The purpose of this paper is to show how joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries contribute to building companies' competitiveness. It begins with a brief discussion of the theoretical approach to foreign direct investment (equity based modes). Next, the authors present the results of research carried out among Polish companies investing abroad during the period 2007-2008 by a team of researchers from Nicolaus Copernicus University. The research focuses on two main FDI entry modes and attempts to identify the relative impact of the entry mode on the competitiveness of investors. Although the level of international involvement of polish investors is still relatively low, their awareness of the benefits from internationalization is growing. Factors that may influence the choice of entry mode are studied, including the target host country, the economic activity of the company, the FDI diversification mode and the number of investment projects undertaken by a company, the latter a measure we take to reflect the international experience of the respondents. The research is also the first to highlight how the contribution to competitive potential may vary depending on the ownership structure adopted, offering a comparison of the relative benefits accruing as a result of internationalisation among companies operating on the basis of solo equity (wholly owned subsidiary or branch office), joint ventures or a mixed strategy.

The purpose of this article is to determine the impact of Polish FDI companies on their competitiveness, depending on their establishment mode choice in the host country (greenfield investment vs. acquisition). Research Design & Methods: The study used a direct interview method. The results were analysed using impact indicators (w) calculated as the arithmetic mean of numerical values assigned to each response as well as Fisher's exact test. Statistical calculations were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics software version 21.0.0.1. Findings: The impact of FDI on investor competitiveness in relation to the main competitors operating on the home market and on foreign markets depends on FDI entry mode (greenfield investment vs. acquisition), among other things. Implications & Recommendations: The results of this study may be the starting point for further research on the impact of FDI on competitiveness, particularly through foreign acquisitions. It should be assumed that as Polish companies gain experience on the international stage, this mode of entry will be chosen by investors more frequently. Contribution & Value Added: The uniqueness of the following study is in the presentation of the results of original empirical research, which demonstrate the relationship between the foreign establishment mode choice (greenfield investment vs. acquisition) and the competitiveness of investing companies. Ex post evaluations were taken into account while forming the conclusions. Article type: research paper

Purpose of the article: The purpose of this article is to identify FDI determinants that drive investment among Polish companies depending on their establishment mode choice (greenfield investment vs acquisition). Methodology/methods: Article presents selected results of these authors' own research conducted as part of Research Project No. N N112 322338 entitled "Investment Activity of Polish Enterprises Abroad-Factors and Effects", financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. 64 companies (out of 622), which implemented a total of 279 FDI, participated in this research. The majority of these investors (57%) decided to invest their capital abroad in the form of greenfield-investments, nearly 21% only made acquisitions, and 22% undertook both greenfield-investment and acquisitions. Scientific aim: Increase in knowledge. Findings: Market-seeking determinants were the most important factors in the Polish direct investors' decision making process on investing abroad, regardless of the establishment mode choice (greenfield investments vs. acquisitions). Within this group of determinants, Polish investors have most frequently indicated "new market" as the most important factor. Conclusions: The study points to the fact that market-seeking factors explain most of the FDI undertaken by Polish firms. Resource seeking and efficiency seeking factors, falling in the category of economic factors, turned out to be of less importance for investors from Poland. Nevertheless, there were more significant differences in responses from the two groups of Polish investors among resource seeking factors.

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