Relationships between factors of regional competitiveness in Central and Eastern Europe
Vol. 16, No 3, 2023
Péter Kovács
University of Szeged, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Hungary kovacs.peter@eco.u-szeged.hu ORCID 0000-0002-7376-8673 |
Relationships between factors of regional competitiveness in Central and Eastern Europe |
Gábor Bodnár
University of Szeged, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Hungary bodnar.gabor@eco.u-szeged.hu ORCID 0000-0002-8844-4313 Imre Lengyel
University of Szeged, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Hungary ilengyel@eco.u-szeged.hu ORCID 0000-0002-9225-5320
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Abstract. The divide between the eastern and western parts of the European Union has been widely discussed. However, significant territorial differences are undoubtedly present even within the narrower eastern region of the EU. This study focuses on the competitiveness of regions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The analysis relies on the pyramid model, the theoretical background of which provides the basis for investigating the factors affecting the competitiveness of the 51 NUTS 2 regions across six CEE countries. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is applied to examine the relationships and effect mechanisms between the model’s factors (more specifically, between the latent variables representing the factors). We have adapted our general model to the so-called overperforming and underperforming regions described by Iammarino et al. (2019), exploring the connections of their competitiveness factors in this context. Research results reveal that the effect mechanisms observed between the above-mentioned regions are completely different. Various factors can be considered as either important or less decisive in terms of competitiveness development, which could have implications for regional policy moving forward. |
Received: December, 2022 1st Revision: May, 2023 Accepted: September, 2023 |
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DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2023/16-3/4
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JEL Classification: C12, C35, R11 |
Keywords: PLS path modelling, regional competitiveness, renewed pyramid model |