In this paper, we aim to describe and explain the regional disparities in economic resilience in Slovakia in the period 1997–2017. We focus on the effects of economic structure in combination with the vertical (potential accessibility) and horizontal geographical location. Since the early 1990s, Slovak (non-)metropolitan regions exhibited deep changes in the sectoral structure of the economy that were followed by sharp unemployment increases. Due to the FDI-fueled economic growth in the last two decades, however, considerable progress in regional economic growth and reduction in unemployment were was recorded. Therefore, Slovak non-metropolitan regions provide valuable lessons for the analysis of regional economic resilience in a long-term period. We ask if, and to what extent were, the prospects of regional renewal after economic crises associated with the geographical location, economic diversity, firm size and sectoral structure of the economy. We employed spatial regression models to test the effects of the potential accessibility, horizontal geographical location and industrial diversity, and sectoral (agriculture, manufacturing) and firm size structure. The dependent variable, Economic Resilience, was measured by the Regional Development Index, combining the indicators of demographic ageing, net migration, income per capita and registered unemployment rate. Potential accessibility and horizontal geographical location were the key predictors of regional economic resilience. Districts with tertiarized and diversified industrial and firm size structures scored, on average, higher in RDI than specialized districts with large firms and/or a high share of agriculture/manufacturing in total employment.

The paper deals with the regional resilience based on the example of companies in the manufacturing industry in old industrial regions in Czechia. The aim is to evaluate how companies responded to the situation caused by the Covid-19 and to identify the most significant strategies that contributed to the resilience of companies during the pandemic crisis. Research was carried out through the collection of primary data obtained from interviews with managers of companies. Qualitative content analysis was used for the data evaluation and interpretation technique. Empirical findings point to the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic had an effect on the supplier-customer ties of companies. Companies whose suppliers are located at the European or global level had to establish relationships with suppliers at lower hierarchical levels. Companies whose customers are located at the local/regional were forced to reduce the volume of regional production. Manifestations of the pandemic have shown, in particular, a reduction of production, a change in supplier-customer ties, or the dismissal of employees. Strategies of companies are the change of product characteristics, the use of warehouse stocks, the reduction of the distance of supply chains, safety measures for workers, online marketing and financial resources from support subsidy programs.

Peripheral regions are localities that are characterized by remoteness from core areas, which are usually metropolitan regions. The peripheral regions in developed countries are characterized by a low density of companies. The economic base of the companies in the peripheral regions are often based on traditional industries or industries dependent on natural resources. This work focuses on the development of the industry in the district Jeseník. The aim of the paper is to identify the trajectories of industrial development (‘path development’) in the peripheral region of the Czech Republic and their impact on local customer linkages of local industrial companies. We analyse whether the most important companies in the manufacturing industry are historically tied to local markets, or they are connected to foreign markets. From a methodological point it is the case study, which is based on the collection of secondary statistical data. We found that in district Jeseník there are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, which are stable in territory and embeddedness. The economic focus of the companies is the metal industry, mineral processing, and the textile industry. The most frequently identified trajectory of industrial development in the district Jeseník is the path extension. Foreign customer linkages were identified for traditional companies.

Publikace neprošla jazykovou úpravou. / Publication is not a subject of language check. Za správnost obsahu a originalitu výzkumu zodpovídají autoři. / Authors are fully responsible for the content and originality of the articles.