Anna Pilková

Senior Entrepreneurship in the Perspective of European Entrepreneurial Environment

Abstract This paper studies the relationship between senior entrepreneurship propensity (entrepreneurship of the elderly) and national entrepreneurial context, in the European countries that exhibit either high or low levels of senior entrepreneurship. We focus on European countries that participated in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) in 2013. We use GEM data as the main data source for our analysis. Firstly, we analyse the propensity of senior entrepreneurship on the national level, in order to create two clusters (high and low ones) based on the senior entrepreneurial activity. These clusters are then studied separately, compared and analysed based on their entrepreneurial environment. In order to assess the state of the national entrepreneurial environment, we use the GEM evaluation of key Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions, which are evaluated by GEM National Expert Survey. We thereafter compare the quality and profile of entrepreneurial environment based on the framework conditions in each of the created clusters and study similarities and differences both within the clusters and between them. In the further analysis, we investigate which of the entrepreneurial conditions and to what extent might play the role in influencing the senior entrepreneurial activity propensity in both high-activity and low-activity clusters.

Pillar 3 and Modelling of Stakeholders’ Behaviour at the Commercial Bank Website during the Recent Financial Crisis☆

Abstract The paper analyses domestic and foreign market participants’ interests in mandatory Basel 2, Pillar 3 information disclosure of a commercial bank during the recent financial crisis. The authors try to ascertain whether the purposes of Basel 2 regulations under the Pillar 3 - Market discipline, publishing the financial and risk related information, have been fulfilled. Therefore, the paper focuses on modelling of visitors’ behaviour at the commercial bank website where information according to Basel 2 is available. The authors present a detailed analysis of the user log data stored by web servers. The analysis can help better understand the rate of use of the mandatory and optional Pillar 3 information disclosure web pages at the commercial bank website in the recent financial crisis in Slovakia. The authors used association rule analysis to identify the association among content categories of the website. The results show that there is in general a small interest of stakeholders in mandating the commercial banks disclosure of financial information. Foreign website visitors were more concerned about information disclosure according to Pillar 3, Basel 2 regulation, and they have less interest in general information about the bank than domestic ones.

Regional Aspects of Inclusive Entrepreneurship of Seniors in Europe

The paper studies the relationship between key factors influencing senior entrepreneurship and the level of inclusiveness of seniors in entrepreneurial activity in Europe. The objective is to cluster countries with similar patterns in senior entrepreneurial inclusivity and to identify the factors leading to inclusive entrepreneurship of seniors and their social cohesion. The focus is on European countries which participated in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) between 2001 and 2012, using GEM data as the main source for the analyses. Initially, the authors identify the key factors influencing entrepreneurial activity of seniors within Europe based upon data contained within the literature review. At the same time, utilizing the senior entrepreneurship inclusivity index, the authors measure the level of inclusiveness in each European country. Using the results of these analyses the authors subsequently implement a cluster analysis method to create clusters among European countries based upon the similarities in the relationship between the levels of senior entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity of the general population. This helps them identify countries with above average levels of senior entrepreneurship inclusivity. The results allow the authors to assess key similarities in clustered economies in terms of entrepreneurial culture and policies which have a major influence on senior entrepreneurship.

Assessment of the Pillar 3 Financial and Risk Information Disclosures Usefulness to the Commercial Banks Users

The paper analyses usefulness of the Pillar 3 financial and risk information disclosures to the commercial banks users. The Pillar 3 are specific regulatory disclosures requirements set out in the Basel 2 framework and incorporated into EU law and subsequently laws of the member states. According to Pillar 3 intention market participants should be able to understand and subsequently judge the relevance of the bank risk position and risk management and try to discipline “risky” banks. Due to that the European authorities are focused on control and improvements of the banks’ disclosures. However, less is done as far as usefulness of the Pillar 3 risk information to the commercial banks users is. The authors try to assess at which extent is information useful for users of the banks that operate in countries where banking sectors are dominated by foreign-owned entities and depositors (sophisticated and non sophisticated; insured and uninsured; primarily non-financial ones) is a key source of market discipline. The authors focus on modelling of visitor behaviours at website where financial and risk information according to Pillar 3 requirements is available. The results show that there is in general small interest in Pillar 3 information and even financial and risk related information belongs to those where interests is the lowest one.

Specifics of the Entrepreneurial Activities of Slovaks: Evidences Based on GEM Research☆

Abstract Entrepreneurship plays an important role in economic growth mainly through contribution to creation of new jobs, development of competitiveness and innovations on company, country and global levels. Theoretical works and empirical studies confirm that entrepreneurial activities of individuals are key drivers of entrepreneurship development. The paper analyses entrepreneurial activities of Slovaks from international perspectives. Goal of the paper is to identify key specifics of Slovak entrepreneurial activities in comparison to benchmark groups of countries. In our research we focus on investigation of entrepreneurial potential, total early stage entrepreneurial activities and, entrepreneurial activities of established businesses, as well as discontinuation of entrepreneurial activities. In addition to that we analyzed motivation for entrepreneurship, employee entrepreneurial activities, entrepreneurship inclusivity from age and aspirations from growth, innovation and internationalization points of views in Slovakia. Our research is based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data collected for years 2012 – 2014 in Slovakia and benchmark group of countries. We found out key specifics of Slovaks in comparison to benchmark groups of countries with special focus on innovation driven economies.

Entrepreneurship Development in Slovakia

In this chapter the main trends in entrepreneurial dynamics and development of entrepreneurial environment in Slovakia over the last 5 years are analyzed. Generally, entrepreneurship in Slovakia is characterized by relatively high levels of entrepreneurial activity throughout all its types and phases of the entrepreneurial process. However, the overall high activity is unevenly distributed across age groups and genders. Thus, a specific attention in this chapter is also paid to inclusivity of entrepreneurship, with the main focus on disadvantaged groups such as women, youth, and seniors. Also, entrepreneurial environment in the country, despite some favorable conditions, shows generally insufficient support of entrepreneurial activity. Moreover, societal attitudes and cultural and social norms related to entrepreneurship do not stimulate but rather inhibit individuals from engagement in entrepreneurial efforts. In the following paragraphs, we provide a closer analysis of the abovementioned trends and develop recommendations for policy makers to tackle them.

Pillar 3: market discipline of the key stakeholders in CEE commercial bank and turbulent times

AbstractThe study presented in the paper contributes to covering the gap in the area of sufficient information disclosure that also increases the interests of relevant stakeholders in contributing to depository market discipline and in being relevant to their interest within Pillar 3 framework. This paper is focused on an analysis of website data dedicated to Pillar 3 disclosures of commercial banks and on studying the behaviour of stakeholders in relation to the timing of serious market turbulence. The examined data consists of log files that were pre-processed using web mining techniques and from which were extracted frequent itemsets by quarters and evaluated in terms of quantity. The authors have proposed a methodology to evaluate frequent itemsets of web parts over a dedicated time period. The results show that stakeholders’ interest in disclosures is lower after turbulent times in 2009, higher in the first quarter, also higher together with annual reports (lower for Pillar 3 solo information). The p...

Entrepreneurial Environment and Economic Growth: What Affects the Productiveness of Business Activity at Macro Level?

The purpose of this article is to define the factors of the entrepreneurial environment which could drive productive entrepreneurial activity from the macro-economic perspective. The main research question therefore is to identify, what are the main environmental drivers of productive entrepreneurial activity and what is its effective sectorial structure. Our analysis is based on 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data obtained through an adult population survey and national expert survey. In our investigation we employ PATH-analysis, SEM model and multiple regression analysis to empirically define the effective structure of entrepreneurial activity for the performance of an economy and the environmental factors that impact it. This approach empirically examines the directions of influence in the above mentioned relationships. In addition, the robustness of our findings was checked by repeating our analysis on a different sample (2010 GEM data on 59 economies) and by multiplying regression analysis for separate variables of entrepreneurial activity effectiveness, and our results were confirmed. Our findings suggest that of all the different environmental enablers, access to infrastructure (both physical and commercial) is the most influential attribute of entrepreneurial environment affecting economic performance at a macro level and the effective sectorial structure of business activities. Overall, the main drivers of the productiveness of entrepreneurship are: access to infrastructure, rule of law, effective government programs and market openness and dynamics.

The Influence of Intellectual Capital Performance on Value Creation in Slovak SMEs

The intellectual capital has been stressed to play a crucial role in determining firm performance in current knowledge economies. Theoretical works as well as several empirical studies have declared its importance as a value creation driver. The aim of our study is to challenge these paradigms in the context of SMEs in Slovakia. Therefore, we examine the relationship between intellectual capital (measured using financial data through VAICTM) and firm value creation (using the ROCE measure as the most appropriate value creation proxy in this context). Also, we control for the effect of firm size and leverage in this relation. We based our analysis on 2011 financial statements of 3311 Slovak SMEs operating in ten different industrial sections. The data have been obtained from a business information portal (CRIBIS Universal Register). To examine the relation between intellectual capital and value creation while accounting for industry effects we constructed a set of regression models and analysed the explanatory power of intellectual capital performance in firm value creation. Our results suggest, that intellectual capital performance represents a significant value creation driver in each of the examined industries, and its explanatory power exceeds in all cases but one the explanatory power of control variables. Therefore, our results confirm the paradigm of intellectual capital importance for value creation also in the context of small and medium size companies (SMEs) in Slovakia.

Business Restart in Visegrad Countries

The main goal of our paper is to analyse business restarts in Visegrad countries on an individual level and to identify key drivers of restart activity from among perceptual variables. The analysis is based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data. We employ descriptive statistics to analyse the quantitative aspect of business restart and regression modelling to identifyits drivers. Our findings proved that business discontinuation and consequent restart are both integral parts of entrepreneurship in V4 countries. Entrepreneurial selfefficacy and fear of failure, together with gender andage, proved to have a significant relationship with individual restart activity. The individual perceptual variables as components of entrepreneurial potential, as well as the issue of inclusiveness, proved to play an important role in business restart. Our study is the first comprehensive analysis of the under-researched topic of business restart in the V4 region. In addition to highlighting its importance as an integral part of entrepreneurial dynamics in V4 countries, it also identifies individual-level drivers of this specifictype of entrepreneurial activity.