Family business as an important component of economic activities in the Slovak economy
Rodinné podnikanie ako významná zložka ekonomických aktivít v hospodárstve Slovenska
Monika Naďová Krošláková (Slovakia)
Family businesses make up more than two thirds of all business entities, thus playing an important role in Slovakia ́s economy, contributing to GDP, and generating a number of job opportunities. They significantly stimulate Slovak business environment, operate in different regions and support local community projects. They adapt more flexibly to market needs and achieve better quality control because of personal relationships with employees, customers and suppliers. At the same time, through their export and innovation activities, they significantly participate in the export and innovation performance of the Slovak economy. Nevertheless, family business in Slovakia does not exist as a separate category, the legislative framework of family business is missing and the formulation of the current business legislation is inaccurate and complicated for both the family and family business. The aim of the monograph is to identify the key development factors that have a significant impact on increasing the competitiveness of family businesses in Slovakia and, in relation to the identified barriers and expected challenges, to propose measures to improve the support and competitiveness of family businesses in Slovakia. The monograph is divided into 8 chapters. It contains 44 graphs, 13 tables, 2 diagrams, 2 maps, 3 pictures and 8 attachments. The first chapter is devoted to the theoretical aspects, the definition of basic categories and the importance of family business. In other sections, the monograph characterizes the legal aspects of family business and addresses specific issues of family business such as management and planning. Chapters 5 and 6 explain the framework conditions for the establishment and development of the enterprises concerned and assess the effectiveness of selected factors on the growth of family enterprises. The final chapter contains a comprehensive study of the establishment and development of family businesses with a focus on the determinants of their growth in Slovakia. The result of the solution of this issue is to identify key growth factors and propose measures that could accelerate the growth and competitiveness of family businesses while improving the conditions for their development under the conditions of the Slovak Republic. The internal determinants of family business growth include the existence of a strategic family master and successor plan, the establishment of rules for eliminating conflicts and preventing the transfer of conflicts from the business to the family and vice versa, and a pre-developed family constitution as a tool for determining the rules of business operation and at the same time allocating competences to family members in a family business. A prerequisite for the growth of family businesses are also their export and innovation activities. In this context, the support of export and innovation activities of family businesses is an important factor in their dynamic growth and competitiveness. The unavailability of external financial resources, complicated and rapidly changing legislation and the absence of an assessment of the impact of regulations on the business environment can be classified as long-term external barriers to the growth of the businesses concerned. Furthermore, there are shortcomings in the business environment such as demanding and complicated law enforcement and lack of court functioning, high administrative burdens especially when setting up family businesses, high tax and levy burdens, and lack of skilled labour. Creating a quality business environment is one of the key determinants of ensuring prosperity and increasing competitiveness, not only of family businesses, but of all business entities in Slovakia. The adoption of the definition of family business, the acquisition of detailed quantitative and qualitative statistics on family business and the subsequent quantification of economic impacts on Slovakia as a basis for further measures supporting the competitiveness of family businesses become important