Summary Among many different definitions of competitiveness it is difficult to pinpoint the most appropriate one. In the paper it was defined as the ability to be profitable by effective use of available resources. The profitability ratios (ROS, ROA, ROE and value index) were proposed as measures of competitiveness and resources were indicated as one of the group of factors that has an impact on it. Precisely, the purpose of the paper was to examine the relationship between selected resourced based factors and competitiveness of agricultural enterprises. The study was done with the use of correlation analysis on the basis of statistical data on selected Polish companies operating in agriculture. The main finding was that the analyzed resources (the level of labour, size and quality of agricultural land and size of assets) were weakly correlated with competitiveness. This observation means that other factors have stronger impact on agricultural company’s competitiveness. They can refer to intangible resources (such as relational capital, know-how, managerial competencies, technological resources etc.) and external conditions (such as climate, legal issues) of agricultural enterprises.

The purpose of the article is to determine the relationship between the level of competitiveness of resources and the financial performance of social cooperatives. In the preliminary analysis, based on the results of survey, we use the data provided by 57 respondents. For in-depth analysis we involve the data from the EMIS Intelligence database of 20 Polish social cooperatives. Using the Spearman's rank correlation we investigate the relationship between the rating of the level of competitiveness of tangible (physical, technological, financial) and intangible (human, relational, knowledge) resources and the cooperatives' financial performance, i.e. the rating of profitability and revenues. Initially, the research results proved that there are average relationships between the rating of profitability and the rating of competitiveness of tangible (0.38) and intangible (0.42) resources. However in the in-depth analysis, based on objective data, even a weak correlation between either tangible or intangible resources and the revenues was not found. The article also discusses the obtained results along with identifying the likely causes of this situation.

The analysis of profitability enables the assessment of business efficiency while also providing information on the company’s current economic situation and further development opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to identify the definitional and analytical problems related to the profitability of agricultural cooperatives, and to exemplify the possible solutions. The sample used in this study consists of ca. 100 agricultural production cooperatives based in Poland. Trend extrapolation and analysis of variance and correlation were the techniques employed to investigate the profitability (ROE, ROA, ROS, VI) and its relationship with main lines of production and the size (UAA) and quality (soil valuation index) of agricultural land. The results of research allowed to conclude that the profitability of agricultural cooperatives is decreasing each year; it does depend neither on the main line of production nor on the size and quality of agricultural land. The need for an in-depth study of profitability of agricultural cooperatives was pointed out. It was also stated that the potential determinants of profitability may include management quality and other internal and organizational issues.

The historical as well as recent experiences show that in some countries and sectors cooperatives play a key role. The agricultural cooperatives are the organizations where farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A fundamental differences between the agricultural cooperatives in develop countries and the CEEC exist. To add insight to the understanding these differences the paper presents some relevant, secondary data. Precisely, the purpose of the article is to investigate the position of Polish agricultural production cooperatives (APCs) on the domestic market and in comparison to cooperatives in developed countries. A main finding is that there is observed a phenomenon of decreasing number of APCs, poorly recognized brands, a relative small turnovers and market shares in comparison to agricultural cooperatives in developed countries.

No abstract