Issues of innovation and technology transfer are framed by a broad legislation and financial schemes at the European and national level. In context of the strategy Europe 2020 and the initiative Innovation Union, the mutual interconnection between the new knowledge creation and its economic valuation is important for competitiveness of the economy. Innovation systems are characterized by a large scale of different actors and dynamic interactions between them. The intensity of the innovation activity of enterprises is mostly influenced by the level of their legal awareness and by the ability to utilize the innovation mechanisms and opportunities for transfer of knowledge, modern technologies and practices. The paper characterizes selected legal and financial mechanisms and points out the possibilities and problems related to their implementation in economic sphere, particularly in the agrifood sector. At the beginning, the authors describe the key aspects of the innovation policy and technology transfer in the EU and Slovakia. Next parts of the paper are focused on the issue of legal institutes concerning the industrial property and on the financial instruments for the period 2014-2020 emphasizing the innovative ones and possibilities of their combination. In the final part, the authors point out the barriers and possibilities in innovation implementation and in the process of transfer of technologies and knowledge to economic sphere.

This paper offers a case study of three selected ecovillages (two in Hungary and one in Slovakia). The main objective is to characterize, analyse and eventually compare types, trends and problems in the development of ecovillages and to discuss the possible impacts and effects of ecovillage movement on sustainable rural development. The authors used interviews, observation and inquiry for data collection and methods of document analysis, content analysis of different sources, and analysis of foot marks. They attempt to bring the worldview closer by introducing the basic ecovillage concept and framework, and by describing the ecovillage types, recent trends, problems and challenges. The analytical part begins with a short characteristic of the ecovillage movement in Hungary and Slovakia and follows with six thematic subchapters that investigate and compare the observed ecovillages according to the purposes and motivation for their founding, the communication models and public relations, local economic systems and self-sufficiency phenomenon, the employment structure and the existing infrastructure. Finally, the last part is devoted to assess the main research findings.Abstrakt: Tento článok ponúka prípadovú štúdiu troch vybraných ekodedín (dvoch v Maďarsku a jednej na Slovensku). Hlavným cieľom je charakterizovať, analyzovať a prípadne porovnať typy, trendy a problémy vývoja a rozvoja ekodedín, ako aj diskutovať možné vplyvy a dopady hnutia ekodedín na udržateľný rozvoj vidieka. Autorky použili pre zber údajov techniku rozhovorov, pozorovanie a anketu a metódy analýzy dokumentov, obsahovú analýzu rôznych zdrojov a analýzu fyzických stôp. Pokúšajú sa priblížiť svetové názory prostredníctvom predstavenia základného konceptu ekodedín, ako aj popisom typov ekodedín, súčasných trendov, problémov a výziev. Analytická časť začína krátkou charakteristikou hnutia ekodedín v Maďarsku a na Slovensku a pokračuje šiestimi tematickými časťami, ktoré hodnotia a porovnávajú sledované ekodediny podľa charakteru vzniku a motivácie vedúcej k ich založeniu, podľa komunikačných modelov a vzťahov s verejnosťou, lokálnych ekonomických systémov, fenoménu sebestačnosti, štruktúre zamestnaní a existujúcej infraštruktúre. Záverečná časť je venovaná zhodnoteniu hlavných výskumných zistení.

Renewable energy is the key pillar and plays an important role in the energy systems of European Union member states and in mitigating climate change. It is supporting the transition towards a greener, resource-efficient and more competitive, low-carbon European Union economy. Above-average, average and below-average values of monitored indicators in member states of the European Union in 2009–2016 were ascertained by using principal component analysis. Monitored indicators of the renewable energy sector included electricity generation, electricity capacity, investments of public financial institutions, number of employees and turnover achieved from the economic activities related to production, distribution, installation, operation and maintenance of equipment (all of them per capita). Based on the achieved results, we can state that the situation changed during the period under review. Member states have moved between above-average, average and below-average levels of renewable energy indicators. However, a lack of change in the indicators was recorded in some member states throughout the eight-year period (Finland, France, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Spain did not move significantly). Renewable energy sources (hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and energy from biomass) were evaluated as a whole due to different natural, economic and legislative conditions of European Union countries.

This report deals with the problems of the status of rural households in the stratification system of the post-socialist Slovak society. The authors take as the basis the concept of associated classification and knowledge about the trends in the development of the social structure of Slovak society in the transformation period. The processing of empirical data from the survey research of rural households in three districts served as an example to compare the classification of households within the economic and socio-cultural lines by the means of the selected indicators. The analysis refers to the inconsistency of the stratification of rural households according to the economic and income statuses as well as education, population and socioeconomic qualities which are significantly conditioned by the regional position and situation. The representative types of rural households for the individual social strata are characterized in the conclusions. They are characterized with regard to the used criteria.Key words: social stratification, rural households, post-socialist transformation, household position Abstrakt: Táto štúdia sa zaoberá problematikou postavenia vidieckych domácností v stratifikačnom systéme postsocialistickej slovenskej spoločnosti. Autorky vychádzajú z konceptu združenej klasifikácie a poznatkov o trendoch vo vývoji sociálnej štruktúry slovenskej spoločnosti v období transformácie. Na príklade spracovania empirických dát z dotazníkového výsku-mu vidieckych domácností v troch okresoch je porovnávané zaradenie domácností v rámci materiálnej a sociokultúrnej línie prostredníctvom vybraných indikátorov. Analýza poukazuje na nekonzistentnosť rozvrstvenia vidieckych domácností podľa materiálno-príjmového statusu a podľa ich vzdelanostnej, populačnej a socioekonomickej kvality, ktorá je výrazne podmienená regionálnou polohou a situáciou. V záveroch sú v zmysle použitých kritérií charakterizované reprezentatívne typy vidieckych domácností pre jednotlivé spoločenské vrstvy.Kľúčové slová: sociálna stratifikácia, vidiecke domácnosti, postsocialistická transformácia, pozícia domácností

Sustainability and innovation are key elements of the economic growth and productivity in the contemporary era. The willingness, ability, and capacity to innovate is a strategic tool for the Slovak agro-food companies that want to maintain and/or to improve their market. The aim of this paper is to discuss the selected aspects and determinants of innovative performance of the Slovak agro-food companies and point out key areas and types in innovations, problems influencing their implementation, and assessing their success. The issue of innovation and the “new” role of the agro-food sector have become crucial in the context of transition of the Slovak economy toward more sustainable approaches. Therefore they have become important topics of both scientific research and policy agendas. Using a case study method, a questionnaire survey among 99 agro-food companies in Slovakia was carried out to obtain empirical data about the way how they manage, implement and evaluate the innovations. The study outlined the selected aspects and key determinants which affect the motivation of agro-food companies to innovate as well as selected factors influencing the processes of implementation and management of innovation. The research findings also point out that substantial changes will be required in regulation and support of innovations in the agro-food sector in Slovakia. The study could contribute to help the agro-food companies' managers to improve the innovation activities and competitiveness of their companies, and it would be also helpful for public administration in the development of policies and instruments supporting innovations in the agro-food sector.