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The sustainability of the family business mirrors the business success and functionality of the family. Sustainability cannot be ensured without sufficient business profitability, solvency and financial stability. A company unable to pay its obligations on time is insolvent and, therefore, unhealthy. The paper’s main goal is to evaluate the impact of selected economic aspects on the sustainability of family farms in Slovakia. The Finstat database serves as the source of input data for the research. For the economic analysis of the family and non-family sets of companies, Grünwald's bonity index (GIB) was chosen for its universality. According to the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, family businesses can be considered less risky, especially considering the conservative way of management and the effort for long-term sustainability. However, the results of our research may differ. Family businesses show higher profitability of total and mainly equity capital but also low current liquidity and an under-capitalised state. The most increased noncredit current liquidity was achieved in family businesses in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021. The family businesses we monitored are more profitable than non-family businesses, they do not show an excessive increase in investments, and most of them seem to have a targeted and purposeful high level of short-term liabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer awareness and customer satisfaction are generally important attributes for the success and competitiveness of any business. In some sectors, they are studied very intensively; in others, they are neglected. In the field of transport services, it is important that the attitudes of customers are sufficiently monitored because public passenger transport has a lot of individual competition. Only satisfied customers can prefer public transportation over their own. In this context, this contribution analyses customer requirements and their satisfaction with bus public transport in the Slovak Republic. The opinions of customers are supplemented in this article with those of strategic managers. We ascertained customer requirements through questionnaire surveys. Using theoretical knowledge, we established hypotheses, which were subsequently verified using the selected statistical methods. Based on the findings, we proposed the concept of the target perspective of the BSC system for bus transport companies in the Slovak Republic in an effort to increase their competitiveness. Our procedure was also based on knowledge that is the output of various research studies in this area. Their results show that marketing strategies are considered the most important part of strategic management. Today, it is common in many industries that all business entities offer the same product at the same price under approximately the same technological conditions and with the assistance of equally well-equipped personnel. Therefore, a correctly set marketing strategy can also be the key to business success in transport services. The methods used in this paper were analysis, synthesis, questionnaire surveys, and the selected managerial and statistical methods. Our goal was to propose a concept of the customer perspective of the BSC system based on the analysis of customer requirements. We are convinced that the results of our survey can contribute to increasing the competitiveness of not only bus carriers in Slovakia, but also in other EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with methods of predicting bankruptcy of a business with the aim of choosing a prediction method which will have exact results. Existing bankruptcy prediction models are a suitable tool for predicting the financial difficulties of businesses. However, such tools are based on strictly defined financial indicators. Therefore, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method has been applied, as it allows for the free choice of financial indicators. The research sample consisted of 343 businesses active in the heating industry in Slovakia. Analysed businesses have a significant relatively stable position in the given industry. The research was based on several studies which also used the DEA method to predict future financial difficulties and bankruptcies of studied businesses. The estimation accuracy of the Additive DEA model (ADD model) was compared with the Logit model to determine the reliability of the DEA method. Also, an optimal cut-off point for the ADD model and Logit model was determined. The main conclusion is that the DEA method is a suitable alternative for predicting the failure of the analysed sample of businesses. In contrast to the Logit model, its results are independent of any assumptions. The paper identified the key indicators of the future success of businesses in the analysed sample. These results can help businesses to improve their financial health and competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: The success of family businesses abroad is not measured by profit, but is judged by the number of generations that have successfully mastered the succession process. This is why family businesses in Slovakia should also focus on long-term existence. Succession in a family business must be prepared with sufficient time in advance, as this is one of the most risky moments of its future. Purpose of the article: Successful management of the succession process in family businesses requires several years of preparation in different areas. The aim of this paper is to assess the readiness of Slovak family companies to owner generational change in application of selected factors in ensuring the smooth transmission of family businesses to the younger generation. Methods: The method of research was a questionnaire based on a 5-degree Likert scale, where the respondents expressed the degree of their agreement or disagreement with the particular statement. The questionnaire was filled by sample of 412 respondents -- 206 family business owners and their 206 successors (son/daughter). The statistical relations and correlations be tween variables were performed by Cronbach alpha, Spearman test, Kruskal-Walis test using EXCEL and SAS Enterprise Guide 7.1. programs. Findings & Value added: Slovak family companies have already passed or they are in the process of preparing or implementing the first generational change. We cannot be compared yet with family companies in Germany, USA or the Nether-lands because these firms are in the process of the fourth generation change in the ownership. The added value of this paper is the identification of deficiencies and reserves that prolong or expel the process of successful company transfer to a young generation. It is related to human capital -- the professional competence of the successor and the willingness of the founder to leave, the absence of important business documents, or the effort to cope with the process itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents evidence on the identities, values and success goals of creative entrepreneurs in Slovakia. The research relies on a database of creative firms supported by the Slovak Creative Voucher Scheme. The survey-based research compares the success goals of creative entrepreneurs with those of people from conventional industries. The research design acknowledges substantial regional economic disparities in Slovakia. The success goals of creative entrepreneurs from the Bratislava region are compared with those of entrepreneurs from less developed regions. Non-parametric tests are applied in order to establish between-group differences. We found that creative entrepreneurs indeed had their own sets of business motives and success goals, different from those of entrepreneurs in conventional industries. The success goals of creative entrepreneurs were not impacted by the location of the business. Creative entrepreneurs located in the capital region of Bratislava had the same structure of success goals as that of people from underdeveloped regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the topic of project orientation of organizations and their relationship with pro-environment behavior. It studies the relation between project orientation and pro-environmental behavior using a questionnaire method to collect the data from small, medium and large-sized Slovak companies. In the context of climate change, this research advocates how project orientation can be beneficial to pro-environmental behavior while being also advantageous for companies. The paper provides positive evidence of project orientation to management. Project orientation is researched by a later specified model that takes into account many aspects influencing the level of project orientation of a particular organization. The model studies the level of project orientation in five areas, namely: Communication, Knowledge Development, Development of Project Management, Employee Training and Development, and Organizational Standards & Norms. Using the questionnaire the relationship between those areas and the approach of the companies towards the protection of the environment was studied which is reflected in the following indicators: environmental policy of the organization, decreasing energy consumption, waste minimization, prevention of air pollution (emissions), prevention of water pollution (wastewater), reduction and prevention of noise, natural environment conservation, utilization of sustainable resources, utilization of "green" technologies. The relationships mentioned above were analyzed by statistical methods, and subsequently, the KDD method was applied. The results suggest that the pro-environmental behavior of companies can be influenced and so is related to the project orientation, in other words, the higher the level of project orientation (according to the Integrated model of transformation process leading to the project-oriented organization) the greater is the positive effect on pro-environmental behavior. The results also suggest that companies with limited resources should focus on organizational norms and standards and employee training and development to achieve the greatest positive effect on pro-environmental behavior. Using the KDD method groups of enterprises with the best and the worst results in the approach towards protection of the natural environment were identified. Also studied was the direct correlation between the level of project orientation and pro-environmental behavior. Image 1 • Sustainable development is a significant aspect of economic success. • Project orientation enables managing of the changes in the competitive environment. • The integrated model defines the level of project orientation. • Interdependency of project orientation and pro-environmental behavior was identified. • Project orientation is associated with business success as well as pro-environmental behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific paper aims to examine the influence of marketing communication tools on the innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises increasing in the Slovak Republic. Nowadays the most companies struggle with business revenue due to the pandemic situation of COVID-19 disease. Many business processes moved to the online area, especially daily workers cooperation, communication with customers, sales support, and almost all types of marketing activities. Experience has shown that the key to success in business is the adequate setup of the communication tools. This issue is important not only in the company, but it took a crucial role in the communication with customers. Customers had to adapt to the new COVID-19 situation that dramatically changed their shopping habits. The survey responses were divided into two basic groups focused on traditional marketing and modern (online) tools. The research rests on data from the interviews with 825 managers or owners of small and medium-sized enterprises of the Slovak Republic. Data were examined using descriptive and regression analysis. The presented results showed that traditional and modern tools of marketing communication impacted increasing the innovation of companies. Besides, the impact of business internationalization on increasing business innovation has been demonstrated. The results were supplemented using various modern marketing tools. For evaluating these results, the method of calculation of constructed surface polygons was used. The findings showed that modern marketing communication tools were better for innovative companies than for non-innovative ones. This difference is up to 14.7%. Moreover, the findings showed many possibilities for improving modern marketing communication tools such as artificial intelligence in online communication through mobile marketing applications, analytical tools, or chatbots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As innovations are the basic premise of commercial success in the market the main objective of this paper is to determine the main course of innovations in wood-processing industry within the forestry-wood chain in Slovakia from the viewpoint of representatives of wood processing companies. Using a Q-methodology approach the emphasis is also put on identification of differences between the opinions of small individual entrepreneurs and representatives of capital companies. Based on the results of structured interview with representatives of 33 wood processing companies the main findings suggest that future innovation activities in the sector will be related to the technology innovations mainly in processing of coniferous timber. However, the extent of such innovations is perceived differently depending on the company size and ownership category. While small individual entrepreneurs expect only slight innovation changes in the industry aimed at the meeting of required standards, managers of capital companies tend to foresee the future vision in restructuralisation of wood-processing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]