The need to pay some attention to the issues of investment processes undertaken in enterprises and explore this topic is a direct result of the important role that enterprises play in the economy—with particular emphasis on the SMEs. From the company’s point of view, it is crucial to obtain economic effects as a result of the implemented investment. The aim of the study was to analyze the results of tangible investments in enterprises in Małopolska province in Poland, in two groups of entities—those that implemented investments using EU subsidies and those that financed investments from other sources without using EU aid. This is a unique research in the field of analysis and presentation of investment data in enterprises, especially in relation to companies using EU funds. There is no comparative assessment of investments in enterprises on this topic in the scientific literature (concerning EU subsidies). For this reason, comparing the effects of investment activities between the two groups of enterprises studied—using and not using EU subsidies—fills the research gap in this regard. The study was based on the critical analysis of domestic and foreign literature, and quantitative and qualitative analyses of the results of a survey among 160 enterprises using the CSAQ method, additionally extended by interviews with selected respondents. Data presentation uses a descriptive approach in combination with statistical analysis. A multiple linear regression model (MLR) was also used to verify hypotheses. Research results show that undertaking investment activities contributes to obtaining favorable results in enterprises, regardless of the source of investment financing. The source of financing the investment is not important for the results achieved in the enterprise. However, representatives of companies who received EU subsidies assess their market position higher after investment relative to companies that used other sources of financing for this purpose. Entities that have received EU subsidies have a stronger perception of investment as an important factor determining the company’s development. In addition, variables were identified using the MLR model that affect the assessment of the financial position of enterprises in both groups of entities. This article supplements the knowledge on the economic effects of investments implemented by enterprises in the SME sector in Poland in a situation where these entities used and did not benefit from EU subsidies during 2007–2015.
The European Union sees the role of innovations as measurably influencing the improvement of social and economic development in the regions of its member states. Actions that promote the implementation of innovations in the SME sector as one of the elements having a positive impact on the European Union's cohesion policy have a special role in supporting enterprises. Therefore, the EU operational programmes dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises are a valuable source of external financing for innovations in these entities. The implementation of innovative investment projects positively influences the development of enterprises. A company resistant to implementing innovations may lose its competitive position on the market and slow down its development. The aim of this article is to conduct a comparative analysis of the implementation of innovative investments between the enterprises that received financial assistance from the European Union in relation to the enterprises that implemented innovations using other sources of financing. The study shows that enterprises covered by financial support from operational programmes have a higher level of innovative investments than other economic entities. Companies receiving EU aid are more often implementing production innovations among all four types of innovations as compared to other enterprises. In addition, it was found that in the lack of financial support from the EU, almost half of the companies would not be able to implement innovations as such. Therefore, the issue of innovations implemented in enterprises with the use of the EU financial aid should be considered as a currently relevant topic and an extremely important one from the standpoint of entrepreneurship development. This study should be considered unique, as there are no studies, to the best of the author's knowledge, containing comparative analyses in this area.
The impact on the development of the economy and enterprises themselves is made possible by investments as they are one of the main components of GDP. An increase in enterprise investments demonstrates the good financial condition of economic entities, is a positive signal about the state of the economy and gives information about its development. The subject of this article is the impact of enterprises on the economy and its importance in Poland by analysing both investment itself and the investment rate. The analysis was carried out at a regional level as well as in relation to other EU member states. The aim is to analyse the investment activities of Polish enterprises, with particular emphasis on the change as well as their size and type. The research is based on a critical analysis of the literature and an analysis of secondary statistical data, covering the period from the first full EU program from 2007, and extended in accordance with the n+2 funding rule until 2015. The analyses show that despite growing investment among Polish enterprises, compared to the rest of the EU, the value of expenditure on fixed assets is still low as the average value made in the private sector among EU countries is 70% higher. At the same time, the growing level of investment value among private businesses over the nine years should be emphasized. There is also a very large regional variation in the level of investment growth per working-age capita over the period considered.
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