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and the networks of relationships. In the process of globalization, companies increasingly
establish cooperation with various entities in the form of networking. Such entities include
suppliers, purchasers, competitors and various other institutions. Therefore, it seems
legitimate that the source of competitive advantage is in this case a specialization of
network participants and the unique relationships that allow businesses to use specific
resources and capacities of other partners (Rybicki, Pawlowski 2009, pp. 109-120). Modern
concepts of the theory of competitive advantage should also include, among others, the
concept of building advantage based on innovation or business location theory (See more:
Macias 2008, pp. 12, and Bednarz 2013, pp. 162).
Factors of competitive advantage of food sector enterprises in Greater Poland
The characteristics of the study and the analyzed sample
The survey was conducted within the project titled "Competitive strategies of Greater
Poland's food sector enterprises in a globalizing world," realized from the funds allocated
for young researchers at the Faculty of Management Engineering at Poznan University of
Technology. Telephone interview with the companies participating in the survey was
conducted between July and September 2015. The research problem was to identify and
compare the instruments shaping competitive advantages of food sector companies in
Greater Poland.
The sample consisted of 86 enterprises 11 of the food sector 12 , including 60 qualified as small
businesses according to the criteria of employment, 24 as medium size and 2 as large.
Moreover, 21 companies participating in the survey are internationalized (including 12
small, 8 medium and 1 large company), and mostly in their first phase of
internationalization. Further development of exports of these products, and also a
significant improvement in the balance of foreign trade forces moving towards building
quality advantage, which often requires a reorientation of the current sources to create a
competitive advantage. The territorial scope covered the region of Greater Poland. The
choice of this sector is not accidental. Food processing in Greater Poland has held strong
and unshakable leadership position in terms of share of production in the sale of
manufacturing output. What is more, this value has been steadily increasing since the year
2000. (See Statistical Yearbooks of the Greater Poland Region for each year).
The primary research tool was a questionnaire containing respectively for companies
internationalized 30 questions divided thematically into three parts. The first concerned the
description of the business, the second - the degree of internationalization of companies,
the third - the competitiveness of enterprises. However, in the case of domestic companies
in the questionnaire included 24 questions divided into two thematic parts - a description of
the business and the analysis of the competitiveness of the company.
11 It should be noted that the small size of the sample carries certain restrictions on inference. On this basis,
therefore, one should not make generalizations about all food sector businesses, or the entire province of
Greater Poland.
12 For the purpose of the project the agri-food industry was defined as a group of companies manufacturing
products classified in sections A and C, division 10 and 11 according to PCA in 2011 based on CSO data.
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