Effect of Economic Risk Sources on the Quality of the Business Environment in the SME Segment: A Case Study from the Slovak Republic

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/ecie.19.1.2903

Keywords:

quality of business environment, SME segment, economic risks, entrepreneurship, case study

Abstract

The aim of the article is to define and quantify the impact of specific economic risk sources on the quality of the business environment (QBE). The subject of the analysis was the evaluation of the impact of selected economic risk sources, including the macroeconomic environment, monetary policy and interest rates, and corporate financing on the QBE. Data was collected between 2018 and 2022 using an online survey method. A total of 480 SMEs from the Slovak Republic’s business environment completed the questionnaire. Advanced statistical techniques, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis, were employed to evaluate the statistical hypotheses. The empirical results yielded several significant findings. All examined sources of the macroeconomic environment, such as the level of basic macroeconomic indicators, the state of the macroeconomic environment in the context of starting a business, and innovation activities of SMEs, determine the QBE. Other key factors that positively influence the quality of the business environment include: stabilization of the business environment by the central bank's monetary policy; the level of bank interest rates on the innovation activities of companies and availability of bank loans. The findings are significant not only for the SME segment itself and their owners and top managers but also for national-level institutions along with non-profit organizations assisting in improving the entire SME segment in the business environment.

Author Biographies

Martin Cepel, Pan-European University, Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Martin Cepel, Ph.D., MBA, DBA, is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Pan-European University in Bratislava, Slovakia and a Senior Researcher in European Centre for Business Research (ECBR), Czech Republic. His research and research activities focus on Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Economics, Business Environment, Financial Risk Management, Business Administration and Marketing. He is an author of many scientific articles in international journals and proceedings of international scientific conferences indexed in Web of Science (H-index 11) and Scopus (H-index 13).

Eva Cihelkova, Pan-European University, Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Prof. Eva Cihelkova, CSc. is devoted to academic activities throughout her life. She graduated and worked for a long time at the Prague University of Economics and Business (CZ). Currently she is a professor at the Pan-European University in Bratislava, Slovakia. She mainly lectures on World Economics and Comparative Economics. In the field of science, she deals particularly with various aspects of the external (international) environment for business activities.

Anna Kotaskova, Pan-European University, Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Anna Kotaskova, PhD., is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Head of the Department of Management and Marketing, Pan-European University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and a Senior Researcher in European Centre for Business Research (ECBR), Czech Republic. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship with emphasis on SMEs´ segment, the quality of business environment, management, strategic management, SMEs financing and performance, business administration, sustainability, as well as on macroeconomics in general. She is an author of many scientific articles and proceedings of international scientific conferences indexed in Web of Science and Scopus.

Ivan Brezina, Pan-European University, Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Ivan Brezina, PhD., is a Research Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Vice-Dean for Education and Public Relations, Pan-European University in Bratislava, Slovakia and a Post-Doctoral Fellow in European Centre for Business Research (ECBR), Czech Republic. His research focuses on quantitative methods in economy, business optimization, general economics and macroeconomics in general. He has 8 publications in international databases Web of Science and Scopus. He participated on many scientific projects financially supported by several institutions. 

Roman Hruska, Pan-European University, Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Roman Hruska, PhD., is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics and Entrepreneurship at the Pan-European University and a member of the research team at the European Center for Business Research (ECBR) in the Czech Republic. In his research, he focuses on the topic of marketing, management and business. His extensive practical experience is related to senior management, business and marketing.

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Published

2024-09-20