| 1 | SLI | Cooperation with SLI such as technology transfer centers, BEI, science and technology parks, technology incubators, academic business incubators, regional and local loan funds, seed capital funds, advisory and training centers, business angel networks, or chambers of commerce (no – 0; yes – 1). | Institutional | Positive |
| 2 | BEI | BEI per 10,000 ENE such as technology transfer centers, BEI, science and technology parks, technology incubators, academic business incubators, regional and local loan funds, seed capital funds, advisory and training centers, business angel networks, or chambers of commerce (up to 150 BEI – 1; from 151 to 250 – 2; from 251 to 350 – 3; from 351 to 450 – 4; from 451 to 550 – 5; from 551 to 650 – 6; from 651 to 750 – 7; over 751 – 8). | Institutional | Positive |
| 3 | NRE | NRE per 10,000 working-age population such as newly registered public and private enterprises (up to 100 – 1; from 101 to 150 – 2; from 151 to 200 – 3; from 201 to 250 – 4; from 251 to 300 – 5; over 300 – 6). | Economic | Positive |
| 4 | ENE | ENE in total such as public and private enterprises (up to 500 – 1; from 501 to 1,000 – 2; from 1,001 to 1,500 – 3; from 1,501 to 2,000 – 4; over 2,000 – 5). | Economic | Positive |
| 5 | DEB | Debt of LGU per capita (from PLN –2,000 to –1,000 [–2]; from –999 to –0.01 [–1]; PLN 0 [0]; from 0.01 to 999 [1]; from 1,000 to 2,000 [2]). | Economic | Negative |
| 6 | TIP | Total income of LGU per capita (up to PLN 4,500 – 1; from 4,500.01 to 5,000 – 2; from 5,000.01 to 5,500 – 3; from 5,500.01 to 6,000 – 4; from 6,000.01 to 6,500 – 5; over PLN 6,500.01). | Economic | Positive |
| 7 | TEP | Total expenditure of LGU per capita (up to PLN 4,500 – 1; from 4,500.01 to 5,000 – 2; from 5,000.01 to 5,500 – 3; from 5,500.01 to 6,000 – 4; from 6,000.01 to 6,500 – 5; over PLN 6,500.01). | Economic | Negative |
| 8 | NCI | Amount of cultural infrastructure such as libraries, cinemas, theaters, and cultural centers, i.e., (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). | Cultural | Positive |
| 9 | PDE | Population density of LGU territory per 1 km2 (up to 100 per 1 km2 – 1; from 101 to 250 – 2; from 251 to 500 – 3; from 501 to 1,000 – 4; over 1,000 – 5) | Demographic | Positive |
| 10 | NIN | Numbers of LGU inhabitants (up to 5,000 inhabitants – 1; from 5,001 to 10,000 – 2; from 10,001 to 15,000 – 3; from 15,001 to 20,000 – 4; from 20,001 to 50,000 – 5; from 50,001 to 100,000 – 6; over 100,000 – 7). | Demographic | Positive |
| 11 | ALM | Age of LGU manager (aged over 60 years – 1; from 56 years to 60 years – 2; from 51 years to 55 years – 3; from 46 years to 50 years – 4; from 41 years to 45 years – 5; from 36 years to 40 years – 6; from 31 years to 35 years – 7; age up to 30 years – 8). | Managerial | Positive |
| 12 | GLM | GLM (men – 0; female – 1; diverse – 2). | Managerial | Neutral |
| 13 | ELM | ELM (technical secondary school – 1; secondary school – 2; higher education – 3; higher administrative education – 4; higher law education – 5; higher economic education – 6). | Managerial | Positive |
| 14 | ILM | Political ILM (politically dependent – 0; politically independent – 1). | Political | Negative |
| 15 | TLG | TLG (rural municipalities – 1; urban-rural municipalities – 2; urban municipalities – 3; cities on district rights – 4). | Administrative | Positive |
| 16 | VOI | Voivodeship (seat of LGU in one of the following voivodeships, ordered by the level of economic development from the least economically developed to the most economically developed according to Michoń [2017]: Warmińsko-Mazurskie – 1; Świętokrzyskie – 2; Lubelskie – 3; Podlaskie – 4; Kujawsko-Pomorskie – 5; Opolskie – 6; Podkarpackie – 7; Łódzkie – 8; Lubuskie – 9; Zachodniopomorskie – 10; Śląskie – 11; Małopolskie – 12; Pomorskie – 13; Wielkopolskie – 14; Dolośląskie – 15; Mazowieckie – 16). | Geographical | Positive |
![Stages of the study process.
Source: The authors’ own compilation based on Gorzelany-Dziadkowiec et al. [2019]. LGUs, local government units.](https://sciendo-parsed.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/6471f9f7215d2f6c89db748c/j_ijme-2023-0007_fig_001.jpg?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6AP2G7AKOUXAVR44%2F20251210%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20251210T083313Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=c0810c7c1453965367316990fd12239f4b52f42f53a5bd123c346c8e31e9f21a&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)