Controlling as a Modern Management Method Used in Polish Fuel Enterprises

Purpose: The aim of the article is to diagnose the level of application and functioning of controlling in Polish enterprises distributing liquid fuels. It was hypothesized that organizational conditions influence the use of controlling in enterprises distributing liquid fuels. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research group included all companies distributing liquid fuels that operate in Poland on the basis of a license to trade in liquid fuels (TLF), i.e., 5,689 energy entities (general, statistical population). Completed surveys were collected from 235 enterprises. The research procedure used includes: literature review, survey research, analysis of legal acts related to the subject of research, statistical methods, in-depth interviews with decision-makers in companies distributing liquid fuels, logical inference methods (induction, deduction), methods of analysis and synthesis. Findings: The research diagnosis allowed to accept the hypothesis and state that organizational conditions influence the use of controlling in enterprises distributing liquid fuels. Detailed research analyzes have shown that: a) the larger the company distributing liquid fuels (measured by the number of employees), the greater the extent to which controlling is used; b) enterprises distributing liquid fuels with domestic (Polish) capital use controlling less often than others - it most often occurs in enterprises with foreign capital; c) controlling is used most often in global enterprises distributing liquid fuels, and least often in domestic enterprises; d) enterprises that use controlling conduct wholesale distribution of liquid fuels much more often than others. Practical Implications: Practical business implications focus primarily on indicating the benefits for enterprises resulting from the use of controlling as a modern management method. The results also indicate the following benefits from implementing controlling: increased efficiency of planning and control in the enterprise, as well as rationalization of its operating costs; making more accurate and rational decisions in the company by managers; having reliable information that allows making accurate decisions; integration of management activities belonging to different functional areas of the enterprise. Originality/Value: Based on the presented results, it can be concluded that organizational conditions influence the use of controlling in enterprises dealing with the distribution of liquid fuels. Moreover, the introduction of controlling in an enterprise has a significant positive impact on the management of this entity, and therefore controlling significantly supports the proper and effective functioning of this enterprise. The presented results fill the existing research gap in the field of using controlling as a modern method of enterprise management.