Successful timing of INDUSTRY 4.0 projects in businesses can be disrupted by the coming of a recession. The authors assume a close link between INDUSTRY 4.0 and research and development (R&D) projects. R&D projects are statistically internationally monitored and have a significant impact on European Union economic policies. This article explores the impact of the two economic recessions in 2009 and 2012–2013 on the number of R&D entities and human resources involved in R&D in the Czech Republic. The method of multivariate statistics with dummy variables was used. Research has shown that different sectors (business sector, government sector, higher education sector, and non-profit sector) show a different development of the number of R&D entities in times of economic crisis. The research findings indicate that current European Union grant support, tax relief, and other specific factors appear to be more important for the development of R&D projects in the Czech Republic than the effects of economic recession. In terms of longer time horizons, however, the effects of the business cycle cannot be ignored. In order to predict economic development, enterprises and other subjects can use leading macroeconomic indicators.

The scientific periodical journal published by the Faculty of Management and Economics of Tomas Bata University in Zlin offers results of basic and applied economic research of domestic and international authors in the English language.

The development of a viable and vibrant Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) sector has been widely recognised as vital for sustaining the process of economic transformation in East and Central Europe (ECE). Owing to the high rate of change in competitive dynamics within transformation economies, SMEs seek to develop new knowledge themselves or, more likely, transfer, adapt and implement new knowledge obtained from outside sources in order to increase their competitiveness. The effectiveness of identifying and transferring new knowledge and best practice depends to an extent on the level of absorptive capacity of the organisation, which, it can be argued, is strongly related to its inherent level of Human Resource Development (HRD). This paper reports the initial results of a research project which investigates the priorities for HRD in SMEs to enable managers to identify, transfer, assess and implement new knowledge gained through access to external sources. The study identifies significant differences between HRD priorities identified by management and the preferences of employees and potential employees in the form of undergraduate business students. The conclusions indicate that firms should consider the importance of both their own and employees' motivational factors in managing knowledge transfer mechanisms.