Evaluation of the innovation activities of companies in the competitive EU market – external factors

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the innovation activities of companies in the EU countries, taking into consideration the external factors. Design/methodology/approach: This article focuses on the analysis of the most frequently used factors determining the external conditions of the companies innovation activities with the use of taxonomic analysis. The research was conducted on the annual data for years 2017-2019 for the selected European countries. The data from the databases of OECD and Eurostat were used in the analysis. Findings: The results of the conducted analysis allow to conclude that the state and organisation of innovation activities in the economy and thus, in the companies is strongly dependent on external factors. The averages and quartiles were calculated to show the dynamics of the factors. Moreover, Ward dendrogram was presented to show the similarities and differences in shaping the innovation activities. The synthetic indicator was used to determine the development path and the map of objects was drawn. There is a strict connection between the amount of expenditures on R&D and the employees’ education concerning the implementation of the innovation activities in all analysed countries. In particular, it is visible in the Scandinavian countries and in Luxembourg. In Poland the innovation activities of companies is similar to the ones in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The low level of GERD causes that many companies have financial problems and despite high dynamics of industrial production, the innovativeness is still at a low level. Research limitations/implications: The comparison of Poland with other countries would surely give a wider picture whether the innovation processes are performed in an efficient way. The accessibility of data, for each country, used in the research not only limited the period of analysis but also determined the selection of variables. The analysis was based on the data from the mentioned databases to make it more reliable. Practical implications: The information obtained during the conducted analysis may facilitate the process of proper decision making referring to the management of innovations. The implementation of innovations guarantees not only the company development but also greater transparency in the information and knowledge flow among the workers. Originality/value: The analysis of external factors of the innovation activities is really important as the investments in innovation activities are the more and more important GDP part and the numerical taxonomy methods enable to indicate, indirectly, these countries which should be models for Poland so that it could organise and manage the innovation processes. The analysis of innovation activities makes it possible to indicate desired directions of changes 564 A. Strzelecka in the management of Polish companies. Thus, it is a basis to take decisions in the competitive markets.