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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find how mature the Polish commercial production companies are in their information technology (IT) sourcing practices, what they do, the practices that are successful, the challenges experienced and the outcomes.The paper presents and critically evaluates the results of a study of IT outsourcing management processes in selected industrial enterprises operating in Poland. Dynamic business contexts, globalisation and advances in IT make the development of IT sourcing models challenging in both theory and practice. This paper examines the principles and practice of sourcing IT and business processes in Poland, a country much under-represented in the literature. Little research has been conducted on the strategic rationale behind IT sourcing decisions, the resulting challenges and the potential or actual consequences of such decisions. This paper addresses these gaps in the understanding of IT sourcing processes by way of examining the types of sourcing models and solutions among manufacturing companies operating in Poland, and by identifying the most problematic and critical factors in effective IT sourcing collaborations. The outcomes are assessed against findings from the broader empirical outsourcing literature, and lessons are drawn for Polish client firms and those in similar economies. Design/methodology/approach – A survey methodology of a limited number of organisations in Poland was used. The study was designed to address the process of managing IT sourcing relations in production companies operating in Poland. The main objective of the study was to formulate working hypotheses to be used in further research on the sourcing models used in the IT sphere. Additionally, the study was designed to provide information on: the potential respondent reactions to the research problem, the understanding of the notions and terms used in the survey questionnaire and the evaluation of the research instrument itself. Findings – Organisations (and their employees) are generally well aware of their IT needs, and that they select quite well providers that suit their particular requirements. In their selection processes, organisations carefully consider not only the providers’ experience and the range of services on offer but also their flexibility in response to the client’s demands, the location and the trust formed in the course of previous cooperation. Communication between the parties typically takes the form of telephone conversations and e-mails. The majority of respondents reported more than one type of problems faced in the course of outsourcing. Problems concentrated in the areas of communication (52 per cent) and organisation (48 per cent), followed by difficulties in enforcing the terms of the contract. Research limitations/implications – It is a selective sample, focuses only on production companies and does not look at the offshore outsourcing market that has grown up in Poland, but rather what domestic polish organisations do in their sourcing practices. Practical implications – The organisations still struggle with the organisation and management of relations with their external service providers while getting reasonable results. They have much to learn from the published literature on managing the outsourcing life cycle. Social implications – There is a need for better inter-organisational cooperation. Originality/value – Poland is very underrepresented in the outsourcing literature – there are no examples of surveys like this in the English literature.

Abstract-With the increasing globalisation, the models for running business are changing as well, thus increasing the need for innovative knowledge management. This is facilitated by the development of information and communication technologies, which are the basis of numerous innovative solutions in the field of knowledge management. This article draws attention to the current trend in the area of IT management associated with the emergence and greater use of cloud computing. The article is an attempt to assess the impact of cloud computing on the key areas of knowledge management. It presents the challenges faced by organisations which place the emphasis on improving their competitive position, the possible positive consequences of the implementation of cloud solutions, as well as risks stemming from the use of clouds in the context of knowledge management.

Along with the increasing globalization and development of information and communication technology, business models are changing, and thus the need for innovative knowledge management is growing. Current knowledge management systems very often are not used optimally/effectively for decision-making because of the lack of real-time data. This article draws attention to the current trend in the area of organization management and IT management related to the emergence and growing popularity of the Internet of Things. The authors try to assess the potential of IoT in the context of improving knowledge processes (locating, acquiring, using, sharing and disseminating as well as preserving / coding / archiving / collecting), especially acquiring and sharing data and determining IoT impact on knowledge management and learning of the organization. The possible positive effects of implementing IoT in enterprises of various types, as well as threats and challenges that must be met by organizations that care about increasing their competitive position using IoT will be presented.

Part 2: Models and Functioning of Knowledge ManagementInternational audienceThe article gives a literature overview of the current challenges connected with the implementation of the newest IT sourcing models. In the dynamic environment, organizations are required to build their competitive advantage not only on their own resources, but also on resources commissioned from external providers, accessed through various forms of sourcing, including the sourcing of IT services. This paper presents chosen aspects of knowledge management and knowledge and information security, in the context of IT sourcing models implementation. IT sourcing solutions are presented, as employed by modern companies, together with potential benefits offered. The main focus is put on the determination of the most important risks involved in knowledge sharing in IT sourcing relations, as well as minimization and reduction of such risks, with particular attention to the newest trend in IT sourcing - cloud computing services on offer

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Streszczenie: Badania rynkowe pokazują, iż organizacje dostrzegają coraz częściej konkretne korzyści płynące z zastosowania Internetu rzeczy. W obszarze biznesowym stwarza on nowe możliwości rynkowe, umożliwiając m.in. zwiększanie wydajności procesów produkcyjnych i biznesowych oraz stanowiąc sprawne narzędzie komunikacji z klientami. Obszarów zastosowania Internetu rzeczy może być wiele oraz mogą one przenikać wiele aspektów życia. Jednakże podobnie jak w przypadku implementacji większości nowych koncepcji, również w odniesieniu do Internetu rzeczy istnieje cały szereg różnego rodzaju wyzwań. Związane jest to głównie z faktem, że systemy te są rozwiązaniami skomplikowanymi, opartymi na różnych technologiach, a ich skala oraz heterogeniczność jest bardzo duża. Z punktu widzenia rozwiązań technologicznych autorzy dostrzegają kilka zasadniczych obszarów, stanowiących największe wyzwanie dla Internetu rzeczy. Dotyczą one technologii niezbędnych dla tworzenia infrastruktury Internetu rzeczy, a w szczególności skalowalności, interoperacyjności i elastyczności zastosowanych rozwiązań. Kolejna kwestia dotyczy bezpieczeństwa danych. Celem artykułu jest prezentacja potencjału omawianej koncepcji, ale przede wszystkim zwrócenie uwagi na wyzwania, przed jakimi ona stoi. Zastosowane metody badań to przegląd aktualnej literatury przedmiotu, analiza istniejących badań i wybranych przypadków zastosowań Internetu rzeczy oraz identyfikacja i analiza najważniejszych wyzwań stojących przed tą koncepcją. WprowadzenieRaport The Changing Landscape of Disruptive Technologies. Innovation Convergence Unlocks New Paradigms (Zanni i in. 2017), przygotowany przez firmę KPMG, przewiduje, iż w perspektywie najbliższych kilku lat dominującym trendem technologicznym IT będzie wykorzystanie chmur obliczeniowych w połączeniu z platformami i aplikacjami mobilnymi. Systematycznie będzie też rosła rola Internetu rzeczy (ang. Internet of Things -IoT), analizy dużych zbiorów danych (ang. Big Data) i inżynierii biomedycznej. Z kolei według raportu opracowanego przez firmę Cisco (Cisco 2017) zagadnienia, takie jak cyfryzacja, bezpieczeństwo technologii informacyjnych oraz Internet rzeczy, to zjawiska, które będą wyznaczać kierunek rozwoju poszczególnym branżom gospodarki w kolejnych latach. Wśród obu prognoz ważne miejsce zajmuje Internet rzeczy, który jest połą-Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Częstochowskiej Zarządzanie Nr 31 (2018) s. 212-221 dostępne na:Abstract: Market research shows that organizations increasingly recognize the benefits of the Internet of Things. In the business area, it creates new market opportunities, enabling the growth of the efficiency of production and business processes and being an effective communication tool with clients. There are many areas of IoT applications and they can penetrate many aspects of life. However, as it is with the implementation of each new concept, also in relation to the Internet of Things, there are different types of challenges. This is mainly due to the fact that IoT systems are complex solutions bas...