TABLE OF CONTENTS
International management seen holistically. Introductory remarks 9
The international business environment 13
The story of a certain pencil 13
Creating a global market as a political consensus,. an economic model, a dynamic process and historically. embedded development 15
Characteristics of globalisation: Selected economic. and social phenomena 17
Measuring globalisation 23
Assessment of phenomena 24
Capital concentration: A pre-requisite or a consequence of the development of transnational corporations 29
The economic, social and market role of corporations 31
Areas of influence. Pioneers of innovation? 32
The mechanisms of internationalisation 39
Offshoring and a new division of labour 41
Outsourcing 45
Offshoring and theories of international expansion 47
Investment attractiveness and determinants of location decisions 50
Investors’ dilemmas on emerging markets 54
Does small mean insignificant? 60
The significance of small and medium-sized enterprises in the . global economy 60
The internationalisation of small and medium-sized. enterprises 64
Global marketing and shaping customers 67
Temptations of standardisation and communication visionaries 67
Global brands and local sentiments 70
A brand as emotions and values. An advertisement as a story 72
The world as a fast food restaurant 78
Cultural aspects of a global market 81 The myth of cultural perspective in the analysis of international markets: China 85
Corruption: A morally free zone or an illegitimate norm? 89
The culture-shaping role of marketing: A brand. as a message-conveying vehicle 94
Social perspectives of business internationalisation 97
Influence on societies and economies and strategic challenges for investors 98
Does popular culture play a social role? 102
From responsible business to sustainable development 107
The globalisation project, management and crisis 115
The evolution of international business and management 117
Case studies 123
Clusters: concentration, specialisation and internal connections. A case study of the Polish footwear industry 123
Introduction 123
Manufacture of leather and related products industry 125
Identification of the manufacture of leather and related. products cluster in Poland 125
Manufacture of leather and related products with special attention paid to the manufacture of footwear industry in Poland 128
Brawo Sp. z o.o 129
Conclusions 131
Questions 132
SMEs in industrial clusters in the context of globalisation and competitiveness. A case study of the Montebelluna cluster in Italy 132
Introduction 132
The Montebelluna cluster: General characteristics 134
The history of the Montebelluna sportsystem cluster 135
Conclusions 138
Questions 139
Global value chains and the effects of locating investments in host economies. A case study of the Aviation Valley cluster in Poland 140
Introduction 140
Aviation Valley cluster 141
The impact of FDI on Aviation Valley from a global value chain perspective 143
Conclusions 146
Questions 147
Investment attractiveness and the availability of financing streams. A case study of the Polish construction sector 147
Introduction 147
Characteristics of the construction sector 148
Characteristics of the public procurement system in Poland 150
Public investments and funding streams 151
Determinants of the investment attractiveness of the construction sector in Poland 154
Bargaining power of suppliers 154
Bargaining power of buyers 155
Threat of new producers 156
Threat of substitution 157
Conclusions 157
Questions 158
The paradoxes of globalisation. A case study of the crisis in the construction industry in Poland 158
Introduction 158
Sources of the crisis 160
Course of the crisis 161
Consequences of the crisis 166
Crisis 2.0? 168
Conclusions 171
Questions 172
REFERENCES 173
APPENDIX 201
INDEX 205