Open Access Article SciPap-783
Significant Determinants of Business Environment in the Segment of Small and Meduim-Sized Enterprises
by Jaroslav Belás 1,*, Přemysl Bartoš 2, Aleksandr Ključnikov 3 and Ludmila Kozubíková 4

1 Faculty of Management and Economics, Department of Business Administration, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Mostní 5139, Zlín 760 01, Czechia

2 Faculty of Management and Economics, Department of Business Administration, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Mostní 5139, Zlín 760 01, Czechia

3 Katedra podnikání a managementu, Vysoká škola podnikání Ostrava, a.s., Michálkovická 1810/181, Slezská Ostrava 710 00, Czechia

4 Faculty of Management and Economics, Department of Business Administration, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Mostní 5139, Zlín 760 01, Czechia

* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract: Small and medium enterprises (SME) represent an essential part of an economic system as they positively influence important macroeconomic data. The aim of this article is to define significant determinants of quality of business environment of SME in the Czech Republic and to quantify differences between selected social groups of entrepreneurs. We compare entrepreneurial opinions dividing them by gender, education, age and their companies' size. The data was obtained through own research of business environment. Only 24% of respondents stated they did not experience corruption and cronyism in their entrepreneurial activities. We discovered statistically significant differences in entrepreneurs' opinions according to their gender, education and their companies' size. As much as 71% of respondents opined that the media do not inform sufficiently about the importance of entrepreneurship for society. Moreover, entrepreneurs evaluate the commercial banks' attitude to their financing with caution. As for the intensity of business risks, 62% of businessmen declared it has increased after the crisis of 2008. We also found out statistically significant differences in the perception of business risks by various types of entrepreneurs dividing them by education, their companies' size and age.

Keywords: Gender, Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Business Environment Quality, Determinants Of Business Environment Quality, Company Age, Company Size

JEL classification:   G32 - Financing Policy • Financial Risk and Risk Management • Capital and Ownership Structure • Value of Firms • Goodwill,   L26 - Entrepreneurship,   O16 - Financial Markets • Saving and Capital Investment • Corporate Finance and Governance

SciPap 2015, 23(3), 783

Received: 7 August 2015 / Accepted: 17 December 2015 / Published: 21 December 2015