Evaluation of economic potential of business environment development by comparing sector differences: perspective of SMEs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Research background: Improving business conditions and SME development are signs of a country's macroeconomic stability. The issue of identifying and removing barriers to the development of firms in the SME segment is a priority in all countries with developed economies and its importance is currently increasing. Purpose of the article: The main aim of this paper is to explore possible differences in entrepreneurs' perception of the business environment based on the industry in which the company operates. The analysis contains also a national view, where a comparison between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic is performed. Methods: Correspondence analysis was used to achieve the research objectives in order to examine the relations between the categorical variables. Its application is beneficial in cases where the graphic output is clearer than the numerical one. Findings & Value added: The presented research makes it possible to identify problematic aspects of doing business in each sector and to create support mechanisms for the creation of effective structural policies. Entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic's Production and Transport sectors agree with the statement that the business environment in the country is suitable for starting a business. As for business environment's suitability for doing business, neither Slovak nor Czech entrepreneurs sector-wide agreed with the given statement. Czech entrepreneurs from the Services, Trade and Construction sectors, respectively, agree, fully agree with the statement that the business environment in the country is reasonably risky and allows for doing business. In the case of entrepreneurs from Slovakia, no significant correspondence is observed. Findings regarding the statement that the business conditions in the country have improved over the past five years are the following: In the Czech Republic, there is a perfect correspondence of the Transport sector and the agreement with the given statement. In the Slovak Republic, agreement was found with the given statement in the Transport sector and neutral position in the Production sector.