Kozminski University Poland
This Global Network Week course introduces participants to the specifics of the Poland’s economic progress in the last 37 years and the strategies applied by Polish firms through which they successfully compete in international markets. Participants will gain a unique opportunity to explore Poland’s economic and cultural heritage as well as interact with leading Polish firms. The last 35 years of Polish transformation has been marked by obvious success on many fronts, often referred to as its "new golden age" (Piątkowski, 2018). The economy has experienced major growth, becoming the 6th largest economy in the EU, 20th worldwide in 2025, and 20th World’s largest exporter in 2025. After 1989 Poland embarked on a transition that has turned it from one of Europe's least prosperous nations into a dynamic, rapidly developing economy poised to rival many of its Western European peers. Behind this impressive economic rise stand Polish firms – those which successfully renewed themselves, investing abroad and becoming top European players as well as innovative newcomers, pursuing knowledge-driven growth, born in the last 20 years. Poland’s evolving institutional and economic landscape provides a “natural laboratory” for studying how Polish firms adapted, renewed amid turbulence and successfully compete internationally. The course is focused on unpacking the ‘black box’ of strategic renewal of Polish firms through business model innovation, featuring in-class case study discussions, renowned guest speakers, a company visit and cultural activities. This multi-perspective learning will help participants to better understand the economic and cultural heritage of Poland, as a rising economy and unique experiences of successful companies which have overcome the challenges of the unstable business environment. By examining case studies and applying learned concepts to business practice, the goal of this course is to prepare managers for leading their firms’ strategic renewal in a variety of industries and firm sizes in a dynamically changing environment.