2019 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Vol.19 No.1 Dacko-Pikiewicz Z. THE SELECTED ASPECTS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN THE CITY DIVIDED BY THE BORDER IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CROSS-BORDER MARKET OF CULTURAL SERVICES Dacko-Pikiewicz Z. * Abstract: The article is of research nature. The analysis of strategic documents of the city of Cieszyn-Český Těšín divided by the state border, as well as individual in-depth interviews with the directors of all local government cultural institutions in this city allowed for the identification of opportunities for further development of the common Polish-Czech cross-border market of cultural services. The research conducted proves that despite the dynamically developing Polish-Czech cross-border cooperation in the field of culture, there are still no mentions in the strategic documents pointing directly to the need to intensify common Polish-Czech cultural activities, and thus indicating the need to develop the cross-border market of cultural services. Therefore, by following the interview results, actions in the area of strategic management were specified, which could significantly contribute to the so-called "blurring of the border" and the development of this market in the city of Cieszyn-Český Těšín. The recommendations may be useful not only for the authorities of the city of Cieszyn-Český Těšín, but also for decision-makers and cultural managers of other European cities in the Schengen area that are divided by the state border. Key words: city divided by the border, cross-border market of cultural services, development, strategic management, Cieszyn-Český Těšín DOI: 10.17512/pjms.2019.19.1.10 Article history: Received January 20, 2019; Revised March 12, 2019; Accepted March 20, 2019 Introduction The management of the city which has been divided by the state border is a complicated process, which requires interdisciplinary knowledge of many diverse issues, based, among others, on culture, economics, spatial management, environmental protection or different two independent states. In addition to the specific activities of individual territorial local government entities (e.g. local government cultural institutions) involving the implementation of tasks in various fields and areas, it is important to define a general vision of the development of the city as a whole despite it being divided by a border or common strategic goals that should be defined in the most important local and regional strategic documents. A particularly important area of development in such a city is the sphere of culture and the common cross-border market of cultural services. The market, which through appropriate provisions in the most important strategic documents * Zdzisława Dacko-Pikiewicz, PhD, WSB University, Dąbrowa Górnicza Corresponding author: [email protected] 130 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 2019 Dacko-Pikiewicz Z. Vol.19 No.1 consistently transferred to the management of local government cultural institutions, may become a significant source of competitive advantage in the cross-border region for the city divided by the border (Blatter, 2003; Sohn, 2018). In this respect, it is important to identify appropriate strategic management instruments that can contribute to the development of this market, as well as factors which determine this development and are necessary to be included in the city management process. Therefore, the main purpose of the article is to determine the most important factors for the development of the cross-border market of cultural services, which are important and necessary to use in the process of managing a city divided by the border. To this end, an example of the cross-border city of Cieszyn-Český Těšín is used, which is located in the territory of Poland and the Czech Republic. As regards the management of a city, which, like Cieszyn-Český Těšín, has been divided by the state border, two features play a special role, namely direct spatial proximity and, particularly importantly, the heritage of unity. The former is related to the spatial cohesion of urban organisms (Schulz, 2002; Jańczak 2009). The latter is "manifested" in historical memory dating back to the period before the division, but also in material remains from the period of unity, the so-called core areas of the city (architecture, urban infrastructure, etc.) (Wróblewski et al., 2018, Wróblewski and Kasperek, 2019). Both parts of the city can be managed in such a way that they will be almost completely separated, or they may constitute an urban organism which is relatively uniform in infrastructural, social and economic terms. It is worth mentioning that such cities could be divided in various ways. In some cases the core areas of the city (a historical or cultural city center) remain entirely on one side of the border (as in the case of Cieszyn and Český Těšín), in others, however, the core of the city was divided between two countries (for example Rome, in the center of which there is an independent city state- the Vatican) (Atun and Doratli, 2009; Dołzbłasz and Raczyk, 2012).Therefore, when identifying strategic management instruments which enable the development of the Polish-Czech cross- border market of cultural services, it should be remembered that Cieszyn and Český Těšín are not only distinguished by their immediate neighborhood but also by hundreds of years of shared history, a specific cross-border climate, entrepreneurship rooted strongly in the region, as well as a relatively easily recognizable cultural offer. In both cities there are many exceptional cultural events. The research conducted in the cultural sector of the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion in 2015 and 2017 by Wróblewski (Wróblewski, 2015, 2017) and Kurowska-Pysz (Kurowska-Pysz, 2015; Kurowska-Pysz and Szczepańska- Woszczyna, 2017) or the author (Wróblewski et al., 2018) showed that several of these events are recognizable and appreciated both in Poland and in the Czech Republic. For the purposes of this article, the cross-border market of cultural services will be defined as all exchange relations between service providers that meet cultural needs and buyers purchasing these services in cities divided by the state border, 131 2019 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Vol.19 No.1 Dacko-Pikiewicz Z. which is in line with existing classical definitions of a market and the definition proposed by Wróblewski. It will be a collection of buyers ("hidden", potential and active customers) and sellers (local government cultural private and the so-called third sector institutions) who carry out transactions regarding cultural services in cities divided by the state border. The geographical understanding of the cross- border market of cultural services indicates the territory, which is located on both sides of the state border, as a separate area with similar terms of purchase and sale. The classical (economic, systemic) understanding of the market reduces the definition of the cross-border market of cultural services to all exchange relations between sellers, offering services that meet cultural needs and buyers - representing demand for them. It contains both the subjective (who participates in the exchange process) and objective (what the object of the exchange is) aspects. Research Methods Research into strategic management instruments which enable the development of the Polish-Czech cross-border market of cultural services in the city of Cieszyn- Český Těšín was conducted in 2018 by means of the following research methods and techniques: 1) desk research analysis covering all strategic documents of the city of Cieszyn- Český Těšín, Cieszyn County and other local government units of the Cieszyn Silesia Euroregion, as well as the reports of all local government cultural institutions for the years 2014-2016. The following strategic documents were analyzed, in particular: the Development Strategy of the City of Cieszyn for the years 2010-2020 (Annex No. 1 to Resolution No. LII / 539/10 of the City Council of Cieszyn of October 28, 2010); the Development Strategy of the City of Český Těšín for 2012-2016 the Development Strategy of Cieszyn Silesia for 2001-2016; the Development Strategy of the Cieszyn County for 2017-2025; the Economic Development Strategy of The Cieszyn Land of 1999; the Report of the Management Board of the Cieszyn County of 26 March 2015 on the implementation of the county budget for 2014 adopted by Resolution No. 76/zp/v/15 of the Management Board of Cieszyn County of March 26, 2015; the Report of the Management Board of the Cieszyn County of March 24, 2016 on the implementation of the county budget for 2015 adopted by Resolution No. 332/zp/v/16 of the Management Board of Cieszyn County of March 24, 2016; Resolution No. XV/105/15 of the Council of the Cieszyn County of December 29, 2015, the Budget Resolution for 2016; 2) qualitative research - individual in-depth interviews with the representatives of the supply side of the cross-border market of cultural services of the city of 132 POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 2019 Dacko-Pikiewicz Z. Vol.19 No.1 Cieszyn-Český Těšín. The directors of all local government cultural institutions on both sides of the city were selected for the interviews, as well as the representatives of the largest non-public cultural entities which develop a cross- border cultural offer in the city of Cieszyn-Český Těšín (10 interviews with Polish experts and 10 with Czech ones) - Table 1. Interviews by means of of a questionnaire were conducted from February to June 2018.