Paper Title
Innovativeness Of Enterprisesaccording To Its Size And Economic Activity: Croatian Case Study
Abstract
One of the important factors that affects the competitiveness of enterprises is their innovativeness. The main objective of this paper is to researchthe innovativeness of firms in the Republic of Croatia, to compare it with selected European countries, and then to compare whether there are differences in the innovativenessof firms according to the affiliation of economic activity and a firm size. The hypothesis is that there are differencesin innovation activities of firms depending on its main economic activity, and that large firms are more innovative than medium and small enterprises (SMEs).Regarding the importance of the topic as well as a perceived deficiency of the relevant research in Croatia, the empirical research with those parameters was conducted. It was carried out online on a sample composed of 138 firms using the questionnaire. Results of the empirical research indicate that there is a difference in the innovativeness of firms depending on the affiliation to economic activity. The most innovative economic activities are Information and communication, Accommodation and food service activities, and Manufacturing. Also, the results indicate that more innovative are large companies, compared with medium, small and micro. Compared to the other countries, it can be concluded that Croatia is lagging behind, according to the patent applications indicator, which points to the need for more significant utilization of innovation potential in the Republic of Croatia.
Index Terms- economic activity, enterprises, innovativeness, the Republic of Croatia