An environment for the activities of the International Monetary Fund (the IMF) has fundamentally changed over the two recent decades. The strong development of financial innovations as well as of financial globalisation was among major forces driving the change and shaping the economic growth worldwide. As some economies were able - with the support from financial markets – to accelerate their growth, other countries suffered from turbulences, which were reinforced and transferred internationally through the volatile financial markets. The process of international financial contagion makes the case for global financial governance, which so far has been left behind the development of markets. The IMF is mandated to play a central role in the global governance designed to ensure financial stability. The article reconsiders the Fund’s role and includes an overview and assessment of its activities, particularly in the context of the global financial crisis in 2007-2010. In the aftermath of this crisis, the international financial stability may, however, again be at risk as several external imbalances in the global economy may be hardly sustainable. It is argued in the paper that, in addition to a gradually improving surveillance and lending as well as to adjusting resources by the Fund, an enhanced credibility of the institution is needed so that its role in the process of the stabilising global financial system is strong and effective.

This study examines the phenomenon of performance persistence of equity funds in Hungary in two time perspectives: 1-year and 6-month perspectives. The empirical results confirm the occurrence of performance dependence in consecutive periods. There is also a strong evidence of short-term persistence in the total horizon of the study (from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2009), and in several sub-periods. The 1-year persistence was also found in the tested sample and, in general, depended on the measure applied. Furthermore, I observed performance reversal, which can be partly explained by trend changes in the financial markets. The persistence of equity funds performance in Hungary is shaped by market factors rather than the diversity of managerial characteristics.

In the process of furthering EU integration little attention was given to the role of income taxes. Multiple income tax systems exist across the Union and their differentiation negatively impacts the European labour market, investments and savings, inhibiting economic growth. Individual nations have little motivation to harmonise as they can engage in tax rate competition and income taxes are interwoven with social security systems that make any attempts at reform extremely complex and politically unpopular. Much of current harmonisation is “silent”, paralegal, and occurs in response to market forces rather than following a formal plan and through intergovernmental cooperation.

The paper presents a model of an integration system for operations and cost data designed for the needs of process controlling in agricultural enterprises, with special emphasis on logistics processes. The proposed model constituted the basis for the development of an IT tool to be used in the identification and analysis of logistics costs in agricultural enterprises in terms of the process based approach. As a result of research and programming efforts a model was developed, which made it possible in agricultural enterprises to determine the type-based relationship of cost dynamics and structure with realized actions, operating processes (including logistics processes) and products, as well as the relationship of these costs with used resources, maintained stocks, applied materials and work methods. Moreover, this model facilitates cost allocation to products and processes as well as cost centers and points, and makes it possible to determine multidimensional dependencies of the result (divided into individual products) on incurred costs.

The article discusses an overview of customer loyalty theoretical framework. It presents both, the classic approach to the subject of loyalty as well as the results of its ongoing evolution. This allowed the identification of factors affecting customer loyalty and a statement that the concept of loyalty can be seen in varying degrees, in terms of criteria other than behavioral. Finding of not enough empirical research on customer loyalty in the long types of market and specific customer groups indicates a cognitive gap. Verification of the classic determinants of customer loyalty authorized to conclude that the profitability of the customer portfolio sets new definition of loyalty, which is related to the concepts of marketing value and value based management. This is supported by associations of loyalty to the management parameters.

The aim of the article is an identification of key sources of an innovative character and their conditioning in contemporary Polish economy. In the discussion, it is stated that consumers – the smallest, but the most numerous economic unit – through their expectations of the way / form of meeting their own needs, create a direction and dynamics of innovative business and confirm or undermine the legitimacy of accepted directions of actions of the supply side and greatly determine their economic force. In addition, the discussion concerning market decisions (their sources) of consumers and businessmen is based on the results of neuroanatomical brain research. Analyses, that were carried out, allow for stating that: 1) consumers in a market play take on the following roles: creators of an innovative activity based on the reported potential demand; evaluating results of actions taken by innovative businessmen through effective demand; 2) in Poland, there has been a gradual redefinition of key factors of innovative character; 3) businessmen (over 90%) consider coming closer to consumers, meeting their needs through the use of the Internet, interactive and social media as the most important initiatives; 4) an action of businessmen within the scope of improving operative efficiency, aiming at accelerating reactions to market consumers expectations increase; 5) brain activity accounts for nearly ¾ decisions made – each choice constitutes a completely real process engaging a particular neuron number (including von Economo neurons), which influences particular behaviour; 6) a network of neural connections in the brain changes as one gains knowledge and experience – in effect, brain structures become more flexible.

The importance of human capital is widely emphasised in the literature as regards the achievement of durable competitive edge. It turns out that a company may achieve an equally durable competitive edge owing to its innovativeness. Which source should be chosen by a company’s managers, which source should they focus their attention and resources on so as not to be driven out of the market – and even more so – to achieve great success on it? This article provides an unambiguous answer to this question. Both these sources are inseparable and must be used simultaneously. The article presents dependencies occurring between Human Resource Management and innovativeness identifying the critical personnel areas from the viewpoint of innovativeness and simultaneously verifying the usefulness of various models of Human Resource Management.