Central European Business Review

7-14

Authors: Wadim Strielkowski

This paper aims at describing the issue of undeclared work in the Czech Republic and to explain the burdens it represents for the national economy. It also describes what measures can be undertaken in order to tackle undeclared work and uses some real-life examples to illustrate their outcomes. Undeclared work and the so-called “švarc systém” (the employer-employee relations with a person exercising the employer's normal activities not being an employee in legal terms but acting as an independent entrepreneur) are among the biggest issues on the Czech labor market nowadays. According to some estimations, the Czech state loses about five billion CZK annually in the form of uncollected taxes, unpaid revenues and health and social insurance payments. New changes to the Czech labor legislation that came into force in 2012 were envisaged to tackle undeclared work, reduce tax evasions, fight shadow practices on the labor market, and to prevent social deprivation and other threats for the society by shifting the competences to conduct random checks, and controls of firms and businesses were transferred to the State Labor Inspection Offices (SLIO). The changes in the legislation facilitated the identification of the undeclared work and penalizing of its bearers, which minimized the losses from the illegal employment.

24-29

Authors: Martin Konečný, Daniela Kolouchová

This paper investigates the importance of brand building in the business-to-business world. Not only B2C companies must take branding into account and put it among their top priorities in order to survive and succeed on the market. The first part of the article deals with the theoretical background of brand importance and market specifics of B2B markets and results in the setting of two hypotheses. The following research has to find out how the managers of a pure business-to-business company perceive the importance of a brand; moreover, it has to evaluate the importance of eight specific brand building factors. Fourteen expert interviews document the growing of brands in the B2B market and their main aspects. At the end of the article, we will focus on future implications for B2B management.

39-49

Authors: Pramod Dasan

This paper aims to focus on the determinants influencing the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Czech Republic and Russia. The objective is to investigate and evaluate the business environment and, then, examine the importance of developing and promoting entrepreneurship to allow SMEs in Czech & Russia to develop a competitive position in the international marketplace. An overview of the current economic situation facing SMEs in CZ & RU is provided. Then the factors necessary for the expansion of the business will be discussed, along with the challenges of overcoming the resource gaps to be identified. We have conducted empirical surveys along with the use of SPSS statistical tools to predict the potential of revenue growth in SME sector. Information is provided concerning the current situation for SMEs in CZ & RU and the challenges encountered as they face a business environment that is becoming more competitive. We also found that SMEs are increasingly more integrated into the global economy and not limited to regional/international activities. Quantitative analysis shows that there is significant potential for SMEs for the next couple of years despite the economic uncertainty. This paper integrates entrepreneurship, and the resource-based internationalization of SMEs in Czech Republic & Russia, specifically focusing on the use of technology.