Social and Cultural Factors and their Impact on the Quality of Business Environment in the SME Segment

Abstract A stable, prosperous and competitive economic system in every developed country requires a high-quality business environment in the SME sector. The quality of the business environment is a key factor in the economic development of countries, as it is of a great importance for the growth of the economy´s competitiveness and also for its future and sustainable economic growth. The aim of the article was to quantify the significant social and cultural factors creating the quality of the business environment in the SME segment and to compare their importance in the Czech and Slovak Republic. Within the context of the stated aim of the research, questionnaire survey was carried out among the enterprises operating in the SME segment. Within the research, 312 companies in the CR and 320 companies in Slovakia were addressed. The Z-score method was used to verify the established scientific hypotheses. The research has brought up some interesting results. The research results point to a significant finding that the entrepreneurs in both countries have experienced a relatively low public and political acceptance. On the other hand, the entrepreneurs stated that the family environment motivates them to do business and helps them with their entrepreneurial activities. The assessing of the media impact on the business is quite negative in both countries. Entrepreneurs have largely thought that the media misrepresent doing business in general and do not help to shape the business environment, e.g. through the presentation of business success stories. More than the two-thirds of entrepreneurs in both countries have agreed that the doing business´ advantages outweigh the disadvantages. This research has some limitations, but is has brought interesting findings and a potential inspiration for further research to explore the issue of the quality of the business environment of SMEs.