Is if Polish football team won the European Championship, something important would change in the lives of ordinary Poles? Odczułby momentary euphoria, but then everything would return to normal. And although we all secretly are aware of this, is eagerly rooting for white-red and observe the stages of struggle – as if it was not about the result of the game sports, but about the future of the same Polish!
we cheer the economy . We are happy to read articles from the “Polish Foreign successful company.” We look forward to when the summer holidays in Italy can be found on the shelf Polish product or the Polish uprising revolutionary global patent.
And rightly so. This is because more practical sense than emocjonowanie in football. Foreign success of our companies are – in contrast to the success of national team – much more serious consequences for our everyday life. They are both the result and the cause of economic development in the long term, provide greater economic stability, and eventually translate into higher salaries. Moreover, the GDP index is designed so that exports (the main indicator of successes abroad) it enlarges and reduces imports. Larger exports are therefore higher GDP and higher GDP is a magnet for foreign capital necessary to continue the conquest. Same pros, is not it?
Polish entrepreneurs are not in this confident.
Data vs. anecdotes
Global success and recognition are not their main objectives. Satisfied with a good position on the Polish market. Just going back briefly to the football metaphor, they do not want international cups, enough for them championship – or barely podium – district league.
Some of us – those especially who naczytali articles about the success of Polish companies – do not believe that Polish companies do not have global ambitions. A InPost? A Pesa? Solaris? Inglot? CD Projekt with “The Witcher”? For wearing pink glasses cold shower in the form of statistics.
Let’s start with the fact that in Poland there are approx. 1.8 million active companies. This means that even litany consisting of dozens of large and multinational companies of Polish origin is a merely anecdotal. They are the exception, a drop in the sea.
On the Polish market we have so much. micro , or local companies employing less than 10 people. There are almost 1.7 million. Active small companies (up to 49 employees) have less than 60 thousand., And medium and large (from 50 employees upwards) … only 18.5 thousand. These data are from 2013. But annual fluctuations are not important here. Frenzy is not.
And now the most important. The percentage of exporters among Polish companies is only 3.6 per cent., Which is nearly 30 percent. less than the EU average. Statistically, the main blame micro. More than 95 per cent. of them do not sell anything abroad, and even if it does, it – from the point of view of the economy as a whole – the imperceptible scale. As for small companies, their products are exported approx. 30 per cent. of these, the average – almost 50 percent. in the case of the large ratio increases to 66 percent. (We are talking about products, services is even less fun). These data mourn even more if we take into account the foreign sales of the average Polish exporter. They amount to 1.7 million euros, or about the million less than the EU average.
It is hardly surprising that the global markets are so few recognizable Polish brands . Even more difficult, that they are not in the rankings of the most valuable brands in the world.
You can search rationalize this state of affairs and to explain that those who are there, they were either built by many generations, or formed as a result of the Internet boom of the past two decades (hence the dominance of US companies, German or Japanese), and our economy is too young and insufficiently modern to expect success right now. But the problem is that we can not wait for them. Why? Because not one of them strive for. The creators of the largest international brands often have the same date of birth of their companies to think of them as global players. Polish businessmen, as shown by their actions, not belligerent declarations, thus thought rare.
– Orientation business inside is a disease of early capitalism, when entrepreneurs do not yet have a sense of its own mission in the economy and there is no tradition of building multi-generational companies to be a monument to its founder – convinces prof. Witold Orlowski, an economist and chief adviser to PwC.
Economics suspicions
As this problem see businessmen belonging to the “exceptional”?
Henryk Orfinger, president of cosmetic company Dr Irena Eris , certainly is their representative. Brand, which co-creates with his wife, since it is also present in foreign markets. In 2012. Products Dr Irena Eris accepted even the famous French club Comité Colbert, an association of the most exclusive brand.
What think Orfinger limits fellow businessmen? – Lack of confidence and desire to have control over everything. It features that narrow perspective and paralyze action. Mutual distrust inherited from previous generations. This translates into a situation where people who could help us in the development of the company, we are often marginalized. It seems to us that we take something that should be ours. It seems to us that surely something cock it or cheat – notes Orfinger.
Peter Voelkel, founder of the well-known furniture company Vox , explains the circumstances, where such attitudes have evolved: – after 1989. domestic market growing fast and needed new products and services. Polish business has a huge range of possibilities. Demand grew for many years, we imported more than exported. Our western neighbors have a very tough competitive market in which we sold a lot, but usually in other people’s brands. Owners of domestic companies were not prepared to be active in Western markets. Do not know the language, they were fanatics implementation of new production technologies, and not wise communication and modern trade – convinces entrepreneur.
Ironically, it is those businessmen belonging to the first wave Polish capitalism, which managed to survive and develop, now more willing to look abroad than the generation of their children, or people between 35 and 44 years of age. “This group showed the lowest propensity for internationalization. It seems that this generation is the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of political transformation, while older generations better cope with it mentally, and the younger you just do not remember the previous political and economic systems “- notes in one of the articles, Dr. Przemyslaw Zbierowski from the University of Economics in Katowice.
Jacek Santorski, business psychologist, who every day advising Polish companies as “stable and sustainable” grow, is the lack of international ambitions forgiving.
– Less is more. Less means more. People napatrzyli on their parents workaholics who sweat after 18 hours a day to build your business, but do not have time for a private life. The current trend is sustainable, peaceful development. Younger entrepreneurs do not want in my life collecting things, just moments – convinces Santorski.
The welfare of mental entrepreneurs is obviously important (what would happen if they started to jump out of windows?) but is it really over these last 25 years have time to work through?
Marek Moczulski, president of the food company Bakalland (work not only in Poland, but also, for example . South Africa), thinks that someone who started the business in the early ’90s, certainly has the right to feel somewhat tired, but the problem lies not in his fatigue, but that did not develop successors, who development his company will bring new energy, enthusiasm and aspiration. – Now looking for a balance between work and private life, 25 years ago simply hard harowało. The problem of succession is a problem that structurally paralyzes the ability of Polish companies to foreign expansion – emphasizes the manager.
Should we blame businessmen that seek to personal happiness? Of course not. It’s their choice. Unfortunately, this choice affects the development of the economy. The average landowner in the fifteenth century. Was probably happier than Christopher Columbus, but that Columbus discovered America, doing the same favor greater world. Just as someone who is not limited in their plans, perhaps for their own economies to do more than settle down minimalist.
Economic studies show that productivity and innovativeness of Polish companies are growing, but are still on insufficient level. They can only pull us out of the trap of average income, when a country ceases to be really rich. Which in turn may enhance these indicators? Foreign expansion of Polish companies, of course.
About all decide personnel
The aspirations of our businesses are not exclusively a result of cultural and social gene, which passed they inherited from socialism. Also they arise in part from the consciousness of real market restrictions. Businessmen see what they can, they can not, and measure the forces intent. And see, unfortunately, that their potential power ambitions may face serious obstacles that are sometimes insurmountable.
The first important deficit personnel. Expansion abroad is not only sending the world a message: “Hey, we’re Polish, manufacture irons, buy from us!”, Also eg. The employment of good expert on marketing or lawyer who rozgryzie conditions of legal and regulatory new market.
– expansion abroad is able to block the lack of knowledge of local laws. It eg. The regulations, procedures and certifications for months that operate there under the pretext of consumer protection and strongly hinder entry to the market – notes Peter Voelkel. On the other hand, Krzysztof Moska, a famous stock market investor and former chairman of producing construction materials company GAMRAT , notes that the lack of knowledge of the law is also often a lack of awareness of business opportunities. – Is in Bulgaria is a good tax system? Great, corporate taxes are lower and simpler than in Poland. But a hundred of my fellow businessmen or two knows this – laughs bitterly Moska.
The concept of shortages is the lack of people that the markets know how his own pocket and can act on them as guides who know the local culture of doing business that are specific for the particular countries customs which disrespect risk failure.
a textbook example of the minefield are China . If you would like to do there business remotely from a safe and warm office in Poland, forget it. Not only that, you have to go there regularly for checks, it still need to have in place its human, and preferably several, who will continue to watch and monitor whether the commissioned production takes place according to the agreement. – Recently we sent Chinese subcontractors whole container reels that do not meet our requirements. Najedliśmy at the nerves, because they were designed for a new product line, which had premiered by this move – says an anonymous person supervising the foreign markets in the Polish company producing fishing equipment. Luckily, he has experience in working with the Chinese, and he knows that you should never pay them in advance. The company sent the containers back to China, demanding the destruction of defective material. – Unlike the Chinese would sell defective reels with our logo to someone else, destroying our brand – says.
With the lack of personnel necessary for the expansion is related afflicting Polish companies lack capital .
We are talking about a really big capital – one that is difficult to gather small businesses, for whom the problem is even cover the costs of participation in international trade fairs. Yes, they could look for external financing, but they are against the idea of an extremely resistant and select organic growth, or slow. More than 65 per cent. his investment company SME sector realize from their own funds, bank loans or outside investors treating it as a necessary evil.
– I know the owners of even relatively large companies, who actually boast that I never took the credit. They built two, three factories and are happy – says Krzysztof Moska.
Another problem is that not all ideas Poles international expansion are applause among bankers and investors. – Polish capital market is not particularly large, and private quity funds or venture capital in our market is only a few billion dollars. This means that the Poles foreign expansion should be financed with foreign partners, which slows down and hinders the process – notes Thomas Kolaja of consulting company Alvarez & amp; Marsal. – The network of companies and financial institutions supporting the Polish investors is very local and there is no extensive contacts and foreign affiliates, that could handle the transaction. The search for foreign capital also inhibit such mundane matters as our infrastructure. Poland is still in some ways cut off from the world. We do not have enough grid direct flights, which would save time and costs. When I go to Warsaw airport and want to go to the US, I have to choose only the New York or Chicago. Yet the potential investor may live in Atlanta or Dallas – explains Kolaja.
Is the light of the foregoing Affordable aspirations of Polish businessmen deserve to be called realism?
Business Self-Help
– In a sense, yes – says prof. Krzysztof Obłój, specialist in management from the University of Warsaw. – The internationalization of business is the most risky decision in the life of the company. In any economy, most companies are local companies. 70 percent. emerging die within three years, and 90 per cent. of those that live longer, they never employ more than nine employees. Often we do not realize what it means to run a business. Companies do not assume people who already have, but people who just want to have. They risk a lot, waiting for them to fight bureaucracy, scammers or society recognizing them as exploiters. It is not that they do not have dreams. They have them, but dreams verifies the reality and such. Issues related to lack of capital. It is necessary, especially when increased sales. Many companies falls precisely at a time when growing them to sell – notes prof. Obłój.
Warsaw scientist does not deny, however, that the internationalization of companies is beneficial for the economy. Protesting only against equating it with the simplistic view that it is in the process of expansion of only Polish capital. Is it that decisions on international promotion associated with Polish Wyborowa brand are adopted in Sweden, is something wrong? In his opinion, no. The international economy is the economy synergies and cooperation, not competition football, in which the clash hostile representations. So if we have a few successes abroad, it may mean that we do not understand the global economy and we do not know how to make others want to work with us?
Economists argue sometimes that role to play here is a state that Polish companies abroad can promote, giving them a basic knowledge of foreign markets, facilitating contacts, and even subsidizing. Sami entrepreneurs approach things a little differently. In their opinion, the state should not only aid, which does not disturb
– a factor that hinders development and expansion is a huge inequality in the treatment of individual entrepreneurs, which is largely the result of over-regulation of the economy. Changing this state of affairs would be undoubtedly a good change, stimulating both the economy of the country as well as foreign expansion of Polish companies – notes the head of the InPostu Rafał Brzoska.
As the carried out in 2014. Kronenberg Foundation study “How to earn foreign markets”, it is the internal and external bureaucratic barriers are among the most frequently cited obstacles to expansion. The survey also shows that although entrepreneurs appreciate the free government aid (if there is someone who complains about the free gifts?), It partners in the expansion of mainly see in other institutions commercial. For example, the banks lending to them or … self-help, or in different types of chambers of commerce.
– With the latter there is the problem that in Poland have developed chamber support SME sector, and only the Chamber, which include large companies, which do not have expansion problems. Professional associations, small businesses arise from time to time, but usually after six months suspend real activity – notes Krzysztof Moska. Thomas Kolaja highlights here the destructive role of mutual distrust in the Polish business, which gets in the way of cooperation.
– On the one hand, it is normal that companies treat as competitors and make you more experienced they not want to share their knowledge with the newbies. However, in the case of foreign expansion joint action can bring better results than the single batches. Well aware of this, for example, the Japanese, who are often their investments in the countries focus on specific centers. For example, in Germany full of them in Duesseldorf. They have not only your company but also pubs and schools, which greatly facilitates the influx of investors from the Land of the Rising Sun – explains Kolaja.
Which approach is right: based on government support and grassroots mutual sharing of knowledge and experience? That’s the question a hundred points. Policy interventions can be costly – is the risk that the state will arbitrarily and erroneously typowało company worthy of support, hurting others. On the other hand, the effects can occur more quickly than the sentence to exclusively market cooperation and spontaneous events. I bet I’m scenario for the patient. Polish entrepreneurs, the expansion was successful, note that for wanting nothing difficult. As noted Brzoska, all they have in common a specific mentality: no typical of this part of Europe complexes, imagination and determination to succeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment