The Factors and Other Characteristics Influencing Competitiveness of Enterprises in Countries in the Post-Transition Phase of the Economy

Abstract

The aim of the research was to discover the factors or influences associated with competitiveness of enterprises, particularly the factors influencing competitiveness from internal and external environments. The sample is gathered from the branches of manufacturing and construction industries in 2007 and for other sectors of the national economy in 2009. Acquired data reflect the personal views of managers from the monitored enterprises and are expressed in nine variables detailing the internal environment and eight variables detailing the external environment. In our study, the significant influence on competitiveness was found only for the two variables from the internal environment – the ability to flexibly adapt to their customers and the innovation activity of enterprises, though in different time periods. The first one was found to be influential in 2007, at the time of economic growth. The results reflect the fact that managers of enterprises from the first two groups (with higher and average Return on Assets) are homogenous in their opinions with regard to the influence over competitiveness in the capabilities to adapt flexibly to customers, while managers of financially inefficient enterprises held different opinion regarding this issue. On the contrary, in 2009 at the outbreak of the financial crisis, for financially efficient enterprises, innovation activities were found as decisive.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.25.5.3136