scholarly journals Barriers to the development of SMEs in the Slovak Republic

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Ivanová
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Bank Loans ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
External Sources ◽  
The Impact

Research background: SMEs make up an important segment of the economic system, not only in the national economy, but also throughout the EU, and their importance continues to grow. SMEs in Slovakia, according to the latest data of the European Commission, represent 99.9 per cent of all enterprises, constitute 70.7 per cent of jobs, and 61.2 per cent of value added in the economy. However, they are often confronted with market imperfections. SMEs frequently have difficulties in obtaining capital or credit, particularly in the early start-up phase. Their restricted resources may also reduce access to new technologies or innovation. Authors often deal with the impact of SME financing on their development. Madrid-Guijarro et al. (2016), Lee et al. (2015) claim that SMEs have difficulty in funding innovation and the worsening in general credit conditions has been more pronounced for non-innovative firms.Purpose of the article: The main objective of the conducted research was to analyze the conditions for the development of small and medium enterprises (the SMEs sector) in Slovak Republic, whereas the specific objectives were: (1) to determine the terms for gaining external sources of financing for the development of SMEs, (2) to examine the resources for innovation development in the SMEs sector, (3) to find out if SMEs are considered to be a competitive advantage.Methods: The research was conducted in the Slovak Republic in 2016. Participants were 193 Slovak companies that were classified as SMEs by the size class of employment. The research tool used for the study was the own questionnaire consisting of 38 questions and the demographics. The structure of the questionnaire allowed the authors to identify the group of questions concerning the most important conditions for the development of the examined sector referring to the business environment. The results were processed by chi-square method.Findings & Value added: On the basis of the conducted research of the sector of SMEs , it can be concluded that a large group of companies have difficult access to external sources of financing and this refers both to the access to the European Union funds, grants, bank loans and other instruments of the financial market. However, it occurs that: (1) in Slovakia, the smaller the enterprise, i.e. the fewer employees it hires, the easier the access to external sources of financing, (1) innovative projects are realized from company profits or a loan, (1) problems in Slovakia in accessing external funds due to the complexity of the process of approval of applications and documents and strict criteria for the assessment of financial capacity.

Understanding the internal audit function in a digitalised business environment

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathanaël Betti ◽  
Gerrit Sarens
Keyword(s):  
Data Analytics ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Internal Audit ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internal Auditors ◽  
Internal Audit Function ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to gain an in-depth understanding of how the internal audit function evolves in an increasingly digitalised business environment. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on 29 semi-structured interviews with members of management committees and internal auditors based in Belgium. Findings The analysis reveals that a digitalised business environment affects the internal audit function in three respects. First, it impacts its scope. The agility of the internal audit planning and the required digital knowledge are expected to increase and information technology (IT) risks gain importance, especially cybersecurity threats. Second, the demand for consulting activities performed by internal auditors is higher and third, digitalisation modifies the working practices of internal auditors in their day-to-day tasks. New technologies such as data analytics tools are being implemented progressively in internal audit departments and digital skills are considered a critical asset. Research limitations/implications This research was conducted in the European Union and gathers opinions of members of management committees and internal auditors. Future research could focus on other internal auditing stakeholders in other legal contexts. Practical implications The internal audit function needs to integrate IT and data analytics skills. In addition, the internal audit function should develop consulting activities to help organisations deal with the digitalisation of the business environment. Originality/value The impact of digitalisation on the internal audit function and its effect on internal audit practices is an underexplored area.

THE IMPACT OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ON REGIONAL DISPARITIES

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 187-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Šoltés ◽  
Katarína Repková Štofková
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Data ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Regional Disparities ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

The structure of the business environment, as part of the socio-economic situation, indirectly affects a citizen’s quality of life. A “friendly” business environment has a positive effect on job formation, thus helping with employment. A country encourages formation and development of large enterprises through various incentives that reduce regional disparities, especially in less-developed regions. Nevertheless, a huge majority of enterprises in the European Union are small- and medium-sized. Self-employed persons are considered a specific form of business. Their activity is strongly influenced by state policy. This paper analyzes the business environment in regions of the Slovak Republic. Its principal aim is to examine the development of regional disparities and the related quality of citizens’ lives. An evaluation of statistical data of the structure of the business environment in the Slovak Republic indicated a change in legal units in relation to business. Although the number of legal units are stable, the number of legal persons has increased and that of natural persons-entrepreneurs decreased. Deepening of regional disparities was not observed across regions of the Slovak Republic.

scholarly journals Barriers to Adopting New Technologies within Rural Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 430
Author(s):  
Rosa Maria Fanelli
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Business Models ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Business Practitioners ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Impact

The adoption of technologies by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that operate in several business sectors in rural areas is a crucial issue because they often need financial and technical incentives and support from public and local authorities. The question of whether and how innovation can be replicated and applied in a wider context is strictly connected to the understanding of those factors and mechanisms capable of determining the success or failure of the introduction of innovation itself. In this paper, the attention is focused on the impact of new technologies in order to increase SMEs’ competitiveness and productivity among the firms. For this purpose, only recent resources, research and studies that have been implemented during the last twenty years are taken into account. Firstly, based on these studies, the main disruptive technologies were selected. Secondly, the evidence is drawn from stakeholder data discussions of the Interreg Europe project “Regional policies for innovation driven competitiveness and growth of rural SMEs—INNOGROW”, covering eight European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom). Descriptive statistics were applied to describe the case identities. The cases’ needs, enablers and barriers in different groups were analyzed using a chi-square test and Mann–Whitney U Test. The results of this study are important for both researchers as well as small business practitioners (including government agencies and owners/managers) in order to provided policy recommendations, concerning how to establish favourable conditions and offer incentives to SMEs to integrate innovative solutions into their business models.

scholarly journals The Impact of Big Data on Electronic Commerce in Profit Organisations in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Bader A. Alyoubi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Inventory Management ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Predictive Analytics ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
The Impact

Big Data is gaining rapid popularity in e-commerce sector across the globe. There is a general consensus among experts that Saudi organisations are late in adopting new technologies. It is generally believed that the lack of research in latest technologies that are specific to Saudi Arabia that is culturally, socially, and economically different from the West, is one of the key factors for the delay in technology adoption in Saudi Arabia. Hence, to fill this gap to a certain extent and create awareness about Big Data technology, the primary goal of this research was to identify the impact of Big Data on e-commerce organisations in Saudi Arabia. Internet has changed the business environment of Saudi Arabia too. E-commerce is set for achieving new heights due to latest technological advancements. A qualitative research approach was used by conducting interviews with highly experienced professional to gather primary data. Using multiple sources of evidence, this research found out that traditional databases are not capable of handling massive data. Big Data is a promising technology that can be adopted by e-commerce companies in Saudi Arabia. Big Data’s predictive analytics will certainly help e-commerce companies to gain better insight of the consumer behaviour and thus offer customised products and services. The key finding of this research is that Big Data has a significant impact in e-commerce organisations in Saudi Arabia on various verticals like customer retention, inventory management, product customisation, and fraud detection.

scholarly journals “Impact of Training on Employees Performance” (Evidence from Pharmaceutical Companies in Karachi, Pakistan)

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uzma Hafeez ◽  
Waqar Akbar
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
The Impact

Employees are major assets of every organization. The accomplishment of the industry depends on its employee performance. Therefore, upper management knows the significance of expense in training for the advantage of improving employee performance and also places them to get the challenges of the today’s competitive business environment. This research also aims to see the “Impact of Training on Employee Performance in Pharmaceutical Industry in Karachi Pakistan”, in which Training consider as independent whereas dependent variable ‘Employee Performance‘ having its Performance areas i.e.; demonstrating team work, communication skill, customer service, interpersonal relationship and reduced absenteeism and its Developments areas i.e.; job-satisfaction, employee motivation, new technologies, efficiencies in process and innovation in strategies as its levers. The paper presents a concise summary of the literature on the value of training in improving the performance of the employees. Four pharmaceutical companies are selected. A survey of 356 employees via self administrated questionnaire with the help of random sampling technique is conducted with the response rate of 96%. Two sets of hypothesis are developed which relate directly to the research questions. SPSS 19 is used to perform reliability, descriptive, correlation and regression analysis. The analysis shows a positive significant relationship between them and the results reveal that the more the employee gets training, the more efficient their level of performance would be. The last section of the paper concludes along with recommendation to give guidelines for future research.

scholarly journals The specifics of applying value added tax for local authorities

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-78
Author(s):  
Miloš Grásgruber ◽  
Petra Mísařová
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Value Added ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Value Added Tax ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Common System ◽  
Council Directive ◽  
The Impact

If local authorities units carry out an economic activity, are considered to be taxable under Act No. 235/2004 Coll., On Value Added Tax as amended. Adjustment of VAT in all countries of the European Union is based on Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax as amended. The application of this directive is binding for all EU member states and national treatment of VAT may diverge from the Directive only in cases where the Directive permits. Decisions of the European Court of Justice are of considerable importance during the interpretation of the Czech VAT Act.For the municipalities and regions article defines the activities that are considered to be an economic activity and activities that are deemed to exercise of public administration and are not therefore subject to VAT. Further the paper defines the concept of turnover of local authorities. At paper there are evaluating the impact of the application of VAT on municipalities and regions in the provision of the individual fulfillment. Great attention must municipalities and region devote to the problem of correct application of claim to tax deduction if they carry out the exercise of public administration, taxable activities and fulfillments exempt from VAT.

scholarly journals IMPACT OF THE VAT REVERSE-CHARGE MECHANISM ON THE CASH FLOWS OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 522-528
Author(s):  
Angelika Kútna ◽  
Norbert Gyurián ◽  
Zoltán Šeben
Keyword(s):  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Value Added Tax ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Law ◽  
Reverse Charge

In 2015, the Slovak Parliament adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Value-Added Tax. This law came into force on January 1, 2016. One of the most significant changes was the introduction of a reverse-charge for the provision of construction works. A government statement of its positive influence on the business environment is inconsistent with the two-year experience in the building sector. The main goal of this paper is to establish the reason for the practical effects of the value-added tax reverse-charge mechanism on the construction companies. The hypothesis is that the negative effect on the cash flows of the construction companies increases ‘opportunity costs’ connected to excessive deductions. The paper focuses on evaluating and quantifying such an effect. It presents a comparison of the conditions before and after the adoption of the Act. No. 222/2004 Coll., as amended in 2016 and includes factors that influence costs and cash flows of construction companies. It but does not consider factors related to turnover and the economic situation.  The reverse-charge mechanism affects the total of tax owing, the total deductible tax, the total excessive deduction, and the construction companies’ cash flows. In this study, the data from the information system of the Slovak Republic, under the condition of anonymity, are analyzed for the period 2014–2017. The effect of the value-added tax is quantified by way of financial interest expenses. These expenses depend on time limits for the excessive deduction, total of tax owing, and on the excessive deduction amount. Indicators of ‘Financial Burden 1’ and ‘Financial Burden 2’ are calculated. The results show that the Law on Amendments of Value Added Tax has significantly affected the constructions companies since January 2016. The reverse-charge system has not changed the delay in excessive deduction payments to the taxpayer’s bank account. It has changed the amount of excessive deduction expressed through money and the total tax owing. Based on the study results, this change markedly affects the financial burden of construction companies and provides an ‘opportunity cost’ Value Added Tax payers‘ construction company.

scholarly journals The impact of globalization in connection with the development of e-commerce

2021 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 06007
Author(s):  
Eva Nahalková Tesárová ◽  
Anna Križanová
Keyword(s):  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Financial Fraud ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Negative Experience ◽  
Business Partners ◽  
Basic Purpose ◽  
Questionnaire Method ◽  
The Impact

Research background: Globalization encourages increased involvement of retailers, and the market currently provides these entities with a new range of purchasing functions. The new economy is based primarily on information and knowledge, so the key to success is the ability to constantly improve and respond to changing market conditions and increasing customer requirements. The Internet thus becomes an integral part of our lives. It is a tool that makes our lives better. The expansion of the global information network Internet has created space for a new kind of business. It brings benefits to all e-commerce entities. For this reason, its popularity is growing exponentially. The negative experience caused by financial fraud, misuse of sensitive data, the unreliability of business partners, and the like is also growing. Purpose of the article: The basic purpose of the article is the fact that the development of e-commerce is one of the important conditions for maintaining and increasing the competitiveness of the Slovak economy and its ability to participate in the international division of labor with the economically developed countries. Methods: The basic pillar of the article was to analyze the current development of e-commerce in the Slovak Republic, which is affected by the pandemic situation caused by COVID-19, make a comparison with EU countries, and evaluate the perception of e-commerce by Slovak consumers based on a questionnaire survey. Findings & Value added: Finally, we interpret the answers of the respondents, which were obtained by the questionnaire method.

scholarly journals The impact and importance of new technologies in business development in context of economic diversity

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 698-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oana-Georgiana Ciobanu ◽  
Daniela Mihaela Neamţu
Keyword(s):  
Generation X ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Continuous Innovation ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In a globalized world, led and connected by and through technology, gadgets and perpetual and intense technological development, the business environment and the trajectory travelled by entrepreneurs in the process of creation and development of a business, becomes more and more challenging and complex. Continuous innovation has become mandatory and „adaptability” became the keyword for the success of any entrepreneurial actions. In this socio-economic context, an organization must find, through entrepreneurs or managers, the courage to face the uncertainty and be always prepared to adopt radical solutions, so that, can provide sustainability of the business through competitiveness. The purpose of this research started from the need for adaptability and flexibility of the Romanian entrepreneurial environment to the trends in the digital era, in order to maintain the level of competitiveness and to develop sustainably. The objective of this scientific approach is to conduct a qualitative comparative analysis relating to the importance and the impact of new technologies in the development and sustainability of a business. The comparison will be made through the eyes of two main categories of actors in the creation and development of a business namely entrepreneurs and managers from two consecutive generations - generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and generation Y (born between 1980 and 1995). The methodology used in this study is qualitative research through focus group method, and it aims to be highlighted the changes occurred in leadership and management style of a business/organization, by observing and comparing the two generations' attitudes towards change, towards new, towards the digital component, and the intent of the use of new technologies, and more than that, their impact on the management style.

Conventional banks and Fintechs: how digitization has transformed both models

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Paulet ◽  
Hareesh Mavoori
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
Banking Strategy ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The digital revolution has substantially changed the business environment. Most banks have acknowledged the importance of new technologies to improve performance and client satisfaction. The development of these innovations has led to the entrance of the so-called Fintechs. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of these transformations on the performance of financial institutions and on their business model. Design/methodology/approach The authors use data envelopment analysis and Malmquist total productivity indices to measure financial institutions’ efficiency and their influence on strategy. Findings The main finding is that clients are more than ever at the core of banking strategy. The irrelevance of distance in basic banking transactions has reduced expenses and contributed to increasing revenues for all financial institutions. Banks will have a card to play in the advice they can bring to their clients. Practical implications This research could be of interest for financial managers who wish to re-examine their current business practices and imagine their business model for the future. Originality/value The contribution will be to further define the correlation between the provision of electronic banking services and its performance by including diversified institutions (conventional banks, Fintechs, Gafas) in the sample from multiple geographic zones to identify differences as regards their efficiency and business practices.

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