Internationalisation\nis becoming increasingly important in relation to the competitiveness of\nbusinesses of all sizes. Its importance from a macroeconomic point of view lies\nmainly in the fact that it accelerates the national economy through long-term\nforeign trade activity. From a microeconomic point of view, territorial\nexpansion and the extension of activities into new markets is a way of\nachieving an increase in the growth of the enterprises themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ndegree of internationalisation of SMEs is also related to the openness of the\neconomy, which intensifies the involvement of enterprises in foreign trade\nactivities. The internationalisation of SMEs at EU level brings with it the\nbenefits of the EU single market. Nevertheless, the internationalisation rate\nof European SMEs is low in some countries. This depends on a number of factors\n(e.g. the efficiency of the supporting infrastructure and the sectoral\norientation of SMEs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enterprises\nin the SME size category are often confronted with various challenges when\nengaging in international activities (dealing with different regulations, lack\nof production or financial resources and, last but not least, lack of\ninformation). Unlike large enterprises, SMEs are generally more vulnerable to\ntrade barriers and the risks arising from them. On the other hand, they can\nadapt more flexibly to market changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nquantitative and qualitative analysis revealed a number of key findings from\nthe SME environment that more clearly reflect their position, as well as the opportunities\nfor expanding activities aimed at international markets. Compared to other EU\nMember States, Slovakia was at the tail end in terms of the share of SME\nexports to EU countries in the period under review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nterritorial as well as commodity structure of exporting and importing SMEs from\nSlovakia is characterized by a high degree of concentration both on the EU\nmarket and on the narrow orientation of exported as well as imported commodity\ngroups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\n2015\u20132018, the Slovak Republic ranked first along with 15 other EU countries <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Italy,\nPortugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic,\nSlovenia, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Austria, Denmark, Romania and Luxembourg)\nin the tracking of the results in the area of the “Cross-border trade”\nindicator (in the sense of Doing Business). In addition to a fundamental change\nin the methodology for calculating the monitored indicator, Slovakia’s ranking\nalongside other EU countries is also related to the fact that reforms were\nadopted in 2012\u20132015 that facilitated cross-border trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Relevant\nbarriers to the export of Slovak SMEs were also identified on the basis of the\nSBA quantitative survey, as well as on the basis of the implemented support for\nSMEs by the SBA. The results show that these obstacles include in particular\nthe area of human resources (lack of qualified personnel covering\ninternationalisation in the enterprises themselves). Other risk areas\nidentified include low awareness, particularly in the area of e-commerce.\nHowever, in terms of internal barriers, the perceived barriers are also\nconsidered to be the area of preparation of analyses and necessary\ndocumentation, which are crucial for entering a foreign market (e.g. analysis\nof foreign market risks, preparation of a financial project, appropriate export\nstrategy, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\nsurvey carried out by the EC has highlighted the barriers to exports for\nEuropean SMEs. According to this survey, one of the most significant barriers\nto exporting by Slovak SMEs is financial investment, which is perceived as too\nhigh. Others included administrative processes (as was the case in other EU\ncountries), as well as dealing with cross-border complaints and, last but not\nleast, delivery costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nterms of territory outside the EU, there has been an increase in the total\nnumber of barriers to trade and investment in the period under review,\nreflecting an increase in protectionism in third countries. Most obstacles were\nrecorded across borders. They were related to restrictions on services,\ninvestment, intellectual property rights or unjustified technical barriers to\ntrade. The highest number of obstacles reported in the period under review was\nin agriculture and fisheries. Others included the automotive sector as well as\nthe ICT and electronics sectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsuccess of intensifying the internationalisation of SMEs cannot be achieved\nwithout eliminating the identified barriers. The individual barriers identified\nare, in most cases, inherently linked to each other. Public support can thus\nplay an important role in promoting the internationalisation of SMEs. However,\nthe success of penetrating foreign markets will also depend on the elimination\nof identified internal process barriers of the enterprises themselves (e.g.\nthrough the use of project consultancy, market research, etc.), through\nparticipation in exhibitions, networking to mentoring, or training and advice\nin various areas, as well as the financial assistance itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Import\nand export activities of an enterprise are among the most common forms of\nforeign market entry. In recent years, the interest of Slovak SMEs in\nfranchising has been growing. Co-partnership (joint venture and piggyback) is\nnot a very preferred form of entering foreign markets in our conditions.\nEuropean as well as Slovak legislation regulates transnational forms of\nentrepreneurship (European Company, European Cooperative Society, European\nEconomic Interest Grouping), which are not often used either among SMEs, but\nrather among large enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nregulation of internationalisation in business is a constantly evolving\nprocess. For this reason, both the EU legislative bodies and national\nauthorities are actively engaged in the progressive removal of obstacles. The\nadoption of best practices to support the internationalisation of SMEs, which\nreflect the practice at the EU level, should aim at bringing the export\nactivity of Slovak SMEs closer to the most successful EU exporters (among small\nand medium-sized enterprises).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Internationalisation is becoming increasingly important in relation to the competitiveness of businesses of all sizes. Its importance from a macroeconomic point of view lies mainly in the fact that it accelerates the national economy through long-term foreign trade activity. From a microeconomic point of view, territorial expansion and the extension of activities into new markets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n