L25 - Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and ScopeReturn

The paper is a thematic analysis of 44 empirical studies that applied frontier techniques in analysing efficiency of Czech and Slovak commercial banks. The 44 journal articles were extracted from the Web of Science database and classified by prevailing research interest, methodological configuration and main findings in order to determine the state of the art and provide a starting point for further research in this subject area. The main research agenda of efficiency studies focused on Czech and Slovak banking was classified into eight relatively compact research interests ranging historically from effects of transition reforms to effects of asset and income diversification. The first identifiable wave of research was represented by foreign authors who examined issues of economic transition and its impact on performance of banks, and lasted until about 2013, when the baton passed into the hands of authors of Czecho-Slovak provenience.

This article deals with business performance. The aim of this article is to identify performance factors, ie. factors that should have an impact on performance in long-term horizon, analyze these factors and their relationships, and based on this analysis to create a complex model of business performance. First sub-goal is to identify internal factors affecting the performance of companies in the new economy and next sub-goal is to verify the influence of the potential factors of performance on the business performance in terms of both market and financial performance in the manufacturing companies in the Czech Republic. It means to confirm or refute the findings on the impact of these factors on business performance of the companies in the Czech Republic. The article examines the importance of quality, human capital, customer capital and information technology on business performance through a questionnaire survey and the use of statistical methods.

This article examines for the first time the relationship between transparency of ownership structure and (i) profits of firms winning public procurement contracts and (ii) competition for the contracts and savings of the public authority. These characteristics are compared for two groups of public procurement contract winners that differ by their ownership structure. The detailed data from the Czech Republic are used and the firms with bearer shares in paper form serve as the less transparent firms. The results show that less transparent firms have significantly higher profit margins in terms of tens of percentage points and participate in less competitive public procurement contracts and result into lower savings for the public authority. This could be an indirect indicator of conflict of interests or corruption. The article concludes with policy recommendations.

The paper focuses on core tendencies in performance measurement issues in the period 1950-2010. Based on analysis of archival sources and respecting the change in business environment the paper provides confrontation of particular approaches to performance measurement with the aim to discuss their innovation value and relevancy for business performance management as well as decision-making process of investors.