Innovation of the economies of European Union countries against selected countries in the world in the years 2007-2016

Abstract

Innovation is of great importance in the economy today. The competitiveness of economies depends on the skillful implementation of innovation. The aim of the article was to assess the innovative position and ability to implementation of innovative solutions in the EU economy against the background of the countries -the world's leaders in innovation. Numerous statistical methods have been used to determine the innovative positions and pace of their change in 35 countries. Studies have shown that the European Union is generally below the average for all countries surveyed. However, it is comprised of many countries that occupy the top positions in the innovation ranking separately. Switzerland is the undisputed leader of innovation. IntroductionFor many years, innovation has been an important area of research for global economists. The popularity of this topic is due to the growing importance of innovation for the economy. On a macroeconomic scale, innovation is a major factor in a country's economic growth. On the other hand, from the perspective of microeconomics, the implementation of innovation enables, among other things, to reduce production costs, improve quality, respond faster to buyers' expectations, better meet consumer needs, expand the range of products offered by companies, reduce ecological hazards, reduce raw material and energy consumption [1].It is very important nowadays to be competitive and innovative. This means not only keeping up with changes, but also creating them. This applies to both companies and countries. Countries, by pursuing proinnovation policies and by distributing public finance, largely determine the level of enterprise innovation [2], [3].According to the 1994 edition of The World Competitiveness Report, the competitiveness of the economy is a term that signifies "the ability to create greater wealth than the world's competitors" [4]. In turn, the concept of the innovation of the economy means the ability and motivation of economic operators to pursue activities aimed at improving and developing production, introducing new solutions or enhancing efficiency through research, R & D works or searching for new concepts and ideas [5], [6] .According to K. Krzyżanowska [2008] the current stage of civilization development is an economy based on knowledge and highly developed technologies [7]. Success will be achieved by those states that will be able to continually generate innovation. Businesses' actions towards innovation can enhance the competitiveness of the given country economy against other countries. Therefore, one of the main objectives of EU economic policy is to promote and support innovative activities of member states. The impact of innovation on the country's economic development is also evident in empirical studies showing a statistically significant relationship between the size of innovation and the level of economic development achieved by the country [8]. Purpose, scope and methodology of researchThe aim of this article is to assess the innovativeness of ...

The Selected Topics for Comparison in Visegrad Four Countries

“…The value of this indicator since 2011 is in the range of 0-100 (where 100 means the highest possible level of innovation) (Kowalska and Tarnowska 2017).…”

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