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ABSTRACTThe article addresses the embeddedness of automotive production in Poland in terms of supply networks. A comprehensive analysis of more than 550 suppliers, supported by company interviews, shows that foreign‐owned producers become embedded in Poland in the automotive supplier networks they have largely created themselves. Numerous local suppliers gain access to export markets and become integrated in a Europe‐wide production system. This trend has been accompanied by significant upgrading of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in terms of product quality, cost efficiency, adaptability, and fast response, but far less in nonproduction competences such as R&D. It is argued that the competences of automotive suppliers in Poland are built upon the localized capabilities, which are a product of the dynamic interplay between the activity of foreign firms and the changing local environment comprising various stakeholders. The localized capabilities constitute elements of a company's sunk costs and are embedding automotive producers in Poland. At the same time, the dependence on decisions and innovations from abroad and the limited development of local design and brands may constrain the future role of suppliers from the semiperipheral economy of Poland.

Celem artykułu jest pokazanie, jak zmieniła się od połowy XVIII w. w krajobrazie kulturowym miasta Gliwic rola odgrywana przez różne narracje tożsamości o zasięgu lokalnym, regionalnym (górnośląskiej i kresowiackiej), narodowym (głównie polskiej i niemieckiej) i ponadnarodowym (religijnej i socjalistycznej). Autorzy dokonują analizy, w jakim stopniu poszczególne rodzaje tożsamości znajdowały wyraz w nazwach ulic, symbolicznych obiektach oraz funkcjach i znaczeniu nadawanym budynkom. Pokazują, jakie elementy tożsamości wykazywały względną trwałość (ciągłość) w czasie pomimo zachodzących zmian politycznych, oraz oceniają, jaką rolę w kształtowaniu krajobrazu kulturowego miasta odgrywały różne grupy interesariuszy, w tym władze państwowe i lokalne, podmioty gospodarcze i organizacje społeczne.

The aim of the paper is to identify the main factors and mechanisms behind the development of low-emission public transport vehicles in Polish cities. This innovation is primarily connected with growing environmental requirements for transport, with the EU environmental and transport policies being the key factors. However, strategies of local governments and municipal transport companies as well as the organization of urban transport - which differs significantly between cities - also play an important role. Three basic types of approach towards low-emission buses can be observed in Polish cities: tests of electric and hybrid vehicles, purchases of small quantities of buses in order to implement new solutions, and finally attempts to replace the majority or even the entire transport fleet with low-emission vehicles. It should be emphasised that an important element which affects the development of low emission public urban transport in Poland is the fact that the country has become one of the main bus producers in Europe - a fact which is a result of both large-scale foreign investments and the success of Polish manufacturers.

The aim of the paper is to identify the main factors and mechanisms behind the development of low-emission public transport vehicles in Polish cities. This innovation is primarily connected with growing environmental requirements for transport, with the EU environmental and transport policies being the key factors. However, strategies of local governments and municipal transport companies as well as the organization of urban transport - which differs significantly between cities - also play an important role. Three basic types of approach towards low-emission buses can be observed in Polish cities: tests of electric and hybrid vehicles, purchases of small quantities of buses in order to implement new solutions, and finally attempts to replace the majority or even the entire transport fleet with low-emission vehicles. It should be emphasised that an important element which affects the development of low emission public urban transport in Poland is the fact that the country has become one of the main bus producers in Europe - a fact which is a result of both large-scale foreign investments and the success of Polish manufacturers.