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Does the Size and Experience Matter? Empirical Research on Selected Barriers to Eco-Innovations in Slovak SMEs

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  • Klement Ladislav

    (Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Faculty of Economics, Department of Corporate Economics and Management, Tajovského 10, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)

  • Vinczeová Miroslava

    (Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Faculty of Economics, Department of Corporate Economics and Management, Tajovského 10, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)

  • Klementová Vladimíra

    (Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Faculty of Economics, Department of Corporate Economics and Management, Tajovského 10, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)

Abstract

Enterprises face several challenges when it comes to their innovation activities. Often, they encounter a number of barriers that impede the creation, introduction, use, and diffusion of eco-innovations, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs have significant innovation potential, and hence it is crucial to identify, clarify, and reduce the barriers that hinder their innovative activity and the development of eco-innovations. The aim of the article is to assess the barriers that negatively affect the eco-innovation activities of Slovak SMEs, to find out which of them are perceived as the most significant in the SMEs studied, and to identify the relationship between the perception of barriers, the size of the enterprises and their previous involvement in eco-innovations. The empirical data were collected in 2023 from a sample of 487 randomly selected Slovak SMEs. The representativeness of the sample was confirmed by the Chi-square goodness of fit test. The authors of the article formulated three hypotheses, which they tested using non-parametric tests. The first two hypotheses assumed a statistically significant effect of the size of the enterprises and their previous experience in implementing eco-innovation on the intensity of the perception of barriers to eco-innovation. These were not confirmed. The third hypothesis was related to the overall ranking of the importance of the barriers to eco-innovation and confirmed that the cost of eco-innovation is the most important barrier for SMEs in Slovakia.

Suggested Citation

  • Klement Ladislav & Vinczeová Miroslava & Klementová Vladimíra, 2023. "Does the Size and Experience Matter? Empirical Research on Selected Barriers to Eco-Innovations in Slovak SMEs," ACC Journal, Sciendo, vol. 29(2), pages 23-36.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:accjnl:v:29:y:2023:i:2:p:23-36:n:1002
    DOI: 10.2478/acc-2023-0002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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