The scientific periodical journal (indexed on Web of Science) published by the Tomas Bata University in Zlin offers results of basic and applied economic research in the English language.

In this paper, the following research problem was addressed: Is there a significant economic impact of multidimensional specified competitiveness within the EU (28) countries on the competitive business environment, human development, and sustainable growth? Based on the mentioned research problem, we formulated the aim of paper: To detect the significant interrelations among the assessment of global competitiveness, business environment as well as human development in the EU (28) countries for the period of 2006–2017. To address these problems, the methodology of global multi-criteria indices, namely the global competitiveness index (GCI), doing business index (DBI), and human development index (HDI), as well as panel analysis and non-linear regression analyses with ANOVA, were applied. The panel analysis results suggest that there is a direct linear relationship between the GCI and HDI. Moreover, the impact of the DBI on the change in the GCI score was not confirmed. We identified the main areas of countries’ interest, and important economic and statistical significant relations of competitiveness by creating three models: The GD model (constructed by GCI and DBI scores), GH model (GCI and HDI scores), and GDH model (GCI, DBI and HDI scores). Based on the results, all interrelations were confirmed. However, the highest extent of variability for the explanation of the selected data was recorded in the case of the GDH model (87.12%). We detected the impact of the business environment and human resources as competitive advantages on global macroeconomic competitiveness. As the business sector in EU (28) countries is represented mainly by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enterprise activities play a key role in the process of sustainable competitive economic development. Moreover, human resources are considered to be another important driver of the internationalization of European SMEs.

Research background: Under the current conditions of increasing competitiveness and interdependence, national economies are more influenced by the global business environment and its development. Constantly changing economic, social, political aspects, and many other factors, cause the differences in the global competitiveness of economies, so the economies are forced to analyze their competitive level more complexly. Despite that, there is a lack of research studies analyzing the international competitiveness of EU-28 economies from the point of view various multi-criteria indices. Purpose of the article: The paper investigates the relations between the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and other selected multi-criteria indices, namely the Global Innovation Index (GII), the Doing Business Index (DBI), the Economic Freedom Index (EFI) and the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in the case of EU?28 economies. Methods: In order to investigate the relations between the global competitiveness and selected multi-criteria indices affecting the EU?28 economies, the multiple linear regression analyses were applied. The multiple regression model was quantified for every single year, as well as, the regression model using the average score of all analyzed indices. The secondary data concerning the scores of individual indices were collected based on annually published online reports over the period of 2014?2018. Findings & Value added: The research confirmed that there is a statistically significant dependence between the global competitiveness, corruption and the level of innovation potential within the EU?28 economies. Besides, we identified the worst results in the context of competitiveness evaluation especially in the area of corruption and innovation activities. In this regard, the issue of insufficient innovation development and inappropriate corruption perception is considered to be key determinants influencing the assessment of the global competitiveness of the EU?28 member states. In our opinion, to improve the competitiveness of these countries, targeted activities should be implemented in the frame of national competitive strategies, programs, and policies.

Research background: In the context of constantly changing business environment, the financial sector is focusing on new trends in financial management systems. Nowadays, there is a need to achieve long-term financial growth, so financial managers try to develop new models for managing and improving the financial performance of businesses in economic practice. Purpose of the article: This article aims to determine the financial performance of travel agencies by applying modern business performance evaluation methods in order to create a performance portfolio (ranking) for the years 2013?2017, subsequently to reveal the concordance rate of order of the selected business entities by comparing applied financial methods in the context of performance benchmarking. The research question is as follows: Does the multidimensional PCA method in the form of the performance portfolio of travel agencies provide similar financial results compared to the EVA indicator? Methods: For measuring the financial performance of businesses, the method of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the indicator Economic Value Added (EVA) were chosen. Spearman?s rank-order correlation was applied in order to reveal the concordance rate of the analyzed travel agencies. Findings & Value added: The results indicate that by applying the PCA method, 6 key performance factors can be identified. Moreover, the findings revealed that the assessment of travel agencies using the PCA method and EVA indicator did not lead to the same financial results. Individual financial methods identified a different number of strong-performing and inefficient business entities. In this backdrop, we concluded that the business performance measurement based on the PCA method is not a suitable alternative to measuring performance using the EVA indicator.

Slovak spa services are not given sufficient attention directly following the support and sustainable development. The paper focuses on the evaluation of the overall development and current level of efficiency of the Slovak spas in 2013–2018, through the application of DEA models. Input variables (total number of beds, employees, medical staff) and output variables (use of bed capacity, number of treated clients) within the structure of DEA models analyzed (CCR-I, CCR-O, BCC-I, BCC-O) are determined by results of the correlation analysis. The data were obtained from the annual reports of the spa enterprises. By the results, the average efficiency score for all enterprises reached 0.7527, i.e., the average spa enterprise would need only 75.27% of currently used inputs for a given output production to move to the efficiency frontier. The development of the average efficiency score confirmed a positive growing trend until 2015; however, the efficiency decreased by 1.84% in a year-to-year comparison in 2016–2018. In each year of the analyzed period, the number of inefficient enterprises (66.67%) exceeded that of the efficient ones (33.33%). Through research carried out in spa facilities, the authors contributed to expanding the application of the DEA method in another tourism sector.

Measuring the performance and efficiency of the tourism enterprises is essential regarding the current pandemic situation. In such a context, improving their financial situation and competitive position also depend on the use of innovative multi-criteria evaluation models. The paper's main objective is to propose the newly designed Performance & Efficiency model (P&E model) for Slovak spa enterprises. Its structure consists of three dimensions – P&E_I, P&E_II, P&E_III. The application of Confirmatory Factor Analysis validates 34 key performance ratios reflecting the financial situation of enterprises within the P&E_I. In case of P&E_II, the development of value-added dynamics is measured by using the Economic Value Added Momentum. Using the Data Envelopment Analysis, the level of enterprise efficiency is quantified (P&E_III). The partial results of the dimensions are transformed using min-max normalization to the overall score ranging from 0 to 3. Based on the results, a rating scale of all enterprises is carried out, and both their partial and overall positions are assessed through benchmarking. During the research (2013 – 2018), the best results are achieved for SE03 (Spa Bojnice, Inc.), SE21 (Specialised Spa Institute Marína, s.e.), and SE18 (Spa Horný Smokovec, Ltd.). The worst-rated spa enterprises include SE14 (Natural Iodine Spa Číž, Inc.), SE09 (Spa Sliač, Inc.), and SE19 (Pieniny Resort, Ltd.). The proposed P&E model is easily applicable to other tourism enterprises. The research as carried out enables deepening of knowledge concerning the multi-criteria evaluation and management concepts and helps enterprises overcome current unfavorable situations.