Multiple-criteria analysis of regional entrepreneurship conditions in Poland

Research background: Building effective conditions for doing business and sup-porting entrepreneurs is currently considered as a basic growth determinant. It is a policy objective not only at the national level, but also an important factor influencing the competitive potential of regions and local communities. It is especially important in the case of Central European countries and regions that face the problem of closing development gap. Therefore, comparative research with regard to entrepreneurship conditions, especially at spatially lower aggregation level, can provide important background for proposing policy guidelines. Purpose of the article: The main objective of the article is to analyse changes in disparities in regard to entrepreneurship conditions in Poland at NUTS 3 level in the years 2010 and 2015. Methods: The entrepreneurship conditions are analysed based on 5 criteria. As a result, they are considered as a multiple-criteria phenomenon. Therefore, in the article the dynamic analysis was implemented, where taxonomic measure of development was assessed with TOPSIS method based on median vector Weber. The obtained taxonomic measure allowed to rank the NUTS 3 regions starting with the ones characterised with the best conditions for entrepreneurs to the ones with the worst conditions, to group then into relatively homogenous subsets, and finally to verify the changes in the disparities between the regions in the analysed period. Findings & Value added: The research confirms that in spite of visible improvements significant disparities at the regional level in regard to entrepreneurial conditions should be considered as an actual and important problem for regional policy in Poland. This factor can negatively affect the possibilities of reaching spatially sustainable growth objectives. From the long-term perspective, the disparities can still negatively affects social and political growth environment in Poland.