Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration
JOURNAL FOR PERSPECTIVES OF ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION. JOURNAL FOR MENTAL CHANGES is an international and multidisciplinary forum for presenting relevant ideas concerning changes in economic, political, social, ecological and religious issues. The language is English. The journal publishes mainly theoretical and empirical articles but also essays, opinions and proposals.
Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Crowdsourcing: A New Phenomenon or an Old Practice of Leveraging Society’s Intellectual Capital? History and Definitional Framework of the Concept
This article explores the concept of crowdsourcing by examining its historical context, contemporary applications, and theoretical framework. Crowdsourcing is defined as a mechanism for converting societal intellectual capital into value through collective participation, which dates to antiquity and has evolved with technological advancements, especially the internet. By analysing historical cases, such as the Longitude Act and the Enigma code-breaking effort, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of collective intelligence in solving complex problems. The research also evaluates various definitions of crowdsourcing, emphasizing its adaptability across industries and its role in open innovation. The study concludes with a proposal for a comprehensive definition of crowdsourcing, highlighting its potential and challenges, including intellectual property rights, participant motivation, and ethical considerations. This analysis underscores the transformative impact of crowdsourcing on business models and its capacity to drive societal engagement and innovation.
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Proactive Performance of Employees in Polish Higher Education Institutions: Determinants and Implications
This study examines factors associated with proactive performance, as conceptualized by Griffin et al. (2007), among employees in Polish higher education. Drawing on a job performance framework (Hauk, 2025), rooted in the Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham, 1980) and its extensions, this research integrates motivational, social, and contextual job characteristics with two core psychological states – sense of meaningfulness and sense of responsibility and knowledge of results – and tests the moderating role of psychological safety. A survey was conducted among 378 academic and administrative staff members from 26 Polish higher education institutions. The study assessed direct, indirect, and moderated pathways between work characteristics and three forms of proactive performance: doing a task individually, as a team member, and as a member of an organization. As for the results, psychological safety moderated the indirect effects: meaningfulness served as a mediator under low to moderate levels of safety, whereas responsibility and knowledge of results played a stronger mediating role under moderate to high levels of safety. These findings advance understanding of proactive performance in academia and highlight the importance of cultivating psychologically safe and supportive work environments. Thus, they hold particular significance for higher education institutions in Central and Eastern Europe.
Employee Prosociality, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Organizational Commitment in Small and Medium Enterprises: Multilevel Moderated Mediation Analysis
Successful management of employees’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions requires insight into their determinants and antecedents. We integrate the previously studied determinants and antecedents of employees’ CSR perceptions into a comprehensive framework. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of employees’ prosociality, employees’ awareness of CSR initiatives, and company’s perceived motives on company’s perceived social responsibility. We simultaneously examined how these micro-organizational reactions influence organizational commitment in our moderated mediational model at both the employee level (based on 1193 employees) and the company level (based on 133 companies). This study provides evidence that, at the employee level, prosociality, general attitude towards the social responsibility of business, and CSR initiative awareness influence affective organizational commitment via company’s perceived social responsibility and that relationship is moderated by company’s perceived motives for engaging in CSR activities. The theoretical and practical implications of the results of the study are discussed, suggesting future research directions.
Transparency and Accountability in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Analysis of the Attitudes of the Organization’s Employees
The article examines organizational readiness for responsible artificial intelligence by analysing employees’ attitudes toward key dimensions of transparency and accountability in algorithmic decision-making. The study was designed to explore how workers perceive human responsibility for AI-generated outcomes, the need for disclosing the use of algorithms in organizational processes, the role of ethical training, and the importance of algorithmic audit mechanisms. A quantitative survey conducted in 2025 on a sample of 325 respondents was complemented with a multiple correspondence analysis, which made it possible to identify underlying structures in the distribution of responses and to capture differences in the intensity and certainty of opinions. The findings reveal a clear acceptance of fundamental ethical norms such as human oversight and transparency, contrasted with less decisive attitudes toward more advanced organizational practices including systematic ethical training and audit procedures. These results indicate that while employees support foundational principles of responsible AI, organizations still face challenges in implementing procedural and technical mechanisms that ensure full accountability. The study offers practical insights for managers and policymakers by identifying areas where competence-building, communication and institutional frameworks require strengthening. Its originality lies in combining attitudinal data with MCA to provide a nuanced picture of how transparency and accountability are understood by employees in everyday organizational contexts, contributing to the broader debate on ethical and trustworthy AI deployment.
The Transformational Impact of AI on Employment
This article analyzes the transformational impact of artificial intelligence on employment by integrating four source perspectives (history of AI development, scientific research, consulting firm reports, and statements from technology creators) across five dimensions of consequences: economic, organizational, developmental, social, and human. The methods included literature and report reviews as well as systematic analysis of 204 statements from industry leaders, synthesized in a comparative table of issues and exposure assessments, which allowed capturing both convergent points and divergences between source types. The results indicate agreement on productivity growth, selective occupational exposure, and inequality risks without compensatory policies; organizationally, they confirm the need for new operational governance (governance, audit, roles around data and models) and transition toward agent orchestration. In the developmental dimension, the skills-first paradigm and mass reskilling are consolidating, while socially, trust, transparency, and bias minimization become crucial; at the individual level, relief and increased stress coexist along with transition costs. The analysis is embedded in the cyclical history of AI “summers” and “winters,” emphasizing that despite unprecedented progress, the pace may slow due to lack of AGI breakthrough, hardware limitations, and explainability and regulatory challenges, though agent architectures are already transforming work roles and processes today. Implications include recommendations for public policies, education, and management practices, emphasizing investments in complementary competencies and responsible AI governance.
Crowdfunding: Motivation and a Measure of Social Energy in International Context
Social energy is an innovative perspective on the traditional understanding of energy – contained within the realm of physics and chemistry, and signifying here the human propensity and capacity for intensive action. The aim of the article is to determine the relationships and strength of interactions between two main attributes of the discussed funding source: the number of people supporting projects and the sum of donations contributed to projects, taking into account the attribute of the offered reward package serving as motivation for making contributions, as well as to formulate social energy metrics and verify reward packages. The study covered selected countries with the highest crowdfunding popularity in the years 2020–2025: USA, Japan, Germany, and Canada. Four project features were considered across several dozen categories: the number of successfully completed projects, the sum of contributions to projects in a given category, the number of people supporting projects, and the types of rewards offered to them. A clustering method was applied, examining similar project categories, according to the above characteristics. An online diagnostic survey was conducted regarding motivation to participate in crowdfunding campaigns with reward offerings. Social energy metrics were proposed, taking into account selected project attributes.
Future Competences in Digital Society: Between Automation and Humanism
This article examines future competences in the context of accelerated technological transformation, automation, and the development of artificial intelligence. It argues that in digital societies competences can no longer be understood solely as economic or functional constructs, but must also be conceptualized as ethical and cultural categories that shape individuals’ capacity for responsible participation in complex socio-technical systems. The study adopts a theoretical and conceptual approach based on critical analysis and synthesis of interdisciplinary literature drawn from psychology, sociology, philosophy, and management studies. It proposes an original framework of four interrelated competence domains: cognitive (critical thinking and reading comprehension), emotional (emotional intelligence, empathy, and active listening), existential (self-management and psychological resilience), and socio-cognitive (lifelong learning and reflexivity). The analysis demonstrates that these domains are mutually interconnected and collectively constitute the foundations of human agency in digitally mediated environments. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of ethics and the humanities as normative frameworks that shape both the direction and the meaning of competence development in the age of automation. The article also highlights the structural tension between instrumental, market-oriented approaches to competences and their broader humanistic, societal, and governance-related functions. The main contribution of the article lies in the development of an integrated interdisciplinary model that links competence development with ethical responsibility, governance, and social participation. It is argued that the integration of technical knowledge with humanistic reflection constitutes a necessary condition for maintaining a sustainable balance between technological innovation and human values.
Voluntary Sustainability Standards in Global Agrifood Systems: Emerging Challenges and Policy Pathways
Agrifood production systems drive environmental degradation and deepen social and economic inequalities, particularly in developing countries. Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) have emerged to promote economic viability, social equity, and environmental protection within global value chains. This narrative review critically examines their role in advancing sustainability across production systems, focusing on environmental practices, livelihoods, market access, and power relations. The schemes analyzed include Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, organic agriculture, GLOBALG.A.P. (Good Agricultural Practice), RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), and 4C (Common Code for the Coffee Community). Evidence shows that VSS can enhance smallholder livelihoods and market integration, build technical capacity, foster sustainable environmental management (e.g., biodiversity conservation, reduced deforestation), and improve governance, traceability, and market compliance. However, effectiveness remains constrained by high certification and compliance costs, unequal value distribution, limited inclusivity of marginalized producers, context-dependent environmental outcomes, and weak monitoring systems. The study calls for targeted policy support, such as incentive payments or compensatory subsidies, to alleviate compliance burdens, and for better data systems and digital tools to reinforce credibility and accountability. Overall, VSS can meaningfully contribute to sustainable agrifood systems only when embedded within comprehensive policy and institutional frameworks that address structural inequities and build local capacity.
Dysfunctional Impulsiveness and Violations of Social Norms as Important Variables of Comprehensibility of Non-Standard and Non-Typical Road Sings by Polish Drivers
Road safety is one of the most important challenges facing modern civilization. In recent decades, loss of life as a result of road traffic has been one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This makes the social mission of integrating the main elements of the road traffic system in such a way as to make it safe a modern necessity. Interdisciplinary research on improving road safety should therefore cover not only humans (drivers) but also other road users, the road and its surroundings, and increasingly sophisticated intelligent vehicles. In this article, we present the results of research on drivers’ understanding of non-standard road and environmental signs. Non-standard signs are now widely used around the world to improve traffic organization and increase safety. However, there is still little research on the extent to which these signs actually improve traffic flow, thereby increasing safety, and whether they are comprehensible to drivers. Research has shown that unusual signage is more comprehensible when it contains only symbolic elements rather than a combination of symbolic and textual elements. Unlike symbolic and textual signs, symbolic signs are also better understood by drivers with personality traits associated with dysfunctional impulsivity and a tendency to break social norms.
Modern Technologies, Financial Tools and Tools of the National Tax Administration and the Management of an Enterprise from the SME Sector
The sector of small and medium-sized enterprises is the backbone of the European economy. It covers a significant percentage of employment and added value. At the same time, it operates under increasing technological, regulatory and competitive pressure. Modern financial tools, including cloud-based tools, fintech solutions and artificial intelligence algorithms in the area of data analysis and decision-making, have recently gained particular importance. The aim of the article is to analyze the impact of modern technologies, as well as financial tools and the Polish National Tax Administration (KAS), on the management of an enterprise from the SME sector. It was shown that the implementation of modern technologies, financial tools and KAS tools leads to a significant change in the information architecture of the organization and to a shift in the burden of company management. The issues discussed in the article indicate that the broadly understood digitalization of the enterprise, the introduction of new administrative tools is a process redefining the structure of entrepreneurship, management and responsibility in the enterprise. The article is analytical and empirical. It uses research methods and tools, including literature analysis, observation and case studies.
The Impact of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s Rulings on Managerial Decisions in Commercial Banks
The aim of this article is to examine the impact of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s rulings on managerial decisions in selected commercial banks in Poland, with particular emphasis on changes in provisioning policies, legal risk management, and institutional strategy. The study is based on an analytical and comparative approach using financial, regulatory, and qualitative data. The findings indicate an increase in provisions for litigation and a growing importance of legal risk in banks’ balance sheets. The results also show differences between institutions depending on their exposure to foreign-currency loan portfolios. The study contributes to interdisciplinary research at the intersection of law, economics, and management by demonstrating how judicial decisions shape managerial decision-making structures and drive adaptive mechanisms within the financial sector.
The Household – An Underappreciated Entity in Economic Theory
The purpose of this study was to present the evolution of the understanding of the category and contexts of the household against the backdrop of the development of economic theory, to highlight the cognitive deficit regarding this entity, and to attempt to identify potential components of a theory of the household, along with sources of support for such a theory within the existing body of work of economic schools and schools of thought. The study is based on an analysis of schools and trends in economic theory and the history of economic thought. It employs a broadly critical analysis of the relevant literature and the findings of the history of economic thought. The research conducted allowed us to conclude that in economic theory, or in contemporary times, much more attention is devoted to the individual (the person) than to the group of people constituting a household, and even when studies are conducted with regard to these complex entities, the analyses do not always reflect the processes (choices, decision-making) occurring within them, which result from the reactions and counter-reactions of its members to their broadly understood environment. Therefore, in the authors’ view, households as research subjects deserve a comprehensive theory that describes the relationships occurring within them, including decision-making processes, based on their past experiences and learning capabilities.
Nicolaus Copernicus’ Mental Path Toward the Scientific Truth About the Integration of the Univers
This study is devoted to Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik, 1473–1543), who lived both in of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. More precisely, our interest lies in his mental path toward the scientific truth about the structure and integration of the Universe. To this end, we will try to trace his academic biogra-phy together with the studies he pursued, the professional work he undertook, and the official roles he carried out under specific historical and socio-political conditions. Accordingly, we pose two questions: (1) How did Nicolaus Coper-nicus, as a canon of the Warmian Chapter, use his medical, legal, economic, and mathematical-astronomical competencies while living in Warmia? and (2) What were the successive stages in Copernicus’s construction of a mental path to the structure of the heavens, in which the planets orbiting the Sun participate in an integrated and harmonized way? We will also try to identify the factors that played a part in building this path of his mental integration – the path that led to the adoption of the heliocentric system in European civilization, against the sensory illusions entrenched over centuries.