As developed regions explore avenues to enhance their industries in order to become climate-neutral, numerous studies have identified distinct factors that may hinder the shift towards a low-carbon economy. The objective of our research was to pinpoint key barriers to adaptation to a low-carbon economy among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Central Europe from the viewpoint of the company’s structure. The aim was to examine whether attitudes towards barriers to adaptation to a low-carbon economy represent a key factor that prevents the faster and more effective uptake of such adaptations by SMEs. Both the industrial and service sectors were considered. A quantitative data collection method, CATI, was employed. Using our methodology, we applied a non-parametric testing procedure, specifically, the Kruskal–Wallis test, to compare more than two independent samples, together with the Mann–Whitney U test. Through this analysis, it was found that companies regard the uncertainty of return on investment and its payback period as the most serious barrier to adaption to a low-carbon economy. Meanwhile, the lack of cooperation with research institutions and universities is perceived as the least important barrier. Companies are critical of existing regulations for adaptation to the low-carbon economy, which do not provide incentives for companies, though sole traders consider this an insignificant barrier. The shift towards a low-carbon economy is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Understanding the initial motivational variables can significantly contribute to the process of transition towards the use of renewable energy sources by companies, regardless of their size or sector.

The global economy is understood as an economy of information, knowledge, creativity, networks and services. The creation of value in the economy is involved in the economic, social and cognitive mechanisms. The economic mechanism emphasizes the processes of cooperation and production, the social mechanism, in turn, communication and marketing techniques, the cognitive mechanism is based on human imagination and interpretation. Under the cognitive mechanism is meant creativity, the ability to bring new motive, ideas. Cognitive mechanisms are in value creation process complementary to economic and social mechanisms and they are capable of producing value separately. One of the approaches to measuring creativity is to define and analyse creative industries. The creative industries are industries in which “combine and overlap the fields of art, culture, business and technology. They create a cycle of creation, production and distribution, using their intellectual capital as primary capital [1]. The contribution of the creative industry lies in its cross-sectoral dimension with minimal territorial constraints. The article will focus on the definition of creative industries and the analysis of creative industries in the Slovakia. The method used was the analysis of trends in the form of percentage year-on-year change. The creative industry is the sensitive on the state and development of the economy in Slovakia.

The aim of this paper is to assess the reliability of alternative default prediction models in local conditions, with subsequent comparison with other generally known and globally disseminated default prediction models, such as Altman’s Z-score, Quick Test, Creditworthiness Index, and Taffler’s Model. The comparison was carried out on a sample of 90 companies operating in the Slovak Republic over a period of 3 years (2016, 2017, and 2018) with a narrower focus on three sectors: construction, retail, and tourism, using alternative default prediction models, such as CH-index, G-index, Binkert’s Model, HGN2 Model, M-model, Gulka’s Model, Hurtošová’s Model, Model of Delina and Packová, and Binkert’s Model. To verify the reliability of these models, tests of the significance of statistical hypotheses were used, such as type I and type II error. According to research results, the highest reliability and accuracy was achieved by an alternative local Model of Delina and Packová. The least reliable results within the list of models were reported by the most globally disseminated model, Altman’s Z-score. Significant differences between sectors were identified.

The success of building sustainable consumption and production depends on creating a sufficient awareness and above all the involvement of all countries in the process of improving the environmental performance of products throughout their life cycle. Awareness and understanding of the social and economic dimension, influences building of sustainable consumption and production in the widest scale and makes it possible to encourage and motivate to socially responsible behavior. The article focuses on summarizing the basic attributes of sustainable consumption and production, as well as on the comparison of the progress of V4 countries in meeting the goal of "Responsible consumption and production" forming part of the Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030. We focus on indicators with quantitative target, where insufficient progress towards the EU target was achieved or there was a movement away from the target. The indicators are Primary energy consumption and Final energy consumption.

This study delves into the impact of visual marketing stimuli on consumer response times, focusing on the complexity and subjectivity of the questions posed. Conducted in Slovakia, the research involved 40 participants (20 men and 20 women, aged 30 to 50 years), all holding university degrees in economics to ensure consistent decision-making experience. Participants were presented with visual stimuli representing four well-known FMCG brands. The stimuli included simple brand preference questions and complex evaluative judgments of offer efficiency. Response times were measured in milliseconds and analyzed using statistical methods, including the Mann-Whitney U test and one-way ANOVA. Results revealed that responses to simple stimuli averaged 1212 ms, while complex stimuli elicited slower responses, averaging 2504 ms. A significant difference was observed for “No” answers in the offer evaluation tasks, with correct “No” responses taking 3000 ms compared to 2297 ms for incorrect ones (p < 0.05), highlighting the cognitive load involved in accurate decision-making. These findings provide valuable insights into the cognitive processes driving consumer decision-making and contribute to the theoretical understanding of how question complexity and subjectivity influence response times. AcknowledgmentThis paper was funded by research grant VEGA 1/0462/23 entitled “Circular economy in the context of societal demands and market limitations“ (100% share).

The importance of the creative economy for the development of society not only from an economic but also from a social and cultural point of view has been the subject of numerous scientific and professional studies. The connecting link between them is the observation that creativity has been considered in recent years as a new type of competitive advantage. As a generator of added value for all businesses, the creative industries have unlimited growth potential and are thus seen as a route to sustainable development. One of the problems of the creative industry is to obtain resources for business development. This paper examines the financial structure of selected areas of the creative industries in the Slovak Republic, using mean values for 2016-2019, correlation and regression analysis of financial data in 2019 (before the negative impact of COVID19). The findings point to the absence of credit sources, which confirms the fact that these businesses are perceived as risky and unstable by banks and financial institutions in the Slovak Republic.