Background
The development of the service sector in the global economy is an increasingly recognised fact. The growing importance of services in shaping Gross Value Added has been observed for several decades, and its relatively higher level is typical for developed economies. The Polish economy is clearly in line with the growing importance of the service sector in the economy. It can probably be concluded that in Poland we are dealing with an economy based on services, as shown by individual analyses and statistical data. Because of this situation, the emphasis in the research was not on the service economy, but on non-financial enterprises that provide market services. The key research problem concerns the factors determining changes in the profitability level of this group of enterprises in Poland. Statistical data from Statistics Poland for the period 2008–2020 was used for the research.
Research aims
The principal aim of the research is to identify how various factors influence changes in profitability in non-financial enterprises in the market services sector in Poland. The research is aimed at identifying the differences in influence of these factors in individual sections of market services sectors and in individual voivodeships in relation to the entire Polish economy.
Method
The research used the ROE decomposition method, which was justified by mathematical aspects. ROE decomposition was performed in two ways. The first is the decomposition of ROE changes over time, and the second is the decomposition of the differences in this indicator. Relative differences in individual sections of services and in individual voivodeships of Poland were analysed here. The substantive basis for the decomposition of the ROE indicator was the changed DuPont model based on 5 factors. The method used allowed for the study of relative changes in three decision areas. These are decisions at the level of operational management, financial management, and decisions involving tax optimisation.
Findings
The research formed the basis of three main conclusions. Changes in the ROE over time are determined in part by the operational and financial management decisions. The relative differences between the service sections and the entire sector of market services in Poland result from the unique quality and effectiveness of broadly understood operational and financial management. The differences in individual voivodeships regarding the entire service sector in Poland depend primarily on different methods of operational management.