese actions basically influenced the choice o f strategic developm ent o f the co u n try 1.
This is connected with the necessity o f carrying out m any processes that would accom m odate Poland to the requirem ents o f the U nion. Therefore, various spheres o f life in Poland have been developing unequally. T he need o f advancing the accom m odation processes is o f great im portance today and is required by the EU.
The processes o f P o lan d ’s integration with the EU are one o f the repeatedly confirm ed priorities o f the Polish government; therefore it is necessary to present the results o f these activities in our country and for our society; the results which are positive as well as negative2. The fact that they will not be the sam e for all the Polish citizens and the fact, that today’s decisions evolve m any fears in some econom ic circles - is show n, am ong others, in the research m ade by Instytut Badań nad D em okracją1 i Przedsiębiorstw em Pryw atnym (Institute o f
* PhD., Department o f M acroeconom ic, U niversity o f Gdańsk.
1 N a ro d o w a S tra teg ia In tegracji, Komitet Integracji Europejskiej, styczeń 1997, “M onitor Integracji Europejskiej”, wydanie specjalne, s. 12.
2 R aport z w ykon an ia p ro g ra m u dzia ła ń dostosow u jących p o lsk ą g o sp o d a rk ą i system p ra w n y d o w ym agań Układu E uropejskiego o ra z p r z y s złeg o człon kostw a P olski w U nii E uropejskiej w latach 1 9 9 2 -1 9 9 6 , Urząd Komitetu Integracji Europejskiej, W arszawa 1997 oraz O św iadczenie Rządu RP na o tw a rcie n eg o cja cji P olski o członkostw o w Unii E u ropejskiej (B ruksela, 31 m arca 1998), KIE, “M onitor Integracji Europejskiej” 1998, nr 18.
Exam ination o f D em ocracy and Private C om pany) in 1998 am ong Polish entrepreneurs w orking in small and medium -sized com panies3.
Although, the m entioned integration gives, to the exam ined com panies, many positive effects it also shows num erous threats, including social. The entrepreneurs, w hose representatives w ere exam ined, are interested in creating the best conditions to take advantage o f the new chances and to limit the possible threats (Polak 2001, pp. 308-309).
A closer description o f the above (chances and threats) can be seen in the surveys which w ere carried out. However, before presenting these surveys and their results it seem s im portant that som e bases and foundations o f P oland’s integration with the EU are presented. The results o f the surveys are closely connected with the evaluations (o f integration) given by Polish com panies.
3. T h e m eth o d s and ran ge o f exam in ation s
The evaluations o f expectations and fears o f S & M -sized com panies connected with P oland’s joining the EU have been based on the results of surveys and interview s carried out in a particular social-professional group.
These exam inations allow ed us to acquire m ore know ledge about the opinions o f people interested in that problem . Small and m edium -sized com panies have played and im portant role in the econom y. T he role in greater than one m ight expect by observing their participation in the global em ploym ent or in the G N P4. T his statem ent is especially true with countries, such as Poland which have been going through econom ic transform ation. T hese com panies influence many processes occurring in a country.
D uring the exam ination of fears and expectations o f Polish entrepreneurs from small and m edium -sized com panies, a group o f m anagers representing the analyzed professional group, was met. At the sam e, tim e candidates for entrepreneurs w ere met, too. They were recruited am ong participants o f courses organized by Instytut Badań nad D em okracją1 i Przedsiębiorstw em Prywatnym (Institute o f E xam ination o f D em ocracy and Private Com pany) in W arsaw . The (research) exam inations w ere carried out in two stages:
- in the first, introductory stage 48 representative m em bers o f courses were exam ined;
3 Warunki fu n kcjon ow an ia m ałych i średn ich p rzed się b io rstw w P olsce, Instytut Badań nad Demokracją i Przedsiębiorstw em Prywatnym. Przedstaw icielstw o Fundacji im. Friedricha Naumanna w P olsce, W arszawa 2001.
4 Polan d, C oun try E conom ic M em orandum , Reform a n d G row th on the R o a d to the UE, Raport No. 16858-P ol. The World Bank 1997.
- in the second stage the basic exam inations were carried out 226 persons were exam ined, all o f them were m em bers o f the courses. T h ese exam inations took place in 2001.
The introductory exam inations prepared to the basic ones. In those exam inations questionnaires with open questions were used. T he people exam ined answ ered them by presenting their own view s and ideas. T heir later analysis m ade it possible to m odify questions in such a way that a part o f them could have a closed character. Am ong them the persons exam ined selected those, which w ere m ost and least im portant and described their rank. They were doing it also during the basic exam inations. It should be added that from the 226 questionnaires only 187 were qualified for analysis - 83% o f the whole representative group.
T his happened because som e questionnaires were filled in im properly and could not be bases to form ulate the final evaluations.
The answ ers given by respondents in the inquiries are the m ore interesting and contribute still m ore to the general know ledge on the given subject as they were collected from people working in, and involved in the com plexity of m echanism s o f functioning o f small and m edium -sized com panies.
T his was possible because m anagers o f the exam ined com panies took part in the exam inations w hile they were im proving their qualifications in courses of m anaging com panies.
T he inform ation received in this way though indirect because presented questionnaires, allow ed us to get acquainted with problem s on the scale o f units. T his enriched our know ledge o f the problem s undertaken in the work. This know ledge is valuable because it allow s us to create a program o f further activities o f state institutions. T hose activities could m inim alize any possible threats which sm all and m edium -sized com panies m ay face in connection with entering the EU.
The exam inations mainly focused on the evaluation o f the outcom e of Poland’s integration with the EU as seen, and felt, by the small and medium-sized com panies. T he picture, based on the received answ ers and show ing only the positive results, is only one o f the accepted criteria o f evaluating the problem . A different criterion show ing the evaluation o f expected, m ost negative results o f the process was accepted too (as was presented in the surveys).
It is highly probable that the data received in this way may lead to draw ing certain conclusions w hich cannot be generalized as they do not refer to all the entrepreneurs.
T his cannot be done as the group exam ined was too small and can not represent all the entrepreneurs. It should, how ever, be added that the exam inations gave us som e know ledge on the subject o f threats connected with the integration o f Poland with the EU, and show ed us the areas w here the threats w ere most acute.
4. T h e effects o f P o la n d ’s en terin g the EU
It is obvious that the effects o f P oland’s entering the EU will be felt in all the areas o f life. T he will be different for the country as a whole and for such com panies as the sm all and m edium -sized ones (Piasecki, Rogut, Sm allbone 1997). T he respondents who took part in the survey expected the positive as well as negative effects o f the process. Taking into account all the answ ers it is difficult to decide which effects are dom inant or how to conquer the negative ones (Sm allbone at al. 1996)5.
A lso in m ost answ ers to the questions about the integration the role of econom ic, social, legal and technical effects was pointed out. A m ong those, the econom ic effects w ere strongly underlined.
Some o f the consequences o f the integration process w hich may give many advantages include:
-p o s s ib ility o f lifting custom s barriers and introduction o f liberalization o f trade,
- entering o f our econom y to the world econom y and integration o f our country w ith the m em bership countries,
- opening o f w estern m arkets to the Polish goods,
- s e tt i n g up new firms, improving the quality o f goods, econom ic increase, econom ic stability,
- easier access to credits and financial help from the EU countries.
A m ong the negative effects o f P oland’s adm ittance to the EU, the follow ing were presented:
- transform ing Poland into a sales’ m arket for w estern firms, - w eakening o f dom estic industry,
- problem s with the sale of agricultural products, the dow nfall o f agriculture, increase o f prices o f land, services and goods.
Som e o f the social consequences, w hich will be advantages o f the process, will be: an increase o f social welfare, im provem ent o f quality o f life, m aking of new social contacts, new possibilities o f em ploym ent and generally - social developm ent.
H ow ever the negative consequences will be the increase o f unem ploym ent and the “A m ericanization o f life” .
The legal effects o f the analyzed process are m ainly positive. A m ong those the necessity o f introducing a unified law was pointed out. A lso attention was drawn to the fact that the quality and transparency o f tax policies should be im proved.
5 The E uropean O b serva to ry f o r SMEs, Fifth Annual R eport 1997, European Network for SM E Research.
R eferring to technological aspects resulting from integration, the most im portant for the people surveyed, are: the possible access to new technologies, know-how , and to the technological achievem ents o f the EU countries.
4.1. The effects of Poland’s integration with the EU to the small and m edium-sized companies
It should be underlined that in answ ers to the questions about the effects o f integration the econom ic aspects dom inated. T hese were regarded most im portant. H ow ever, a little less im portant for the small and m edium -sized com panies w ere the technological aspects.
A m ong the econom ic effects the follow ing should be expected:
- the increase o f export resulting from the lifting o f custom s duties and the enlargem ent o f the sales’ market for goods produced by the sm all and m edium -sized com panies,
- profitable trade agreem ents and the increase o f econom ic cooperation, - accepting foreign investm ents and a more intensive developm ent o f some econom ic branches,
- easier access to credits and possibility to increase the incom es o f firms. T he positive effects o f the unification process are not the only ones. Some respondents presented also the fears connected with:
- the increase o f com petition am ong firm s w hich would threaten the Polish com panies,
- the increase o f m arket requirem ents and appearing o f problem s with the sale o f products,
- the necessity o f further investm ent in the com panies,
- t h e need to restructurize many com panies - and the fall o f the w eaker ones.
From am ong the technological effects to the small and m edium -sized com panies, which may com e out from the integration the follow ing w ere shown: - the im provem ent o f quality o f Polish products, access o f Polish com panies to the m odern technologies, possibility o f buying new m achines and investing in Polish com panies by the foreign partners, also the necessity o f Polish firm s to keep pace w ith the W estern technologies and firms.
A m ong the aspects o f P oland’s unification with the EU the respondents expected the creation o f im pulses to perpetual training o f the staff o f small and m edium -sized com panies. They also expected m otivation to a better w ork and dim inishing o f expenditures to finance the unprofitable com panies.
4.2. The role o f Polish authorities regarding the small and medium-sized companies in the process o f Poland’s integration with the EU
W ith the problem s arising in the field o f functioning o f the S and M-S com panies in the united Europe, the need to undertake som e actions by the Polish governm ent, w hich could dim inish those problem s, was pointed out. In the m entioned questionnaire the em phasis was put on:
- t h e necessity to adjust, by the state, the basic econom ic rules to the new conditions o f cooperation am ong countries,
- the undertaking o f gentle but definite actions to adjust the Polish business to the new conditions,
- fast reaction to the threats to S and M-S com panies com ing out from the integration,
- careful protection o f strategic branches,
- t h e help in adjusting Polish firms to the EU requirem ents, caring for the integrity o f the country,
- explaining to the society and to the econom ic subjects the m echanism s and effects o f integration,
- caring and preserving the Polish identity in the EU.
A ccording to the respondents, entrepreneurs should but stress on the governm ent so that it would ensure the protection o f Polish business and S and M-S com panies in the transition period. The entrepreneurs should also have influence on the policy o f the authorities as far as the integration processes are concerned. D uring the processes adjusting to the new rules the entrepreneurs should care to find a special place for the S and M -S com panies in the econom y and the governm ent should respect that w ithout any reservations. It is expected that in connection with the integration o f Poland with the EU, all the opinions and needs o f com panies will be observed. A dditionally, the need to put stress on foreign partners to strengthen mutual contacts betw een P olish and foreign entrepreneurs was underlined.
Poland - it seem s - should be able to face com petition and the U nion ’s m arket forces under the condition that it continues to restructurize and keeps the open econom y. H ow ever, the state ow ned com panies can create a problem . The m istakes in m anagem ent against the foreign com petition can create serious consequences in the near future in those com panies6.
6 E uro-B iuletyn, Centrum Informacji Europejskiej przy U rzędzie Komitetu Integracji Europejskiej, sierpień 2 0 0 1 , s. 19, oraz W. Polak, B ezpośredn ie inw estycje za g ra n iczn e a z a rządzan ie p rzed sięb io rstw em , artykuł oddany do druku w Akademii Ekonom icznej w Poznaniu, Poznań 2003.
4.3. The role o f European institutions referring to the S and M-S companies in the process o f integrating the country with the EU
C onsidering the expectations o f Polish entrepreneurs for certain actions o f E uropean institutions to help the future Polish partner the m ost im portant are those o f assistive character. It is understandable, for the fact that Poland as a w eaker partner w ould not be able to deal with many problem s requiring support. T he m ost im portant assignm ents o f E uropean institutions in the process o f giving us help and assistance are:
- t h e training, education and skills im provem ent o f Polish personnel and econom ic subjects in the conditions o f EU,
- the creating o f conditions to develop Polish econom y, - careful help in privatizing o f Polish strategic branches, - definite execution o f observing the adjustive procedures, - the help in w orking out new legal regulations,
- presenting experience referring to the functioning in the EU,
- taking into account the specific Polish conditions in the U nion, at the same tim e respecting the Polish identity.
T he activities presented should be accom panied by self-organization o f the circles o f entrepreneurs and by the creation o f structures facilitating cooperation and m aking a com m on lobby. This could make it possible to achieve such a level o f developm ent o f Polish S and M-S com panies, which could be com pared with their EU counterparts. H aving this goal in m ind the entrepreneurs should have at their disposal such m eans and program s that w ould facilitate their active “perm eating into the European structures” (M ertl, Staw asz, Pietraszew ski 1997, p. 57)7.
5. F inal c o n clu sio n s
All the exam inations which have been carried out aim ed at analyzing and evaluating the collected m aterial. The m ost im portant conclusions draw n from the analysis are the following:
- C o m p a rin g the threats and benefits o f P oland’s integration w ith the EU, the later w ere in the m ajority o f answers.
- The integration will, as expected, bring m ainly the econom ic results.
7 B ankow e fin a n so w a n ie m ałych i średn ich p rzed sięb io rstw , m aszynopis, Instytut Badań nad Demokracją i Przedsiębiorstw em Prywatnym, Warszawa 1998.
- T he social and econom ic effects were placed by the respondents on a more distant position. T his allow s us to assum e that the place o f man as an individual and his surrounding create the problem s o f second category.
- A m ong the threats the fear that Poland will only be the sales’ m arket for the EU, dom inated.
A nother fear was that Poland may get under the “com m and” o f foreign capital w hich, in consequence may make our country w eaker in the United Europe.
- O ther expected effects o f P oland’s joining the EU are the fears for survival o f the S and M -S com panies in the changed conditions. This fear shows that there is the aw areness o f difficulty to meet the standards o f activities o f the European S and M -S com panies.
- M eeting these standards may require much effort from the dom estic entrepreneurs w ithout any guarantee o f success.
- T h e fear that the com petition from W estern European will lead to the bankruptcy and dow nfall o f Polish S and M-S com panies also dom inated.
- T he dem ands directed to the Polish authorities referring to the S and M-S com panies in the process o f integration with the EU show that there is the need to carry out a consistent econom ic policy against this sector. T he m ajor aim is to create conditions o f survival and later developm ent o f this sector. T he m aking of optim al financial conditions should allow such developm ent.
- The assignm ent o f European institutions is the universal help to the Polish S and M -S com panies in entering the European m arkets. T his aim can be achieved through the help in restructurizing the econom y and through the im provem ent o f activities o f entrepreneurs in the conditions o f integrated market.
The integration w ith the EU will bring econom ic profit o f the Polish econom y, w hich m akes a technological leap and arouses interest the Polish export. T o exist on the EU m arket the Polish com panies should concentrate on show ing the m ark (o f authentic quality) by using the Internet.
References
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W a ld e m a r P o la k
W A R U N K I FU N K C JO N O W A N IA M P S W PO L SC E W P E R S PE K T Y W IE C Z Ł O N K O ST W A W UNII E U R O P E JSK IE J
Procesy integracji Polski z U n ią Europejską są jednym z priorytetów p olsk iego rządu, stąd konieczne wydaje się akcentowanie ich skutków dla naszego kraju i społeczeństw a. To, że nie będą one jednak ow e dla wszystkich Polaków, oraz to, że podjęte decyzje w yw ołu ją dziś w iele obaw w kręgach gospodarczych, pokazały m iędzy innymi badania przeprowadzone wśród polskich przedsiębiorstw - w łaścicieli małych i średnich firm (M SP). Integracja, o której mowa, przynosi zbadanym podm iotom w iele pozytyw ów , ale i uw idacznia niestety liczne, w tym sp ołeczn e zagrożenia.
N in iejsze opracow anie stanowi analizę w pływ u akcesji Polski do Unii Europejskiej na funkcjonowanie sektora małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw.
