STRENGTHENING OF COMPETITIVNESS OF SMALL ENTERPRISES IN METAL STRENGTHENING OF COMPETITIVNESS OF SMALL ENTERPRISES IN METAL INDUSTRY IN BRODSKO POSAVSKA COUNTY

Abstract Metal industry is one of the largest and most important industries, together with agriculture, in Brodsko Posavska County. rough history this industry was and still is one of the main drivers of the economy, but in the last two decades, this industry has experienced stagnation, decline and was neglected. Large number of enterprises does not exploit their competitive advantage. Sometimes think they have it, but are not aware that they do not. e second case is to have a strong competitive advantage that they do not know and fail to promote their service users or goods. Often small-sized enterprises do not specify its competitive advantages, which should be the basis for all strategic and operational decisions. e main goal of this paper is to research and evaluate approaches, views and factors that determine the competitiveness of 15 small-sized enterprises in 2013 in metal industry in Brodsko Posavska County. Analysis is based on primary research by questionnaire. e targeted objectives are to understand the necessity and role of strengthening competitiveness, to evaluate current state and investigate what enterprises can do to improve and achieve better scores in future. Try to nd answers what the enterprise distinguishes from the rest of the competitors in the marketwhy it operates, maintains and allows growth. JEL Classi cation: F1

Impact of the metal processing industry on industrial production in Croatia during the period of recession: Lessons learned

The metal processing industry has historically had a large role and importance for the Croatian economy. The current picture of the economy reflects the historical situation, trends and events that are described in the paper. In order to understand macroeconomic indicators and certain events, it is important to analyse the macro-environment, because it greatly affects the development and operations of an enterprise. The general economic climate is explained, as well as its underlying indicators that affect the competitiveness. The goal of this paper is to show lessons learned regarding the impact of the metal processing industry on industrial production in Croatia during the period of recession. These lessons might indicate how to find the best business strategy that will enable the development and prosperity of enterprises in the global market in the future. There are no rules or definitions for achieving success. The enterprise must define its pathway if it wants to accomplish its goals - because an enterprise without strategy is like a ship without a rudder. There is a growing emphasis on the importance of industrial production, so the metal processing industry today shows signs of a slight recovery and growth, which still cannot be compared with the previous situation

KONKURENTNOST I INOVACIJSKI IZAZOVI U HRVATSKOJ

Competitiveness is a concept we all want to achieve, but it is very difficult to define, and even harder to implement. An important feature of competitiveness is its dynamic nature, because sources of competitiveness are not permanent. Competitiveness is a matter of growing interest for every country, which is concerned about the success of its industries and nations. For understanding the current economic situation, it is necessary to know the historical background because it affects the current situation and competitiveness of the economy. Competitiveness is the most commonly defined economic concept in the last 30 years. It is in the interest of every country to be competitive and that the industry is export-oriented. To be competitive in the demanding EU market and on the global market is the task of both enterprises and the economy of the Republic Croatia. The purpose of this paper is to link international competitiveness with the lack of innovative activity in Croatia. Innovation capacity and sophistication of production technology are one of the main problems of business competitiveness in Croatia. This paper researches the indicators of competitiveness and innovation index parameters that determine the position of the Republic of Croatia on the regional and the global level. The aim is to show the influence of the national competitiveness and innovation standard on entrepreneurship in Croatia.Konkurentnost je koncept kojeg svi žele postići, ali ga je vrlo teško definirati, a još i teže provesti. Važna značajka konkurentnosti je njezina dinamična priroda, jer izvori konkurentnosti nisu trajni. Konkurentnost ima sve veći značaj za svaku zemlju, koja želi razvijati svoju industriju i gospodarstvo. Za razumijevanje trenutne ekonomske situacije potrebno je poznavati povijesnu pozadinu jer utječe na postojeću situaciju i konkurentnost gospodarstva. Konkurentnost je najčešće definiran ekonomski koncept u posljednjih 30 godina. Interes svake zemlje je da bude konkurentna i da je industrija izvozno orijentirana. Da bi se postigla konkurentnost na zahtjevnom tržištu EU i na globalnom tržištu, zadatak je oboje - i poduzeća i gospodarstva Republike Hrvatske. Svrha rada je povezati međunarodnu konkurentnost s nedostatkom inovativnih aktivnosti u Hrvatskoj. Inovacijski kapaciteti i sofisticiranost proizvodne tehnologije jedan su od glavnih problema poslovne konkurentnosti u Hrvatskoj. Radom se istražuju indikatori konkurentnosti i parametri indeksa konkurentnosti i inovacija koji određuju položaj Republike Hrvatske na regionalnoj i globalnoj razini. Cilj je pokazati utjecaj nacionalne konkurentnosti i standarda inovacija na poduzetništvo u Hrvatskoj

Impact of the metal processing industry on industrial production in Croatia during the period of recession: Lessons learned

The metal processing industry has historically had a large role and importance for the Croatian economy. The current picture of the economy reflects the historical situation, trends and events that are described in the paper. In order to understand macroeconomic indicators and certain events, it is important to analyse the macro-environment, because it greatly affects the development and operations of an enterprise. The general economic climate is explained, as well as its underlying indicators that affect the competitiveness. The goal of this paper is to show lessons learned regarding the impact of the metal processing industry on industrial production in Croatia during the period of recession. These lessons might indicate how to find the best business strategy that will enable the development and prosperity of enterprises in the global market in the future. There are no rules or definitions for achieving success. The enterprise must define its pathway if it wants to accomplish its goals - because an enterprise without strategy is like a ship without a rudder. There is a growing emphasis on the importance of industrial production, so the metal processing industry today shows signs of a slight recovery and growth, which still cannot be compared with the previous situation

The influence of the human factor on competitiveness of enterprises in the metal processing industry in Croatia

Ljudski faktor je jedan od temeljnih i najvažnijih elemenata u procesu postizanja konkurentske pozicije poduzeća. Upravo stoga, potrebno je razvijati strategiju koja će pridonijeti prosperitetu i stalnom razvoju ljudskog kadra u poduzeću. Jedna od najznačajnijih i geografski najrasprostranjenijih industrijskih grana na području Republike Hrvatske je metaloprerađivačka industrija. Ova industrija trenutno nema uspješne financijske pokazatelje i prezadužena je. Upravo se ovim radom želi prikazati utjecaj zaposlenika na uspješnost poduzeća. Odnosno, prikazuje se utjecaj ljudskog faktora na konkurentnost poduzeća u ovoj industriji.The human factor is one of the fundamental and most important elements in the process of achieving competitive position of enterprise. For this reason, it is necessary to develop a strategy that will contribute to the prosperity and constant development of human resources in the company. One of the most significant and geographically most widespread industries in the Republic of Croatia is the metal processing industry. This industry does not currently have successful financial indicators and is heavily indebted. The aim of this paper is to show the impact of employees on the success of the enterprise. Therefore, the influence of the human factor on the competitiveness of enterprises in this industry is shown in the paper

The Challenges While Measuring Enterprise Innovative Activities - the Case from a Developing Country

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME sector) carry a significant component of an overall economy performance in both developed and developing countries. This paper presents the results of innovation activities analysis on a given sample of SMEs from the Republic of Serbia. By implementing a complex questionnaire for assessing innovation activities authors investigate what innovation activities are conducted in sampled enterprises. Results are processed with Cochran Q, McNemar and statistical significance tests and indicate what particular innovation activities measures enterprises focus on, as well as what measures are considered as relevant by enterprises but are not used. At the same time, the factor analysis was performed to test the quality and structure of the questionnaire itself, namely whether measures of achieved innovation performances of enterprises are properly divided into categories. Additionally, specific innovation activities were analyzed and their implementation modalities by the sampled enterprises. The results contribute in the domain of better understanding of innovation activities measurement within SMEs coming from developing countries. Based on the research results, we got the insight into specific innovation activities SMEs perform, as well as key innovation performance indicators SMEs use

STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING OF COMPETITIVENESS IN METAL PROCESSING INDUSTRY IN REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Metaloprerađivačka industrija je jedna od grana prerađivačke industrije koja ima najveći utjecaj na gospodarstvo u Republici Hrvatskoj. Povijesno je to jedna od najrazvijenijih industrija, koja danas doživljava stagnaciju i pad aktivnosti u odnosu na prijašnje stanje. Konkurentska prednost jedna je od zakonitosti moderne ekonomije, a strategija je alat na temelju kojega se postiže konkurentska prednost. Upravo se ti modeli moraju iskoristiti kako bi se unaprijedilo poslovanje poduzeća u metaloprerađivačkoj industriji. Sukladno dosadašnjim istraživanjima, a s ciljem rješavanja problema slabe konkurentnosti metaloprerađivačke industrije, kao i industrije u cijelosti, potrebno je sustavno istražiti i analizirati metaloprerađivačku industriju, kao i strateške modele i metode koje će doprinijeti prosperitetu gospodarstva, zadovoljiti aktualne potrebe tržišta, te Hrvatsku pozicionirati kao konkurentu zemlju regije. Rad je strukturiran od deset poglavlja koja se u grubo mogu podijeliti u dvije skupine, odnosno na teorijski i istraživački dio. U prvom dijelu rada istražene su temeljne odrednice strategije, te modeli i metode na temelju kojih poduzeće postiže konkurentnost. Konkurentnost je jedan od temeljnih pojmova u modernoj ekonomiji. Stoga, radom se daju odrednice na temelju kojih strategija poduzeće može ostvariti konkurentsku poziciju na tržištu. Drugi, istraživački dio rada se odnosi na analizu metaloprerađivačke industrije u Republici Hrvatskoj, s posebnim osvrtom na metaloprerađivačku industriju u Brodsko posavskoj županiji. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku 508 poduzeća (malih, srednjih i velikih) u metaloprerađivačkoj industriji. Kada se govori o pojmu metaloprerađivačke industrije u ovom radu, onda ona podrazumijeva sljedeća tri sektora: C24- proizvodnja metala, C25 proizvodnja gotovih metalnih proizvoda osim strojeva i opreme i C28- proizvodnja strojeva i uređaja, d.n. Uzorak poduzeća je iz svih županija u Republici Hrvatskoj i proporcionalan je broju poduzeća registriranih u pojedinoj županiji. Podaci o poduzećima preuzeti su sa portala Poslovna Hrvatska, i istraživanje obuhvaća 39 različitih pokazatelja za svako poduzeće. Sama analiza podataka obrađuje se statističkom metodom. Kategorijski podatci predstavljeni su apsolutnim i relativnim frekvencijama. Numerički podatci opisani su medijanom i granicama interkvartilnog raspona u slučaju raspodjela koje ne slijede normalnu raspodjelu. Normalnost raspodjele numeričkih varijabli testirana je Kolmogorov-Smirnovljevim testom. Razlike normalno raspodijeljenih numeričkih varijabli između dviju nezavisnih skupina testirane su zbog odstupanja od normalne raspodjele Mann-Whitneyevim U testom, a u slučaju 3 i više nezavisnih skupina testirane su Kruskal-Wallisovim testom. Povezanost numeričkih varijabli ocijenjena je Spearmanovim koeficijentom korelacije ρ (rho). Za istraživanje utjecaja pojedinih prediktora na zavisnu varijablu, te na utjecaj modela u cjelini, koristila se univarijatna i multivarijatna regresijska analiza. Sve P vrijednosti su dvostrane. Razina značajnosti je postavljena na α=0,05. Za statističku analizu koristio se statistički program SPSS (inačica 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, SAD). Na temelju opsežno provedene analize, uočena je značajnost metaloprerađivačke industrije kako na proizvodnu industriju, tako i na cjelokupno gospodarstvo u Republici Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje je pokazalo da metaloprerađivačka industrija ima veliki potencijal, te da je značajno provoditi strateške metode i modele kako bi ova industrija mogla ostvariti konkurentsku prednost.Metal processing industry is one of the branches of the manufacturing industry, which has the biggest impact on the economy in the Republic of Croatia. Historically this is one of the most developed industries, which today experiencing stagnation and decline of activity in comparison to the previous state. Competitive advantage is one of the principles of modern economics and strategy is a tool by which is achieved competitive advantage. These models must be used to improve the company's business in the metal processing industry. According to previous research, for solving the problem of poor competitiveness of the metal processing industry, as well as the industry as a whole, it is necessary to systematically explore and analyze the metal processing industry, as well as strategic models and methods that will contribute to the prosperity of the economy, that will meet the current needs of the market, and Croatian position as a competitive country in region. The paper is structured in ten chapters, which roughly can be divided into two groups: the theoretical and research part. The first part explored the fundamental determinants of strategies and models and methods based on which the company achieved competitiveness. Competitiveness is one of the fundamental concepts in the modern economy. Therefore, the paper gives guidelines on which strategy company can gain a competitive position in the market. Second, the research part of the work is devoted to analyse engineering industry in the Republic of Croatia (with special reference to the metal processing industry in Brod Posavina County). The study was conducted on a sample of 508 companies (small, medium and large) in the metal processing industry. Concept of engineering industry in this paper implies the following three sectors: C24- Metal production, C25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment and C28- Production of machinery and equipment. A sample of companies is from all counties in the Republic of Croatia and is proportional to the number of enterprises registered in each county. Information about companies have been taken over from the portal Business Croatia, and research includes 39 different indicators for each company. The mere analysis of the data is processed by the statistical method. Categorical data are presented in absolute and relative frequencies. Numerical data are described median and limits interkvartilnog range in case of distribution that does not follow a normal distribution. The normality of the distribution of numerical variables was tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Differences normally distributed numerical variables between the two groups were tested for departure from the normal distribution Mann-Whitney U test, and in the case of three or more groups were tested by Kruskal-Wallis test. The link between numerical variables was assessed by Spearman correlation coefficient ρ (rho). To study the influence of individual predictors of the dependent variable, and the impact of the model as a whole, was used univariate and multivariate regression analysis. All P values are two-sided. The level of significance was set at α = 0.05. For statistical analysis of the statistical program SPSS (version 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Based on extensive analysis conducted, it is spotted the significance of engineering industry to the manufacturing industry, and on the overall economy in Croatia. Research has shown that the metal processing industry has great potential, and it is important to implement strategic methods and models so that industry could achieve competitive advantage

STRATEGIES FOR STRENGTHENING OF COMPETITIVENESS IN METAL PROCESSING INDUSTRY IN REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Metaloprerađivačka industrija je jedna od grana prerađivačke industrije koja ima najveći utjecaj na gospodarstvo u Republici Hrvatskoj. Povijesno je to jedna od najrazvijenijih industrija, koja danas doživljava stagnaciju i pad aktivnosti u odnosu na prijašnje stanje. Konkurentska prednost jedna je od zakonitosti moderne ekonomije, a strategija je alat na temelju kojega se postiže konkurentska prednost. Upravo se ti modeli moraju iskoristiti kako bi se unaprijedilo poslovanje poduzeća u metaloprerađivačkoj industriji. Sukladno dosadašnjim istraživanjima, a s ciljem rješavanja problema slabe konkurentnosti metaloprerađivačke industrije, kao i industrije u cijelosti, potrebno je sustavno istražiti i analizirati metaloprerađivačku industriju, kao i strateške modele i metode koje će doprinijeti prosperitetu gospodarstva, zadovoljiti aktualne potrebe tržišta, te Hrvatsku pozicionirati kao konkurentu zemlju regije. Rad je strukturiran od deset poglavlja koja se u grubo mogu podijeliti u dvije skupine, odnosno na teorijski i istraživački dio. U prvom dijelu rada istražene su temeljne odrednice strategije, te modeli i metode na temelju kojih poduzeće postiže konkurentnost. Konkurentnost je jedan od temeljnih pojmova u modernoj ekonomiji. Stoga, radom se daju odrednice na temelju kojih strategija poduzeće može ostvariti konkurentsku poziciju na tržištu. Drugi, istraživački dio rada se odnosi na analizu metaloprerađivačke industrije u Republici Hrvatskoj, s posebnim osvrtom na metaloprerađivačku industriju u Brodsko posavskoj županiji. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku 508 poduzeća (malih, srednjih i velikih) u metaloprerađivačkoj industriji. Kada se govori o pojmu metaloprerađivačke industrije u ovom radu, onda ona podrazumijeva sljedeća tri sektora: C24- proizvodnja metala, C25 proizvodnja gotovih metalnih proizvoda osim strojeva i opreme i C28- proizvodnja strojeva i uređaja, d.n. Uzorak poduzeća je iz svih županija u Republici Hrvatskoj i proporcionalan je broju poduzeća registriranih u pojedinoj županiji. Podaci o poduzećima preuzeti su sa portala Poslovna Hrvatska, i istraživanje obuhvaća 39 različitih pokazatelja za svako poduzeće. Sama analiza podataka obrađuje se statističkom metodom. Kategorijski podatci predstavljeni su apsolutnim i relativnim frekvencijama. Numerički podatci opisani su medijanom i granicama interkvartilnog raspona u slučaju raspodjela koje ne slijede normalnu raspodjelu. Normalnost raspodjele numeričkih varijabli testirana je Kolmogorov-Smirnovljevim testom. Razlike normalno raspodijeljenih numeričkih varijabli između dviju nezavisnih skupina testirane su zbog odstupanja od normalne raspodjele Mann-Whitneyevim U testom, a u slučaju 3 i više nezavisnih skupina testirane su Kruskal-Wallisovim testom. Povezanost numeričkih varijabli ocijenjena je Spearmanovim koeficijentom korelacije ρ (rho). Za istraživanje utjecaja pojedinih prediktora na zavisnu varijablu, te na utjecaj modela u cjelini, koristila se univarijatna i multivarijatna regresijska analiza. Sve P vrijednosti su dvostrane. Razina značajnosti je postavljena na α=0,05. Za statističku analizu koristio se statistički program SPSS (inačica 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, SAD). Na temelju opsežno provedene analize, uočena je značajnost metaloprerađivačke industrije kako na proizvodnu industriju, tako i na cjelokupno gospodarstvo u Republici Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje je pokazalo da metaloprerađivačka industrija ima veliki potencijal, te da je značajno provoditi strateške metode i modele kako bi ova industrija mogla ostvariti konkurentsku prednost.Metal processing industry is one of the branches of the manufacturing industry, which has the biggest impact on the economy in the Republic of Croatia. Historically this is one of the most developed industries, which today experiencing stagnation and decline of activity in comparison to the previous state. Competitive advantage is one of the principles of modern economics and strategy is a tool by which is achieved competitive advantage. These models must be used to improve the company's business in the metal processing industry. According to previous research, for solving the problem of poor competitiveness of the metal processing industry, as well as the industry as a whole, it is necessary to systematically explore and analyze the metal processing industry, as well as strategic models and methods that will contribute to the prosperity of the economy, that will meet the current needs of the market, and Croatian position as a competitive country in region. The paper is structured in ten chapters, which roughly can be divided into two groups: the theoretical and research part. The first part explored the fundamental determinants of strategies and models and methods based on which the company achieved competitiveness. Competitiveness is one of the fundamental concepts in the modern economy. Therefore, the paper gives guidelines on which strategy company can gain a competitive position in the market. Second, the research part of the work is devoted to analyse engineering industry in the Republic of Croatia (with special reference to the metal processing industry in Brod Posavina County). The study was conducted on a sample of 508 companies (small, medium and large) in the metal processing industry. Concept of engineering industry in this paper implies the following three sectors: C24- Metal production, C25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment and C28- Production of machinery and equipment. A sample of companies is from all counties in the Republic of Croatia and is proportional to the number of enterprises registered in each county. Information about companies have been taken over from the portal Business Croatia, and research includes 39 different indicators for each company. The mere analysis of the data is processed by the statistical method. Categorical data are presented in absolute and relative frequencies. Numerical data are described median and limits interkvartilnog range in case of distribution that does not follow a normal distribution. The normality of the distribution of numerical variables was tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Differences normally distributed numerical variables between the two groups were tested for departure from the normal distribution Mann-Whitney U test, and in the case of three or more groups were tested by Kruskal-Wallis test. The link between numerical variables was assessed by Spearman correlation coefficient ρ (rho). To study the influence of individual predictors of the dependent variable, and the impact of the model as a whole, was used univariate and multivariate regression analysis. All P values are two-sided. The level of significance was set at α = 0.05. For statistical analysis of the statistical program SPSS (version 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Based on extensive analysis conducted, it is spotted the significance of engineering industry to the manufacturing industry, and on the overall economy in Croatia. Research has shown that the metal processing industry has great potential, and it is important to implement strategic methods and models so that industry could achieve competitive advantage

Impact of the metal processing industry on industrial production in Croatia during the period of recession: Lessons learned

The metal processing industry has historically had a large role and importance for the Croatian economy. The current picture of the economy reflects the historical situation, trends and events that are described in the paper. In order to understand macroeconomic indicators and certain events, it is important to analyse the macro-environment, because it greatly affects the development and operations of an enterprise. The general economic climate is explained, as well as its underlying indicators that affect the competitiveness. The goal of this paper is to show lessons learned regarding the impact of the metal processing industry on industrial production in Croatia during the period of recession. These lessons might indicate how to find the best business strategy that will enable the development and prosperity of enterprises in the global market in the future. There are no rules or definitions for achieving success. The enterprise must define its pathway if it wants to accomplish its goals - because an enterprise without strategy is like a ship without a rudder. There is a growing emphasis on the importance of industrial production, so the metal processing industry today shows signs of a slight recovery and growth, which still cannot be compared with the previous situation