Abstract:

The European Innovation Scoreboard 2019 evaluates Slovakia as rank 22 and Czechia as rank 14 among the group of moderate innovators. On the contrary Austria is in the group of strong innovators with rank 9. Slovak and Czech Republics were parts of one republic until 1992. Why are there these differences and why do they persist? Why do they lag behind their neighbour Austria? The aim of this paper is an analysis of key factors of current entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems of Slovakia compared to those of Czechia and Austria. Special attention will be paid to the weaknesses of Slovakia and possibilities of their improvement in: company R&D investments, company R&D capacities, knowledge and technology transfer from academia to industry, insufficient demand of enterprises for innovations, low internacionalisation of enterprises, startup environment and government support of R&D and innovations. The results of the analysis will serve as a base for recommendations of measures to strenthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in Slovakia.

Keywords:

Innovation, entrepreneurship, ecosystem.