In the 21st century knowledge-based economy, long-term economic growth and development depend on the ability to use the knowledge and technology so as to create product, process, organisational, marketing and even social innovations. The knowledge and technology, human resources and social capital (facilitating the transfer of technology from the world of science to the economy), comprise the most important production factors today. Research and development (R&D) activities are among the diverse determinants affecting the economy’s ability to innovate. They are carried out by public technical universities. One of the tasks that these entities face is to conduct basic, industrial (applied) research and development works. Their results can then be transferred to industrial and service enterprises as novel solutions. Research and development activities of universities are financed mainly from public sources, which suggests the need to assess the efficiency of this task. This can be done with the use of various methods, e.g. the non-parametric DEA method. The purpose of the paper is to measure the efficiency of research and development activities of public technical universities in Poland with the aid of the DEA method. The fourteen universities which in the years 2015–2017 reported to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW) were included in the study. The efficiency of the universities in filing new patent solutions and being granted patents was analysed. The results acquired indicate very low and low efficiency of most Polish technical universities. This is due both to a small number of patent applications and a small number of patents granted. In the examined period, the group of most efficient technical universities in both aspects comprised 4 to 5 universities.

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The growing complexity and intertwining of different socio-economic issues both in individual countries and internationally mean that single-theme analyses do not consider all the relationships and thus have cognitive limitations. Therefore, studies that combine several research areas are increasingly common in the literature to clarify the connections and relationships. In this study, considering the sequential nature of the stages, a combined analysis of eco-efficiency, eco-innovation, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was performed. The analysis was carried out for 27 European Union countries in 2017–2019. Dynamic Network SBM and Dynamic Divisional Malmquist Index were used for the study. The research results show that the EU countries achieve relatively higher efficiency results in eco-innovation and SDG than ecoefficiency. The average overall efficiency level for all EU countries was only 0.63. The change in productivity was influenced by both the frontier shift and catch-up effect, but only with regard to eco-efficiency and eco-innovation. At the same time, the frontier-shift effect did not affect the change in SDG productivity.

Purpose:The main aim of this article is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Polish road freight transport industry. This paper seeks to understand the impacts on travel behavior and the transport system caused by the different actions and policies adopted by the governments and transport authorities to contain the COVID-19 spread. Design/Methodology/Approach: Econometric and statistical methods were used, including analysis of primary data, predictive model of exponential smoothing. Findings: Using primary data as part of the study, conclusions have been reached, stating that the imposition of the lock-down of the European economy had a negative impact on the shortterm business of transport enterprises. On the other hand, once the number of infections was reduced, followed by a reduction in restrictions, the number of road kilometers covered by the enterprises under survey increased. This increase was higher than in the corresponding periods of previous years. Practical Implications: The article analyses short-term effects on road freight transport of legal provisions aimed at limiting the virus's spread. Results can be helpful to draws some recommendations for transport systems derived and planning process by the enterprise. The researcher effect can also be helpful for national governments in terms of decision-making. Originality/Value: The literature review shows that most of the authors have focused on analyzing the situation of the road transport branch in China, while the impact of the coronavirus on road transport in Europe has not been studied to a more significant extent so far. The study of the case involves Polish transport enterprises making up the second-largest carrier in the Community when the size of its rolling stock and transport tasks is compared to that of other states. The consequences of the pandemic on road cargo transport by Polish carriers indicate the impact of COVID-19 on the economic situation of similar enterprises from other European Union states.

This study examines the cointegration and short- and long-run causal relationships between economic growth and CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and the amount of freight transported by road transport in the Visegrad Group countries between 1990 and 2019. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound testing methodology was used to develop the results for each tested dependent variable. The results confirmed a long-run cointegration between economic growth and fuel consumption by road transport in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In addition, a long-run relationship between economic growth and freight volume and CO2 emissions by transport was demonstrated for Slovakia. For Poland, there was only a long-run relationship between energy consumption by road freight transport and CO2 emissions. In the short run, relationships were shown between the volume of freight transported by the road freight transport sector and CO2 emissions for Hungary and Poland. Short-run relationships between economic growth and the volume of freight transported in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary are also interesting observations. The obtained results expand the information resources needed to make decisions on the direction of change in road transport. Additionally, the results can be used to prepare a proper environmental policy for road freight transport within the framework of the European Green Deal.

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Purpose:The main purpose of the paper is the elaboration and verification of a comprehensive proposal for measuring the results achieved by selected global economies in the area of sustainable development and innovation. Approach/Methodology/Design: To compare the results obtained by EU countries the multicriteria taxonomy methods were used. The basis of empirical research are the indicators used by the European Commission to monitor the progress in the implementation of the Strategy for Sustainable Development -Agenda 2030 and the indicators used to assess the level of innovation published in European Innovation Scoreboard. Findings: The results of the research can be divided into two parts. In the first one the rankings of EU countries were built separately for each analyzed dimension of sustainable development and the area describing the level of innovation. In the second one the values of taxonomic measures of development were used to divide EU countries into groups characterized by similarity within all considered areas of sustainability. As a result, typological groups were obtained that differed both in number and composition. Practical Implications: The presented results are important for individual countries as well as for organisations as EU, in which internal cohesion is one of the strategic development goals. The results can also used to assess the effects of implementing the assumptions of the "Green Deal" strategy, currently being developed in the EU. Originality/Value: The added value of the paper is the research findings focused on the assessment of development of EU countries in two most important areas of functioning. In the literature, these areas are usually considered separately. In the paper, the authors decided to compare the results in these two areas analysed together and treat them as one of the important development directions of EU countries.