Previous research has pointed out that Industry 4.0 will lead to more sustainable production; however, it may have profound effects on European competitiveness. Today, firms in the CEE countries face a limited scope for continued economic expansion, and hence there is a growing pressure on them to move upward in the global value chain by investing heavily in advanced technology. Consequently, the authors argue that B2B firms from the CEE countries can have a massive impact on Europe’s long-term competitiveness by reversing the effect of digital transformation due to their strong interdependencies on other European economies. Therefore, in a cross-country survey, research data were collected (n = 302) about the driving forces, barriers, and role of stakeholders in the implementation of digital transformations. The authors found that some technologies are implemented much more frequently compared to others, with some indication for country specialization. The leading driving force is customer satisfaction followed by productivity and financial motives. Shortage of skilled human resources and high implementation costs are the main barriers. The firms tend to rely on universities and research centers, while the government is perceived only as a financial provider. The results are also informative for practitioners and policymakers—providing them with benchmarks.

The aim of the article is to analyse available publications, as well as official documents of European Commission dealing with the term digital literacy, to define digital abyss and factors which affect it. The article further focuses on investigation of digital literacy in SR, as well as on determining the effect of selected factors. There were used general methods of scientific research, questionnaire, survey of digital literacy in Slovakia, statistical evaluation and verification of statistical significance. The findings of the research confirmed that the expected factors, which are predominantly age and education, affect the creation of digital abyss in Slovakia.

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Progress in the field of information and communication technology is a source of advantage that improves quality of business services; increases productivity levels and brings competitive advantage to enterprises and organisations related to agricultural production. However, the use of information and communication technology (ICT) is connected with information security risks that threaten business continuity and information assets. The ICT in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and agricultural enterprises is the source of several advantages as well as the risks resulting from information security violation and security incidents. This paper aims at the current situation of information security in SME and agricultural enterprises. Furthermore, the paper provides results of a survey focusing on identification and evaluation of the effects of internal and external factors affecting existence of risks in information security in Slovak SME and agricultural enterprises. Until now, there had not been a similar survey carried out.

Participation in the information society means faster communication, development of new ideas, more creative ideas and education in terms of lifelong learning. The information society is a reality and a dominant element of politics in all developed countries of the world. Information literacy deals with the human ability to work effectively in the information society. Information literacy needs to be understood in a wider context, rather than only in terms of IT skills and abilities. The article compares and defines the concept of information literacy. It compares selected information literacy models. The starting point is a survey conducted among business managers in the Slovak Republic examining the level of information literacy of managers. The findings identify factors affecting the aggregate index of information literacy of managers and the proposed quantitative and qualitative model of the information literacy of managers. Presented are the unique results of long-term research on information and digital literacy in the Slovak Republic (Central Europe, the European Union and V4-Visegrad countries). So far, no research has been conducted focusing on the level of digital literacy of business managers and an information literacy model that would contribute to raising their level.

SummaryGiven the wide professional discussion on the dominating professional focus of healthcare managers at the expense of management knowledge, the main goal of this paper is to verify the extent, to which management education of healthcare workers affects the level of their management skills.MethodologyThe Descriptive statistics methods have been used to answer research questions regarding the differences in the perception of the managerial skills and their disposition importance between managers with a completed management education and without it. Emphasis was placed on people management skills and communication skills. The research sample consisted of 253 healthcare managers.ResultsManagers with a completed specialized management study are characterized by higher values of entrepreneurial competences and communication skills. They also have exceptional skills in the area of initiator of change. Another significant difference is the higher adaptation of roles and low critique of their subordinates. They are oriented at workers and relationships with them.ConclusionOur results show that management education of healthcare managers significantly contributes to the implementation of newer approaches to people management and the use of the necessary management skills, which are a source of higher efficiency in the context of the present world of work and its challenges.

The aim of our research is to identify how the effectiveness of motivation and job satisfaction of employees contribute to the success of agricultural companies in Slovakia. The research sample consists of 757 employees in agricultural companies in Slovakia. Baron and Kenny’s mediation model and regression ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) were also used. The hypothesis that the dependence of the business performance on the effectiveness of motivation of the employees is mediated by their job satisfaction has been confirmed. An important finding is that the direct relationship between the business performance of agricultural companies and the effectiveness of employee motivation is not significant. However, the variable that transmits this effect, respectively mediates the impact of the effectiveness of employee motivation on business performance, is the job satisfaction of employees. A significant relationship between the effectiveness of motivation was found mainly among financial motivators, which points to the problematic nature of this motivational setting. Significant influencing factors include age, education and job position. As the effectiveness of financial motivation and satisfaction was highest in these groups, it is possible to start applying new trends in employee remuneration to other groups that have not shown such a connection to such a significant extent.

Integration of innovative pervasive technologies into the surrounding environment creates ambient intelligence which has become the subject of several scientific and academic considerations. In particular, the pervasive technology is based on Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Ambient intelligence may be viewed from several perspectives: a technological, multi-aspect and visionary point of view. Several predictors influence the level of ambient intelligence. The aim is to identify significant predictors influencing ambient intelligence and simultaneously determine their impact on the achieved level of ambient intelligence of the company. In the research methodology, we acknowledge the research presumptions, the research question and research hypotheses, the measurement instrument, obtained data and methods used in accordance with the research model. The scientific article presents the results of an empirical study conducted on 206 enterprises, focusing on the examining of the influence of selected predictors on the level of ambient intelligence in enterprises in the Slovak Republic. It examines not only the influence of selected predictors on the level of ambient intelligence, but also their mutual interaction. We found that these activities even build ambient intelligence on their own, although in interaction with each other, their effect on the level of ambient intelligence begins to fade. Therefore, it is necessary to opt for their combination appropriately. Finally, we present the limits of the research and suggestions on further directions of research in this field.