INNOVATION PERFORMANCE OF CZECH AND FINNISH MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES AND THEIR POSITION IN THE EU

Abstract

The aim of this article is to assess the innovation performance of innovative small, medium-sized, and large enterprises operating in the manufacturing industry in two European countries – the Czech Republic (CR) and Finland, and to determine their position within the EU based on a comparison with average values of created Fictitious EU Country (FEUC). The FEUC includes the indicators and population of the EU member countries whose data were available. The performed analysis is based on the use of selected key performance indicators (related mainly to inputs that are expected to contribute to innovations) evaluating the enterprises´ innovation performance. The conducted research tries to identify the most significant drivers of innovation performance with regard to the size group of enterprises. Moreover, the achieved results are further compared within the innovation environment of the CR and Finland as well as the EU as a whole. It is worth highlighting the innovation resources of Finnish mainly small but partly also medium-sized enterprises, which in some monitored indicators occupy a much more significant share than in the case of the CR. This fact can indicate a particular signal, which size group of enterprises should become a target group of public support aiming to boost innovation performance.