Suchergebnisse

Purpose: The principal objective of this study is to determine the hierarchy of importance of the location factors as seen by entrepreneurs and representatives of different institutions in the business environment. Design/Methodology/Approach: Primary data collected through questionnaires designed specifically for this study served as the basis for analyses. The questionnaires were addressed to representatives of various business environment institutions (BEI) and entrepreneurs. For each of the location factors, an analysis was made whether its perception by entrepreneurs was statistically different from the one provided by the BEI representatives. The significance of a difference was tested with the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Findings: The research results indicated that the most important location factor according to entrepreneurs was the total costs of conducting business activities, whereas the BEI representatives pointed to the information and telecommunications infrastructure as the most important factor. All the location factors were evaluated differently by the two categories of respondents, and nearly all (except four) occupied different positions in the hierarchies developed by both groups. The results also suggested that the difference in the perception of location factors between the two groups of respondents was in most cases statistically significant. Practical Implications: The research results can be helpful to government and non-government institutions that create the institutional environment for business. Having the knowledge of what entrepreneurs expect with regard to location factors, BEI managers can introduce new or improve existing measures implemented to facilitate business. Originality/Value: The institutional environment as well as the theory and factors of location have been the subject of many empirical studies. However, a comparative analysis of the assessment of location factors provided by BEI representatives and by entrepreneurs is a new direction in research. ; peer-reviewed

Abstract

Research background: The development of business on a local level depends on a variety of factors, which as is often the case are shaped by the local authorities. An example of activities carried out by local governments in order to help develop businesses is the management of the spatial resources in a given municipality in such a way as to facilitate starting and developing companies.

Purpose: The principal objective of this study has been to identify how local authorities and businessmen perceive the role of conditions associated with the municipality's spatial policy in terms of starting and conducting a business.

Research methodology: The research results rely on primary data acquired by conducting a survey based on a questionnaire designed by the authors.

Results: The results permitted to demonstrate differences and similarities among the opinions of our respondents concerning factors linked to the spatial policy of a municipality that have an impact on decisions to set up and develop companies. Among the location factors, the most important ones, according to both local governments and businessmen, were the state of the local infrastructure, such as IT, transportation, communication, waterworks and sewers, power supply.

Novelty: The confrontation of the replies provided by local authorities and by entrepreneurs concerns spatial policy, and the territorial scope of the research covering the whole of Poland, the different types of enterprises from various branches are the innovative element of the study.

The creation of adequate conditions for business activities by business environment institutions may contribute to the overall economic development by attracting new investments and expanding the existing ones. The main aim of this research was to identify the potential changes in time concerning the importance of business environment institutions and their impact on initiating and operating economic activities, and to establish whether these changes were statistically significant. The research indicates that both the representatives of various business environment institutions and the entrepreneurs found that the measures implemented by institutions during the time of this research became more significant in comparison to the period of 10 and more years before. In addition, the impact of the measures implemented by all the institutions enumerated in the questionnaire was statistically different between the two periods under investigation.