Research background: Effective monitoring of financial health is essential in the financial management of enterprises. Early studies to predict corporate bankruptcy were published at the beginning of the last century. The prediction models were developed with a significant delay even among the Visegrad group countries. Purpose of the article: The primary aim of this study is to create a model for predicting bankruptcy based on the financial information of 20,693 enterprises of all sectors that operated in the Visegrad group countries during the post-pandemic period (2020-2021) and identify significant predictors of bankruptcy. To reduce potential losses to shareholders, investors, and business partners brought on by the financial distress of enterprises, it is possible to use multiple discriminant analysis to build individual prediction models for each Visegrad group country and a complex model for the entire Visegrad group. Methods: A bankruptcy prediction model is developed using multiple discriminant analysis. Based on this model, prosperity is assessed using selected corporate financial indicators, which are assigned weights such that the difference between the average value calculated in the group of prosperous and non-prosperous enterprises is as large as possible. Findings & value added: The created models based on 6-14 financial indicators were developed using different predictor combinations and coefficients. For all Visegrad group countries, the best variable with the best discriminating power was the total indebtedness ratio, which was included in each developed model. These findings can be used also in other Central European countries where the economic development is similar to the analyzed countries. However, sufficient discriminant ability is required for the model to be used in practice, especially in the post-pandemic period, when the financial health and stability of enterprises is threatened by macroeconomic development and the performance and prediction ability of current bankruptcy prediction models may have decreased. Based on the results, the developed models have an overall discriminant ability greater than 88%, which may be relevant for academicians to conduct further empirical studies in this field.
Research background: SMEs represent an integral part of the economy environment in a majority of the countries all over the world. They signify the most efficient, progressive, and important part of the advanced economies. The long-term effort of the EU countries, as well as other advanced economies is to create quality and stable conditions for their development in order to be able to respond to all the possible changes in the business environment that is being changed to more and more comprehensive in the recent time. Purpose of the article: The objective of the contribution is to examine administrative and legislative obstacles to SMEs business in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the quantification of the differences in perceiving legislative and administrative obstacles to business by entrepreneurs in both countries. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted within SMEs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2019. The research sample included 641 SMEs, 312 from the Czech Republic and 329 from Slovakia. We focused on 5 dimensions related to legislative and administrative obstacles to SMEs business within which selected statements were examined. Contingency tables were used to analyze the ratios of the examined variables. Findings & Value added: The differences detected in both countries in the respondents´ perception and assessment are evidence of the changes in the business environment of both countries, giving rise to the questions about the extent to which the legislative and administrative obstacles, as well as the obstacles related to law enforcement and bureaucracy are acceptable and by which groups of entrepreneurs. The results of the research provide valuable findings for the creators of regional and national policies, and represent a valuable basis for the creation of the concepts focused on the SMEs´ development in both countries. The results of the study also support the implementation of follow-up research in this area that will reveal other determinants affecting the development of SMEs. They also create a valuable platform for the construction of national and international benchmarking indicators in this area and the implementation of comparative analyses. This will also support the methodological area necessary for a creation of high-quality concepts and strategies.
Research background: Improving business conditions and SME development are signs of a country's macroeconomic stability. The issue of identifying and removing barriers to the development of firms in the SME segment is a priority in all countries with developed economies and its importance is currently increasing. Purpose of the article: The main aim of this paper is to explore possible differences in entrepreneurs' perception of the business environment based on the industry in which the company operates. The analysis contains also a national view, where a comparison between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic is performed. Methods: Correspondence analysis was used to achieve the research objectives in order to examine the relations between the categorical variables. Its application is beneficial in cases where the graphic output is clearer than the numerical one. Findings & Value added: The presented research makes it possible to identify problematic aspects of doing business in each sector and to create support mechanisms for the creation of effective structural policies. Entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic's Production and Transport sectors agree with the statement that the business environment in the country is suitable for starting a business. As for business environment's suitability for doing business, neither Slovak nor Czech entrepreneurs sector-wide agreed with the given statement. Czech entrepreneurs from the Services, Trade and Construction sectors, respectively, agree, fully agree with the statement that the business environment in the country is reasonably risky and allows for doing business. In the case of entrepreneurs from Slovakia, no significant correspondence is observed. Findings regarding the statement that the business conditions in the country have improved over the past five years are the following: In the Czech Republic, there is a perfect correspondence of the Transport sector and the agreement with the given statement. In the Slovak Republic, agreement was found with the given statement in the Transport sector and neutral position in the Production sector.
Research background: Internationalisation of entrepreneurial activities provides an ample opportunity for the growth and sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). When making their business activities international, SMEs are facing various obstacles. Investigating the key factors of internationalisation and their impact on SME decision making constitutes a key factor of the research work. Purpose of the article: The main purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of selected factors of SME internationalisation on the positive perception of the market risk. Higher export costs, differences in legal environment, taxes, and linguistic and cultural differences were set to be the significant factors influencing the positive perception of the market risk. Bearing the main purpose in mind, the Visegrad Four (V4 - Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary) were examined. Methods: The questionnaire in mother tongue of each country in online and paper form was used. The questionnaire consists of 77 questions divided into several sections. Likert five-point scale was used to allow the respondents to express their opinion. In total, 1585 responses were completed. A regression analysis was used to verify the statistical significance of the independent variables and to quantify the causal relationships (determining the direction and strength of the effect) on the dependent variable. As the variables are of one metric, a linear regression model (LRM) was selected to validate the hypothesis. Findings & value added: The internationalisation of SME activities brings along many risks and barriers that SMEs need to overcome if they want to enter international markets. Many SMEs consider the barriers and restrictions to enter foreign markets to be severe. Therefore, they decide to do their business domestically. It was established in the research that only 30.2% of the respondents expanded their business activities internationally. The biggest impact on the positive assessment of the market risk was found to have linguistic and cultural differences. They do not have a negative effect on the positive perception of the market risk, so they do not hinder SMEs in their international expansion. The second most important was the factor of the export costs. The factor of possible increased costs is quite important for SMEs in making their decisions whether to expand internationally or not. This factor also shapes a positive approach to assessing the market risk by SMEs. In the research, SMEs confirmed that potential higher costs do not represent a major barrier for them in shaping their attitudes towards the market risk. The remaining factors being analysed, namely differences in legal environment and taxes, did not have a significant impact on the positive assessment of the market risk internationally. The practical implications can be found in new information about market risk in process of internationalisation provided from four selected countries.
Research background: The sustainability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represents a significant scientific and professional problem in the current turbulent period because these enterprises play an important role in any country’s economic and social systems. Purpose of the article: This paper aimed to define the significant sustainability factors of small and medium-sized enterprises and to quantify their impact and importance on the sustainability of SMEs. The areas of Human Resource Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and financial management were defined as significant sustainability factors. Methods: Empirical research, on which the scientific hypotheses were formulated and evaluated, was conducted in June 2022 in V4 countries (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, and Hungary) using a structured questionnaire. The study accumulated a sample of 1398 respondents. Data collection was conducted through an external agency, MN FORCE, operating in Central European countries. The Computer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method was used to record respondents’ perceptions. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis were used to evaluate the hypotheses. Findings & value added: The research showed that all defined factors in the areas of Human resource management (HRM), Corporate social responsibility (CSR), and financial management of the firm had an impact on defined sustainability attributes. The greatest impact was found on the firm’s financial management, followed by CSR and HRM. The empirical results confirm that the intensity of the independent variables varies across the V4 countries. These results also show that the intensity of the selected HRM, CSR, and financial management factors of a firm is higher in the integrated models than in the models for individual V4 countries. The research results have shown that a range of factors determine the right attitude towards the sustainability of companies. In this context, economic policymakers and entrepreneurs must perceive sustainable growth as complex and apply a systemic approach to its design and implementation.
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