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Barriers to using structural funds
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Nowadays competitiveness of enterprises is determined by the size and range of implemented investment projects. The investments need to involve necessary resources. In the case of the SME sector, enterprises have limited financial assets. Therefore, Poland’s accession to the European Union and the opportunity to use its funding is a chance for deve...
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... poor quality of service offered to applicants and beneficiaries − bureaucratized procedures of applying for grants, resulting from high complexity and excessive details of competition rules − too complicated formal criteria (in most cases, formal assessment of the application was more important than substantive evaluation) − substantive criteria which do not match the realities of running a business − low credibility of appeal measures, as the applications were re-examined by the same institutions whose previous evaluation was protested or appealed against by the applicant Table 1 continued ...
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... Najčešće pogreške, prema Omaziću i Boljkasu (2005) događaju se u postupcima javne nabave te u nepoštivanju ugovornih obveza partnera, a koji vode ka neuspjehu u provedbi projekta i ostvarivanju projektnih ciljeva. Prema rezultatima istraživanja, provedenim među rumunjskim malim i srednjim poduzećima, korisnicima sredstava EU fondova, najveće prepreke jačoj apsorpciji sredstava predstavljaju (Hunya, 2011;Popa, 2013): -predug period povrata uloženih sredstava, a što se negativno odražava na novčani tijek korisnika sredstava; -složene procedure prijave i samog prijavnog obrasca; -problemi prilikom pronalaska financijskih sredstava za sufinanciranje projektnih aktivnosti; -složeni procesi javne nabave; -kriteriji prihvatljivosti za financijsku potporu su restriktivni i nisu u suglasju s ekonomskom aktivnošću, -otvaranje i zatvaranje poziva za prijave nisu usklađeni što uzrokuje prekratke rokove za prijave na projektne pozive; -razdoblje evaluacije projekta, kako je navedeno u samom projektnom pozivu ne poštuje se; -problemi s novčanim tokom javljaju se uslijed kašnjenja s ocjenom projekta; -implementacijske procedure nisu jasno definirane Istraživanje provedeno među malim i srednjim poduzećima u Poljskoj, vezano uz apsorpciju EU sredstava, pokazuje gotovo identične prepreke (Spoz, 2014; Lewandowksa, Stopa i Humeny, 2014). U provedenom istraživanju samo 1% ispitanih poslovnih subjekata smatra procese prijave na EU projekte jednostavnim, dok čak 38% smatra ove procese prilično zahtjevnim, a 29% iznimno zahtjevnim. ...
Svaki projekt je izložen raznim vrstama rizika tijekom njegove provedbe koji utječu na uspješnost same provedbe, ali i vjerojatnost ostvarivanja planiranih ciljeva u zadanom vremenskom roku. Pomno analiziranje rizika i kreiranje timova koji imaju dovoljno znanja i iskustva za pravilno provođenje projektnih aktivnosti od presudne su važnosti za uspješnu provedbu projekta. Europski strukturni i investicijski fondovi (ESI) nude mogućnost financiranja projektnih aktivnosti sektoru malih i srednjih poduzeća. Cilj ovoga rada je identificirati najčešće rizike i pogreške vezane uz provedbu projekata u malim i srednjim poduzećima, te dati preporuke za njihovo minimiziranje. Kako bi se dobio uvid u pogreške koje najčešće čine vlasnici malih i srednjih poduzeća u procesu provedbe projekta, provedeno je istraživanje na 52 ispitanika (projektni menadžeri, djelatnici Središnje agencije za financiranje i ugovaranje programa i projekta EU, te djelatnici resornih ministarstava). Istraživanjem su detektirane najveće i najčešće pogreške, ali i izazovi s kojima se susreću vlasnici malih i srednjih poduzeća. Ispitanici iz sektora malih i srednjih poduzeća naveli su i najveće izazove s kojima se susreću tijekom pripreme, ugovaranja i provedbe projekata Europske unije (EU projekata). Rezultati istraživanja upućuju na nužnost jačanja kapaciteta prijavitelja projekata, ali i jače suradnje između prijavitelja i nadzornih tijela.
... Much attention is also paid to the SME sector in the European Union. To create the best conditions for the creation and development of small-and medium-sized enterprises and to stimulate entrepreneurial behavior in the European Union, financial instruments are used as a source of implementation of cohesion policy (Huttmanová and Kisel'áková 2010;Piątkowski 2010b;Janků 2012;Spoz 2014). Entrepreneurs can apply for non-returnable EU subsidies from operational programs in individual support areas. ...
... The enterprise in which the investment is planned may finance them on its own, based on funds included in equity, generated by the company itself or provided by external entities or financed on the basis of debt instruments by borrowing funds from specialized entities. This means that the investment process is a necessary condition for the efficient operation of the company on the market, but it is also a huge financial and organizational challenge for its owners (Spoz 2014). Looking at the classification of sources of financing investment activity of enterprises indicated in the literature, the most important criterion concerns the source of capital, dividing them into internal and external. ...
... Mikołajczak (2012) and Wolański (2013) even claim that EU funds are determinants of the development of the SME sector, thanks to which an improvement in the competitive position of the Polish economy and its innovation can be observed, and thus Polish enterprises are becoming an "important player" in European and global market. In addition, the positive experience and acquired skills in managing EU projects encourage entrepreneurs to apply for further grants (Dorożyński et al. 2013), and investments are part of the long-term development strategy plan in these entities (Spoz 2014). ...
The need to pay some attention to the issues of investment processes undertaken in enterprises and explore this topic is a direct result of the important role that enterprises play in the economy-with particular emphasis on the SMEs. From the company's point of view, it is crucial to obtain economic effects as a result of the implemented investment. The aim of the study was to analyze the results of tangible investments in enterprises in Małopolska province in Poland, in two groups of entities-those that implemented investments using EU subsidies and those that financed investments from other sources without using EU aid. This is a unique research in the field of analysis and presentation of investment data in enterprises, especially in relation to companies using EU funds. There is no comparative assessment of investments in enterprises on this topic in the scientific literature (concerning EU subsidies). For this reason, comparing the effects of investment activities between the two groups of enterprises studied-using and not using EU subsidies-fills the research gap in this regard. The study was based on the critical analysis of domestic and foreign literature, and quantitative and qualitative analyses of the results of a survey among 160 enterprises using the CSAQ method, additionally extended by interviews with selected respondents. Data presentation uses a descriptive approach in combination with statistical analysis. A multiple linear regression model (MLR) was also used to verify hypotheses. Research results show that undertaking investment activities contributes to obtaining favorable results in enterprises, regardless of the source of investment financing. The source of financing the investment is not important for the results achieved in the enterprise. However, representatives of companies who received EU subsidies assess their market position higher after investment relative to companies that used other sources of financing for this purpose. Entities that have received EU subsidies have a stronger perception of investment as an important factor determining the company's development. In addition, variables were identified using the MLR model that affect the assessment of the financial position of enterprises in both groups of entities. This article supplements the knowledge on the economic effects of investments implemented by enterprises in the SME sector in Poland in a situation where these entities used and did not benefit from EU subsidies during 2007-2015.
... Small companies are compelled to improve the quality of their management with the aim of surviving and prospering. Small companies in general tend to be at a disadvantage when competing with larger companies because of their lack of knowledge, the relative scarcity of financial resources to take risks, limited external contacts, and the lower average level of education of their employees (Cohen, Vassilios-Christos, & Vlismas, 2014;Torres, Guzman, & Castro, 2015;Spoz, 2014). Openness to free trade among the world's economies has spread quickly over the past decades making competition within Mexico considerably fiercer (Villarreal & Fergusson, 2017). ...
This is a doctoral dissertation which resulted from a research done with a group of 10 small Mexican companies. The goal of the research was to study and analyze how these companies were applying the best practices of marketing strategy. The study includes a selection of best practices of marketing strategy that are measurable and allow a researcher to evaluate the degree in which a company is doing its job in relation to marketing strategy.
... Making credit standards stricter builds the strong barrier for doing business that could have its impact on a number of SMEs and also on the growth of the already existing businesses (Majkova, 2008;Korcsmáros et al., 2016;Koisova, Habanik, Virglerova & Rozsa, 2017). SMEs are the backbone of each market economy and economists consider them to be the most important components of every market economy in the world (Ivanová, 2017;Rahman et al., 2016;Adamowicz & Machla, 2016;Badulescu, 2012;Belás & Sopková, 2016;Dubravska et al., 2015;Henderson & Weiler, 2010;Karpak & Topcu, 2010;Spoz, 2014;Delibasic, 2016;Draskovic, Popov & Peleckis, 2017 etc.). It is obvious, that analysis of credit risk and of the factors determining it would be important for a wide number of professional readers. ...
Credit standards have a strong impact on GDP and the average size of provided loans within the economy. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether such factors as the age of entrepreneurs and the size of their companies are relevant, and have a significant impact on the perception of credit standards. The research is focused on the impact of the selected factors and comparison of the perception of strictness of credit conditions before and after the crisis on the basis of the data from two surveys carried out among 756 Slovak companies back in 2008 and then in 2016. Basing on the Pearson´s chi-square analysis of the results we may present the statistical evidence that the age of an owner and the size of a company have significant impact on the perception of loan criteria, while the impact of company's size has higher intensity.
... Contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to the development of any economy is undeniable and, as a result, policy makers and researchers are actively involved in resolution of the issues faced by SMEs while ensuring their survival (Virglerova et al., 2016;Adamowicz, & Machla, 2016;Dubravska et al., 2015;Spoz, 2014). Analysis of 76 developed and developing countries by Ayyagari et al. (2007) showed that SMEs are solely responsible for the creation of about 60 percent of employment in manufacturing sector. ...
In this paper we aim to explore how the type of bank ownership - local private banks, government-owned banks (public banks) and foreign banks - can affect relationship lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by using a unique data set from Bangladeshi banking sector. We found that private banks differ from government-owned and foreign banks in terms of relationship lending and credit facilities to SMEs. More specifically, our results suggest that unlike government and foreign banks, private banks do consider soft information from relationship lending while setting up the loan spread to SMEs. We can also confirm that exclusive banking relationship or repeated banking with private banks can soften credit conditions (loan maturity and covenants). Moreover, we found empirical evidence that banking relationship is important for private banks in terms of SME credit risk evaluation. Finally, as according to our expectation, the results confirm that regardless of prior relationship, private banks are more depended on collateral-based lending to SMEs than government-owned or foreign banks.
... Among these problematic areas, a limited access to external sources of financing is often pointed out. SMEs especially perceive the lack of financial sources in the countries with the less developed financial system or the countries with the unstable currency, that substantially limits their entrepreneurial opportunities (Ključnikov & Junger, 2014a;Ključnikov & Junger, 2014b;Spoz, 2014;Meluzín & Zinecker, 2016). Restricted access to external financial sources may also limit such elements of the EO as independence, proactivity and innovativeness of SMEs. ...
The aim of this article is to explore the question of autonomy as an element of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the segment of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic. In relation to the independence of the researched companies, we have investigated whether the evaluation of an independent position of the companies differs according to three criteria: gender, age of the entrepreneur, and time of the company spent in the market. The researched entrepreneurs were divided into men and women, entrepreneurs "younger" (under the age of 45) and "older" (45+), and into "beginners and advanced" (1-10 years in business) and "experienced" (more than 10 years in business). The results showed that 46 % of the respondents perceive their companies as independent, 65% of them have reasonably autonomous staff in their companies, and 71% support the initiative of their employees in business opportunities. In relation to the criteria examined, we have found out that gender does not play the differencing role in autonomy between men and women. However, entrepreneur´s age and firm´s age do so. 68% of "experienced" companies are statistically more aware of the fact that staff in their company is reasonably autonomous in comparison with the “novice and advanced” companies. Furthermore, "younger" entrepreneurs support the initiative of their employees more (64%) than “older” entrepreneurs.
This paper investigates the determinants of loan maturity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the context of Visegrad countries: Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, and Hungary. The data of instead of for this paper was obtained from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), which is a joint project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. By using a binary logistic model, we have found that loan maturity is shorter for older and mature firms, firms owned by female and firms experiencing a shortage of liquidity. At the same time, we have also found that firms having concentrated ownership structure and more tangible assets can borrow for a longer period. In addition to that, we have found evidence that loan maturity is longer for the firms located closer to a bank branch. We also provide empirical support for the assumption that bank low competition is associated with longer maturity. From the obtained results, we may recommend SMEs to borrow from banks that are within their vicinity since this may increase the maturity of loans. Policy makers are recommended to implement policies so that to alleviate gender-related discrimination and take initiatives to moderate the level of competition at this market.
