We encourage you to read the latest report by Dr Anna Pikos and Dr Tomasz Olejniczak from the Department of Management at Kozminski University entitled “Long-Lived Companies of Warsaw”. The full publication is available HERE.
Many businesses are currently in a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Attention, however, should be paid to small and medium-sized family businesses and craft workshops whose roots go back to pre-war times.
The history of these enterprises is often dramatic, marked by discontinuity and challenges. Those companies that have survived, and there are very few of them, constitute an integral part of Warsaw’s cultural and social heritage. On the one hand, they can serve as inspiration for how to survive in the most difficult moments in history, and on the other hand, they deserve special attention and support from their environment.
This publication is inspired by social actions organised by Warsaw residents to save small and medium-sized Warsaw businesses such as the over 100-year-old gardening shop “U Jadzi” in March 2020 and Rurek z Wiatracznej in November 2020. Influenced by these actions, we decided to compile a list of pre-war small and medium-sized enterprises, which could help Warsaw residents discover and support them in this difficult period. The authors’ aim is also to prevent situations such as the closure after 120 years of the stationary outlet of Tomasz Kowalski’s Glove Workshop at 10 Chmielna Street, or the liquidation of a 100-year-old match manufacturer in Czechowice-Dziedzice.
In the process of compiling the list, we used resources from the database of the oldest Polish companies at Kozminski University, resources from the History of Polish Joint-Stock Companies database prepared by representatives of the Association of Collectors of Historical Securities, and resources from the interactive database of Warsaw craftsmen prepared by the Miasto Jest Nasze Association. We decided to limit the list of pre-war Warsaw enterprises to small and medium-sized enterprises, family businesses and craft workshops. The list contains the company name, address and website. An additional element is a map that will allow you to locate the company more easily – perhaps you often pass by these companies without knowing how interesting their history is. We are aware that the list we present may be incomplete, therefore we ask all persons who have information about pre-war Warsaw companies to contact us. We hope that this publication will contribute to the survival of at least one pre-war Warsaw enterprise during this difficult period.
dr Anna Pikos dr Tomasz Olejniczak
Dr Anna Pikos
She is an assistant professor in the Department of Management at Kozminski University. Her research interests cover three areas: business history, organisational longevity and the public sector. Currently, Anna is leading the project “Determinants of the longevity of Polish companies”, within which she studies the strategies of firms with over 100 years of tradition. She is a member of the International Council on Archives and the European Business History Association.
Dr Tomasz Olejniczak
In 2012 he started working in the Department of Management at Kozminski University, where he obtained his PhD in 2014. His research interests include Japanese management, organisational longevity and business history. Since 2015 he has joined the International Council on Archives and the European Business History Association and has been actively involved in promoting and developing Business Archives in Poland.
If your company has a pre-war tradition, please contact: [email protected], [email protected]
CO-FINANCED BY THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE under the programme SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENCE
Amount of co-financing and value of the task: PLN 216,667
The task aims to increase the recognition of Kozminski University’s research activity to enhance the impact of scientific research on the functioning of the socio-economic environment.
