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In many cases the introduction of performance evaluation, performance management and performance financing schemes do not produce the expected results and even create perverse effects. The risks connected with their improper implementation are much higher in developing and transition countries, where the public sector is over-politicized, policy and management capacities are inadequate and resources and experience are limited or often almost absent.Our study provides basic selected data on the use of benchmarking in public administration bodies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The findings are clear. In spite of its high potential, benchmarking is not used regularly and properly either in Slovakia or in Czechia. Subjective barriers of its implementation, for example lack of accountability, the rent seeking attitudes of elected politicians and ineffective public services schemes might be most important limits. The situation is slowly improving, but the progress will be naturally limited by territorial fragmentation.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to introduce innovative ideas into the treatment of the radical and incremental innovations and to fill the research gap by using: (1) methods that can perform complicated tasks and solve complex problems leading in creation of radical and incremental innovation and (2) a broad sample of firms across countries. The authors’ ambition is to contribute to the scientific knowledge by producing evidence about the novel usage of artificial neural network techniques for measuring European firms' innovation activities appearing in black boxes of innovation processes.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors incorporate an international context into Chesbrough's open innovation (OI) theory and, on the one hand, support the hypothesis that European radical innovators benefit more from foreign cooperation than incremental innovators. On the other hand, the results of the analyses show that European incremental innovators rely on domestic cooperation supported by cooperation with foreign public research institutes. Moreover, the use of decision trees (DT) allows the authors to reveal specific patterns of successful innovators emerging within the hidden layers of neural networks.FindingsThe authors prove that radical European innovators using either internal or external R&D strategies, while the combinations of these strategies do not bring successful innovation outputs. In contrast, European incremental innovators benefit from various internal R&D processes in which engagement in design activities plays a crucial role.Originality/valueThe authors introduce innovative ideas into the treatment of hidden innovation processes and measuring the innovation performance (affected by domestic or international cooperation) of European firms. The approach places emphasis on the novelty of innovation and the issue of international cooperation in the era of OI by designing the framework using a combination of artificial neural networks and DT.

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The study examines how selected factors influence the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal waste management expenditure. The analysis is based on research concerning municipalities in the Czech Republic (year 2014, N=365). Two research methods are used: a survey which generated qualitative data about the preferences of municipal representatives, and an econometric model. The obtained results are compared, and they show that they are complementary to each other. The most important factors are the price, quality of services and frequency of services. This finding indicates the validity of our assumption based on the idea of value for money.