Several research studies concur with the claim that the government, through its measures and active instruments, should influence the business environment, the innovation activity of enterprises and thus their competitiveness. It is the creation of motivating conditions and the elimination of some barriers that are the main area of government involvement in the innovative performance and competitiveness of the economy. The article analyzes the achievement of the goals set in the particular innovation policies of the Slovak Republic from 2008 to the present. The paper also identifies barriers which have been affecting innovation activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Slovakia for the last six years. Secondary data from the research of the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency are supported by data from empirical research performed in 2014 and repeated in 2017 in Slovakia. The authors use methods of analysis, comparison, deduction, as well as mathematical methods for processing the data collected. The representativeness of the samples was examined using Fisher's exact test. The research questions were answered by the non-parametric Friedman's test of variance analysis by ranks along with McNemar's test of marginal homogeneity among the barriers. The results confirmed that there was a significant difference among the innovation barriers to SMEs as well as in the importance of barriers to the particular size classes of respondents. Similarly, there was a shift in the rank of the most important barriers over the period of 2012-2017.

Critical situations in the operations of companies, both evitable and inevitable, usually have a certain pattern and development trend but are different as to the duration, sector or region. Many of them ask for some legal procedure, the most critical ones lead to a bankruptcy process. The purpose of the research is the rapid increase in number of bankruptcies in Slovakia in recent years. The main aim of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the bankruptcy as a type of critical situation in Slovak companies and specify it according to the regional and sectoral perspective, including economic conditions prior to a bankruptcy. The paper utilizes secondary data obtained from available databases. The initial analysis is focused on the group of all companies entering the bankruptcy process in the period from 2009 until 2019. Firstly, the full sample is considered, regardless of the legal form and data and the outcome of the analysis is used for mapping of industrial and regional intensity of bankruptcies. The second stage of the research is focused on research sample after the irrelevant subjects were ousted from it. As irrelevant subjects we consider sole traders without business data and companies with doubtful data or unclear bankruptcy start. Through the available indicators are identified the early warning signals from the financial perspective. Indicators are split into two categories – absolute and relative ones and they are investigated three, two and one years before the start of bankruptcy. Four hypotheses were formulated before the research, the length of bankruptcy process was quantified and specified for SK NACE sectors and regions. The paper presents the results of empirical analysis, which showed that the dynamic change in number of bankruptcies was brought with significant amending of bankruptcy legislation. The longest bankruptcy process is found in accommodation and food services (4 years), while IT companies generally went bankrupt within a year. The economic situation in bankrupting companies significantly worsen in case of sales and equity (the number of companies with negative equity doubled), development of profit/loss fluctuate a bit due to the sale of assets which helped in later stages. There is no statistically significant difference in the length of bankruptcy among the industries and regions. In case of legislative rules the lower cash ratio seems to be the dominant reason while companies enter the bankruptcy. The research results can be useful for further and more detailed analysis, mostly in connection with bankruptcy development (what happen when bankruptcy started) and liabilities compensation and through non-financial bankruptcy factors in individual industries.

Since 2002, the Slovak government have been using the system of investment aid for enterprises. However, the economy of the Slovak Republic characterized by differences among regions. Therefore, in March 2018, the Slovak government modified the system of investment aid to mitigate the differences among the regions. The main aim of the paper is to examine whether investment aid in Slovakia has served its purpose and was channelled to disadvantaged Slovak areas. The objects of the research are particular investment projects supported by the state investment aid in the observed period. The subjects of study are the selected forms of investment aid provided in the Slovak republic. The paper analyses the amount and structure of the provided investment aid in the Slovak Republic during the period 2002–2018. The secondary data on business entities, which received investment aid was obtained from the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic. An additional source of information is data from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic about the rate of unemployment and GDP per capita in the Slovak regions. Descriptive statistics and comparison analyse the obtained data to evaluate the total provided investment aid.The authors work with three research questions. The first concerned the uniformity of investment aid provision during the years 2002-2018. The second focused on verifying the proportionality of the covered costs to the newly created jobs. Finally, the authors test the primary mission of investment aid, reducing regional disparities (based on the allocation of investment aid to regions of the Slovak Republic). There were identified evident differences in the total amount of provided investment aid in particular years. The analysis confirms that the costs for one newly created job in particular Slovak regions were quite different. There were regions where the subsidies for one new job were three times higher than in others. During the analysed period, the majority (56%) of investments were realised in regions with a lower rate of unemployment compared to the average price in Slovakia. The aid in these regions was achieved, with 75 % of the total amount of investment aid. The results of the analysis confirm that investment aid in Slovakia is still not focused on the support of less developed regions. Keywords: investment aid, Slovak Republic, state support, regions, unemployment rate.

Research background: Globalization - the process of increasing social, cultural, political, and economic interdependence - has resulted in several changes in business environment. Global market opportunities and threats are major effects of globalization; they refer to the increases in market potential, trade and investment potential and resource accessibility. Global market threats refer to the increases in the number and level of competition, and the level of uncertainty. Global competitors can have the impact on bankruptcy of local SMEs in less developed or smaller countries. Are globalization in economics and company bankruptcy related? In the past, the cause of bankruptcy was mainly in the company itself. The development of globalization has brought a number of positive as well as a number of negative consequences for several areas of society. Is one of the negative effects of globalization the bankruptcy of companies? Purpose of the article: The paper presents a classification of external and internal causes of bankruptcy and indicators of the threat of company bankruptcy. The paper also focuses on the results of the research analysis about the causes of small and medium-sized enterprises mortality in Slovakia and the impact of globalization factors as the causes of their bankruptcy. The analysis of bankruptcies is oriented on the research of the causes of small and medium-sized enterprises mortality in Slovakia and the influence of globalization factors as the causality of their bankruptcy. Methods: The research sample presents structured interview with 16 SMEs´ owners. They identified more aspects of globalization impact to Slovak SMEs bankruptcy. Findings & Value added: The results of research indicate that there is an evidence of impact of globalization on the bankruptcy of SMEs in Slovakia, but there are some differences among various industries.

In order to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the European Union has set a spectrum of targets via the growth strategy titled ‘Europe 2020’. These targets are elaborated in detail and coordinated in specific national programs and national policies of European Union member states. A detailed analysis of economic structure that influences the situation in a particular region in an outstanding way can be considered a significant activity for the purpose of examination of the current situation and potential development of particular European regions. Research on stronger and weaker economic areas provides the state with important information for decisions on further strategic development of a particular region. The main aim of this paper is to analyse the economic structure of the Slovak Republic and its regions with the help of secondary data. On the basis of this analysis we will determine the possible areas of potential development for specific economic areas in Slovak regions.