The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the following four groups of factors on success perception by managers of Polish small-and medium-sized international new ventures (SMEs INVs): 1) competitive strategy expressed by international orientation of top management and applied marketingmix tools, 2) competitive strategy analyzed within M.E. Porter's framework, 3) sector-specific determinants (industrial branches), and 4) main export markets. Two measures of success perception are considered: subjective evaluation of firm's financial situation and assessment of firm's success as compared to competitors. The methods of data analyses are correlations and multiple linear regression (SPSS software). The analysis is conducted separately for smallsized companies and for medium-sized firms. The hypotheses concerning the roles of international orientation, marketing-mix tools, industrial branches, and main export markets in explaining success have been fully or partially confirmed. The factors that are most positively related to the perception of success across both groups of firms and two measures of success perceptions are high-quality products, good product development strategy and capability to create unique products, i.e. differentiation strategy. The obtained results imply that the most fundamental factor of success is a good product policy within the framework of a differentiation strategy. The second objective of this paper is to provide a comparison between small and medium-sized enterprises, analyzing whether there is a reason to consider SMEs as a uniform category, or whether the factors explaining success are different depending on firms' size.

The key objective of this paper is to describe and evaluate the competitive strategies applied by Polish born global enterprises. To reveal these strategies, two competitive models developed by M.E. Porter are applied to an original data set obtained from 256 small and medium Polish enterprises through a survey employing the CATI technique. The outcomes of these strategies, as perceived by the companies applying them, are also evaluated against two hypotheses. We conclude that Polish firms apply both basic strategies of competition, i.e. cost leadership strategies and differentiation strategies and that a substantial majority of companies perceive themselves to have succeeded on the market.

e main objective of this paper is to describe and compare the impact of two factors: competitive strategy (analyzed mainly through marketing-mix tools) and sector-speci c determinants (i.e. industry type), on success perception of Polish born globals. e statistical analysis (SPSS) has been applied to the original data set obtained from 256 Polish SMEs through a questionnaire and CATI technique. e outcomes have been evaluated against three hypotheses. Our research revealed that unlike the born globals from highly developed countries, the success perception of decision makers from Polish early internationalized rms is only weakly a ected by the industry type. e decision makers strongly support the statement that the success of their rms depends on competitive strategy and marketing tools which they apply. e answer to the basic research problem is that competitive strategy plays more important role than sector-speci c determinants in success perception of Polish early internationalized rms.

Purpose -The main purpose of this paper is to investigate whether purchases of capital goods through direct offset transactions (OTs) could be a more beneficial form of trade than conventional market transactions (MTs). Design/methodology/approach -An original model of trade is offered where a company from a less-developed country plans to acquire an advanced technology embodied in capital goods from a developed country's firm. The quality of technology is unknown to the buyer. The model is used to analyse the choice of transactional form made by the purchasing firm. Findings -It is shown that, in the case of substantial uncertainty about the quality of the acquired technology, direct offsets could be the preferred form of exchange. Direct OTs serve as an insurance against the technology of low quality. They become a credible signal of capital goods' quality in the situation of asymmetric information between the seller and the buyer. It is a rational reaction to market imperfections. Practical implications -The findings imply that, under asymmetric information about the quality of acquired technology, the rational decision makers should replace the conventional MTs with the direct offsets. Originality/value -The results of the paper contribute to the discussion on the motivation for the use of direct offsets as a transactional form of international trade. The paper should be of interest to practitioners as well as to academics specialising in international business transactions.

Abstract. The main goal of this paper is to analyse the relationship between innovativeness and success perception by managers of Polish small-and mediumsized international new ventures (INVs). We apply statistical analysis (with the use of SPSS) to the original data set elicited from the two samples of Polish SME's by means of a questionnaire and CATI technique. Two measures of success have been taken into account: assessment of financial situation and success perception of managers relative to competitors. The outcomes have been evaluated against two hypotheses. The results indicate that the propensity to innovate in Polish INVs was slightly higher in the group of medium-sized firms as compared to the small ones. The relationship between innovativeness and market success was complex. In the majority of the analysed cases the respondents from the mediumsized innovative firms evaluated success at the market in the most favourable terms whereas those from small innovative firms -in the least favourable terms.