Urbex in the V4 countries: analysis of popularity trends

ABSTRACTThe V4 or Visegrad countries — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia — have turned to the West for many reasons, including in order to advance technologically and economically, for political and administrative models, as well to gain military and political protection. The V4 countries are aware that their active and successful engagements within NATO and the EU are only possible in close cooperation with Germany. The V4 countries and Germany have had many opportunities to develop their mutual cooperation in the sphere of defense. However, defense cooperation seems to be underdeveloped within the forum of the V4 states as well as with Germany. The V4 platform clearly remains an unattractive tool for German military cooperation with Central European countries and has shown very limited potential even for its members. Germany does not have high expectations for the V4 alliance in terms of relevance as a security institution.

Background The ASPHER V4 Working Group (WG) was established in 2016 and officially launched during the 9th European Public Health Conference in Vienna. One of the key objectives of the WG is to strengthen public health capacity development in V4 countries. The WG supports the implementation of the recently reviewed European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities (EAP). The EAP’s review highlighted the need to focus further action on four enabling Essential Public Health Functions (EPHOs) including human resources for public health. This is why the WG is heavily involved in the recent development of a new Road map for professionalising the public health workforce, one of the products of the recently established Coalition of Partners (CoP) that was convened by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in close cooperation with ASPHER and Maastricht University. Objectives Supporting the WHO CoP with a focus on development and further implementation of a new Road map for professionalising public health workforce in V4 countries. Using a new rapid assessment tool to evaluate the state of the public health profession in the Czech Republic. Sharing the report on the current state of public health professions in the Czech Republic with the WG and using it as a comparison of the current state in all V4 countries. Results Key strengths and weaknesses of the first rapid assessment of the current state of the public health profession in the Czech Republic are presented. Key actions are proposed for the WG: a) Preparation of a grant proposal to the International V4 Fund and b) Continuing active involvement in CoP activities. Conclusions The rapid assessment tool for evaluating the state of the public health profession was successfully implemented in the Czech Republic with the close cooperation of academia, researchers, policy makers and practitioners. The summary confirms that further work on the professionalization of the public health workforce is needed. Key messages ASPHER V4 WG is strongly involved in the development of a new road map for professionalising the public health workforce, coordinated by the WHO CoP, ASPHER and Maastricht University. Summary of the first rapid assessment of the current state of the public health profession in the Czech Republic confirms the importance of further action in this area of work.

Purpose: The aim of the article was to analyse the qualitative approach to product improvement by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the Visegrad Group (V4) countries (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Hungary). Design/methodology/approach: The analysed results included a research sample of 379 companies in the electromechanical industry (machinery processing industry). The sample was obtained between March and September 2023 by means of a guided survey. Analyses of the results of quantitative research were carried out to verify the approaches of SMEs from V4 countries to pro-quality product, including comparative analyzes of the results obtained. Analyses were performed using the ANOVA test (repeated measure designs). The Mann Whitney U test was used to identify statistically significant differences in entrepreneurs' responses. The significance level adopted was α = 0.05. Findings: It has been shown that SMEs from V4 countries have different approaches to improving product quality. Additionally, it was shown that both in the case of pro-quality activities of SMEs from the V4 countries, the lowest consistency of assessments occurs in the following countries: Poland and Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, Slovakia and Hungary. Practical implications: Research results may contribute to more effective and coherent development activities of SMEs in the V4 countries as part of their sustainable development. Social implications: Based on the research conducted, it is possible to provide SMEs in V4 countries with a more adequate approach to undertake consistent and effective quality activities as part of the improvement of the product. Originality/value: Determining the current pro-quality approach to product improvement in SMEs in the V4 countries. The novelty is also the identification of the importance (level of importance) of these approaches in each V4 country, as well as the determination of the similarities and differences between these approaches in SMEs from countries in the Visegrad Group. Keywords: Visegrad Group (V4), SMEs, quality product improvement, production engineering. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Subject and purpose: Using annual data for the periods 2009–2019, this paper examines trade flows between China and the Visegrad Group countries. The aim of this article is to assess real changes taking place in international trade in the Visegrad Group countries (V4) over the last eleven years. The starting point for the analysis was 2009 – the time after the 2008 economic crisis, and it was compared especially to 2018 – a year marked by a significant improvement in the economy. The purpose is to discuss concerns related to the differences in bilateral trade between China and Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovak Republic. The main aim of this research is to distinguish the characteristics of bilateral trade by products between V4 and China in years 2009–2019. The purpose of this article is also to systematize and discuss points of view, rationalizing further empirical research. Two research hypotheses, resulting from the research purpose, were formulated: H1: in the V4 countries import exceeds export, and this trend seems to be growing, H2: Chinese goods imported to the V4 are much more sophisticated than those exported. Design/Methodology/Approach: To assess the initial and current situation on international trade between the V4 and China, the author uses variables obtained from WTO and OEC resources, diagnosing the situation in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovak Republic. The collected empirical data were processed using theoretical methods such as analysis, synthesis, and comparison to formulate conclusions using deductive and inductive inference methods. Practical Implications: The results can be used in scientific and expert work on diagnostic and forecast trends in bilateral trade by products between the V4 and China. Originality/Value: It concerns the indication of the importance of the V4 trade with China compared to the share of the V4 countries in world trade. It was also possible to identify the top export and import products of the V4. The findings also confirm the significant change in China’s trading structure.

After its summit in Prague on 27 February 2024, the Visegrád Group suffered a breakdown of relations, mainly due to the divergent views of its member states regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine. The V4 countries split into a pro-Ukraine block (Poland and the Czech Republic) and a Ukraine-sceptic block (Hungary and Slovakia), which made it difficult for the group to present a united front on key issues and diminished its ability to influence broader European policy. In addition, the lack of unity weakens the V4’s collective security posture while the Central European region has gained strategic importance as part of NATO’s eastern flank. The deterioration of the security environment also impacted the V4 countries’ bilateral relations with the United States, as the pro-Ukraine countries intend to maintain close cooperation with Washington, while the sceptics are staunch critics of Western policies supporting Ukraine. This paper highlights the fundamental differences between the latest security strategies and foreign policies of the Visegrád Group countries towards the United States, Russia and China, looking at these countries’ latest national security strategies and the 2022 integrated country strategies of the United States Department of State. Our comparative analysis shows that Hungary can be considered an outsider among the V4 countries since the Hungarian Government intends to pursue pragmatic cooperation with Russia and China while U.S.–Hungarian relations are gradually deteriorating. In contrast, the other three member states – especially Poland and the Czech Republic, but also Slovakia regardless of Robert Fico’s return to power in 2023 – favoured closer ties with the United States and shared most of the same concerns over Moscow and Beijing.

Innovation is critical to modern economies’ development; new process requirements within Industry 4.0 highlight its significance and necessity. This study aims to identify the relationship between R&D expenditure and the aggregate innovation index in the V4 countries. The statistical data from 2014 to 2021 are taken from the European Commission and Eurostat databases. The analysis focuses on identifying the degree of correlation between the standardized score of the Aggregate Innovation Index and the amount of R&D expenditure in countries of the Visegrad Group. The study uses the following methods: the Shapiro-Wilk test (to verify the normality of the samples), Pearson’s correlation coefficient (to check the degree of tightness of dependency), the Tukey test (to examine which countries have statistically significant differences), and chi-squared test (Χ2-test). Among the V4 countries, the Czech Republic was the best performer in the aggregate innovation index. Hungary showed the second-highest score, Slovakia ranked third place, and Poland had the lowest score. The findings indicate a positive correlation between R&D expenditures and the aggregate innovation index in all V4 countries. However, the relationship is statistically significant only in the Czech Republic and Poland. These results were confirmed by the Tukey test of differences within the correlation coefficients, which showed only a statistically significant difference within the correlation coefficients between Poland and Slovakia (1.790) and between Poland and Hungary (–1.640), respectively. AcknowledgmentThis study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic [grant VEGA No 1/0357/21], “Multiplier effects of human capital quality on economic performance and competitiveness of the Slovak economy.”

We study whether the presence of earnings management in the period of 2016-2019 occurs in companies operating in the tourism sector in the V4 countries, as the issue of earnings management in the tourism sector is not developed in these countries. To identify the presence of earnings management, we apply the Jones model in each V4 country to assess the occurrence of earnings management and its direction, degree, and extent. We use regression analysis in our paper. The existence of earnings management is verified using a non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. The direction, degree, and extent are verified through discretionary accrual percentages and average discretionary accruals. The data are drawn from the Amadeus financial database. The selection of companies is based on a set criterion, where the value of total assets in the period 2016-2019 will reach at least one million euros. Our analysis shows that companies in the tourism sector in the V4 countries manipulate profits. Discretionary accrual analysis reveals different positive and negative discretionary accrual values ​​in the V4 countries. Enterprises in Slovakia achieve lower values ​​of positive discretionary accrual compared to negative discretionary accrual. On the contrary, in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary, companies achieve higher values ​​of positive discretionary accrual. We also found that companies in Slovakia manage their profits by decreasing compared to those in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary, which in turn manage their profits by increasing.

The relationship between the European Union (focus on the V4 countries – Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary) and Israel will be examined in regard to the most relevant economic and defense policy and military indicators. The paper is focusing on elaborating the political and economic relationship between the EU-V4 countries and Israel. According to empirical studies, it is necessary for the EU and Israel to work on several fields of expertise together, as the potential crisis like migration, terrorism, drug trafficking, etc. can be solved or at least pushed back only in a framework of close cooperation. The aim of this article is to present the potential for cooperation between the V4 countries and Israel, as the next waves of international migration will be coming from the Sahel region. My hypothesis is that there is a strong economic bond between V4 and the Mashrek region and besides this connection, there is a regional (Visegrad Group) growing of military and defense expenditure. The research methodology is to examine the import and export value growth between V4 countries and the Mashrek region, as well the defense and military expenditures through the databases of the World Bank and OECD.

Risk management is one of the entrepreneurial knowledge to reduce business risks. The aim of the article is to compare the access to risk management in SMEs in the Visegrad countries (V4). The attention is focused on the differences in a perception of the importance of various risks, the choice of the person responsible for risk management and the frequency of discussion on the current risks in the company. The article deals with the partial results of the empirical questionnaire survey which was completed in 2018 at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín in the Czech Republic. The survey was made among SMEs in the Czech Republic (408 respondents), Slovakia (487), Poland (489) and Hungary (388). The questionnaire included questions about the importance of risks and the concept of risk management in the company. Three research questions were set. To test the formulated research questions, the following statistical tools, such as pivot table, relative and absolute frequency, the Chi-Square calculator for 5 x 5 Contingency Table and Z-score, were used. Finally, the result indicates a different perception of the key risks in Hungary (in comparison with other V4 countries). There are also statistically significant differences in the frequency of discussion on the current risks in relation to the size of the company among V4 countries. The differences among the companies from V4 countries in the choice of the person responsible for risk management were proved as well. The article concludes with a discussion on the comparison of the previous international researches.

The path of further development of agriculture is a key factor for the future of the European environment. Due to intensifying fragmentation of production activities that have a significant effect on the production structure of the national economies, this traditional sector was offset by machinery production in terms of output and job creation. Moreover, the agricultural sector in V4 countries has its own specifics and its position significantly changed compared to previous socialist system. Therefore the main objective of this paper is to investigate the changes and effect of agricultural sector on employment creation in V4 countries i.e. Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia during period 2000-2014. Our analysis relies on input-output model using input-output tables from WIOD database. The results indicate declining impact on national job creation although the position of agricultural sector in V4 countries (mainly in Poland) is still significant.

Evaluating the relationship between income inequality, renewable energy and energy poverty in the V4 countries

The paper analyzes merchandise and especially agrarian trade of Visegrad (V4) countries. It especially analyzes their mutual trade relations. The main aim is to identify changes in the agricultural sector which have happened during the last decade and to compare differences existing in the area of merchandise and agricultural trade development. Another very important objective is related to mutual trade realized among V4 countries. In this case the paper identifies basic trends in the area of each country’s trade development. Mutual agrarian trade competitiveness is also analyzed. On the basis of the findings, it can be said that merchandise and agricultural trade for each V4 country changed significantly during the analysed time period. In relation to agricultural trade it can be mentioned that it represents only a marginal part of the total merchandise trade. Agrarian trade for individual V4 countries’ commodity structures as well as the territorial structure are very significantly concentrated. The predominant majority of agricultural trade – export as well as import – is carried out with EU countries. In this case it is necessary to emphasize that V4 countries are also important trade partners for each other. On the basis of Visegrad countries’ mutual trade analysis it is possible to say that the main traders active on the V4 market are the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The most competitive actors operating in the V4 market are Poland and Hungary. If we analyze each country’s export performance we can see that the V4 market is dominated by Poland and the Czech Republic.

A fuel market is an important sector of the economy and fuel prices influence the prices of numerous products and services. This paper focuses on the analysis of the interrelationships between markets of fuels in the Visegrad Group (V4) countries. The research is based on weekly prices of Pb95 gasoline and diesel in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia observed from January 2016 through December 2020. After performing the preliminary statistical analysis, the long-term relationships between the prices of fuels are investigated through application of the cointegrated regression Durbin–Watson (CRDW) test. Next, Granger causality is tested to answer the question of whether changes in prices of fuels in separate V4 countries Granger-cause changes in prices of fuels in other V4 countries. The cointegration research uses logarithmic prices, whereas causality investigation is based on their first differences. The results reveal long-term relationships between the prices of Pb95 gasoline in the Czech Republic and prices in other V4 countries as well as Granger causality flowing from diesel price changes in Poland to diesel price changes in other V4 countries and bilateral causation between changes in the prices of Pb95 gasoline in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of select ethical issues in Visegrad Four (V4) countries (Czech republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary) and quantify the differences in the attitudes of entrepreneurs in the field of business ethics in these countries. Empirical research was conducted in June 2022 in the V4 countries. Data collection was carried out by the renowned external company MNFORCE using "Computer Assisted Web Interviewing" (CAWI Research Method), according to the questionnaire created by the research team. The total number of respondents was 1,398, of which 347 were from the Czech Republic, 322 from Slovakia, 381 from Poland, and 348 from Hungary. Statistical hypotheses were verified using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Z-scores at a α = 5% significance level. The preliminary results of this study can be evaluated as follows: The ethical level of entrepreneurs in V4 countries is high because the dominant group showed a positive attitude towards the defined issues in the field of business ethics. The attitudes of these entrepreneurs showed that they not only perceived the importance of business ethics, but also implemented and promoted these practices in managerial decision-making. Moreover, they feel good when they behave ethically, which is a significant motivating factor. In this study, it was found that Hungarian SMEs presented the highest level of business ethics. In contrast, the Czech Republic presented the lowest level of perception and enforcement of business ethics.

The paper analyzes merchandise and especially agrarian trade of Visegrad (V4) countries. It especially analyzes their mutual trade relations. The main aim is to identify changes in the agricultural sector which have happened during the last decade and to compare differences existing in the area of merchandise and agricultural trade development. Another very important objective is related to mutual trade realized among V4 countries. In this case the paper identifies basic trends in the area of each country’s trade development. Mutual agrarian trade competitiveness is also analyzed. On the basis of the findings, it can be said that merchandise and agricultural trade for each V4 country changed significantly during the analysed time period. In relation to agricultural trade it can be mentioned that it represents only a marginal part of the total merchandise trade. Agrarian trade for individual V4 countries’ commodity structures as well as the territorial structure are very significantly concentrated. The predominant majority of agricultural trade – export as well as import – is carried out with EU countries. In this case it is necessary to emphasize that V4 countries are also important trade partners for each other. On the basis of Visegrad countries’ mutual trade analysis it is possible to say that the main traders active on the V4 market are the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The most competitive actors operating in the V4 market are Poland and Hungary. If we analyze each country’s export performance we can see that the V4 market is dominated by Poland and the Czech Republic.