The importance of cooperation in the field of application knowledge and skills in creative processes is a constantly discussed topic. In general, these processes are described by a many study, but each of them acknowledges the need to take into account the specificities of individual countries and industries. All firms in the knowledge processes use cooperative links with their partners and often also public funds, which the state provides to support increased competitiveness or innovative absorption. Therefore, the aim of this paper has been defined as (i) to verify whether cooperation on innovation activities lead to growth or decrease of firms’ turnover and (ii) to find ways to allocate public funds more effectively, because most of innovation activities and cooperation are supported from public funds. Two linear regression models were employed. Data was sourced from a harmonized questionnaire of selected EU Member States from the Community Innovation Survey carried out in the Czech Republic for the period 2010-2012. Analyses have confirmed that collaborative links are at the heart of innovation processes, as well as the manufacturing industry has significant public resources that support these links and influence the growth of their turnover.

There is no doubt that innovations represented key source of competitive advantage in the last years. Therefore, firms were forced to come up with new or significantly improved goods, services as well as organizational and marketing practices. However, countries, firms and policy makers are facing great environmental challenges for sustainable development and entrepreneurship, which create large demand for Eco-innovations with environmental benefits nowadays. For these reasons, we are analyzing different factors influencing creation of firms´ Eco-innovations in the EU. To obtain an interpretable model of firms´ Eco-innovations and their determinants, we use fuzzy rule-based classification models and latest available data form Community Innovation Survey 2012-2014 created by Eurostat. Our results show that firms´ Eco-innovations are influenced by different factors according to the nature of innovation (product, process, organizational, marketing) in the EU. Public financial subsidies and firms´ environment (e.g. existing environmental regulations, taxes, charges or fees, market demand, and costs of inputs) play key role in the process of creation Eco-innovation with environmental benefits. These results show possible ways how support sustainable entrepreneurship and regional (national) development not only within analyzed countries. We provide initial analysis dealing with different kinds of Eco-innovations and its determinants that could help firms to develop and enhance their corporate innovation and environmental policies. These results could also inspire policy makers at different levels because we propose some practical implications. Keywords: eco-innovations, sustainable development, environmental benefits, entrepreneurship

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Research background: The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is for human society unprecedented. Coronavirus is dramatically changing people’s lives, and despite of uncertainty about the future, it is certain that its global consequences will have many dimensions. The it is undeniable that there have been significant economic impacts are unquestionable today impacts. The Czech economy, like the rest of the world, is facing an unexpected exogenous shock. This being manifests itself with varying intensity both at the level of sub-markets and on the side of aggregate supply and demand. It is literally a textbook example, explaining the outbreak of the downturn phase of the business cycle. Nevertheless, the sudden slowdown of economic activity as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, quarantine and the state of emergency, has many specificities across countries. Purpose of the article: The primary goal of this article is to analyze the economic consequences of the pandemic crisis in the reality of the Czech Republic. On this basis, it identifies the specifics of a pandemic crisis, in the context of a broader framework of economic theories of business cycles. Methods: The analytical part of the article is processed based on publicly available statistical data and economic forecasts. The derivation and argumentation of the conclusions is based on an empiric-inductive approach, methods of synthesis and comparison. Findings & Value added: The article maps the business direct and mediated economic contexts of the economic cycle caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the reality of the Czech Republic. It identifies the differences and specifics of the downward phase of the pandemic business cycle and derives their possible long-term impacts. At the theoretical level, the ambition of the article is to bring new knowledge to the contemporary economic theory of business cycles.