| Abstract [eng] |
In this article we analyse the cooperation of business organisations of Klaipėda region with Latvian organizations. one of the main problems of this region, located in the cross-border with Latvia, is low competiveness of its organisations and high levels of unemployment. one of ways of coping with this problem is promoting the cooperation between organisations in the region among themselves and also with organisations in neighbouring Latvia. In this article we present the results of the research done in 2011 among top managers of organizations in Klaipėda region, the aim of the research and also this article is to examine the state of cooperation between organizations of Klaipėda region and Latvia. The tasks of the article are: 1) to analyse the theoretical premises for cooperation in cross-border regions; 2) determine the level of cooperation of organisations from Klaipėda region and Latvia; 3) determine the obstacles for cooperation; 4) establish the measures that could stimulate more active cooperation of organisations of Klaipeda region and Latvian organizations. To achieve these goals we used the analysis of scientific literature and survey research. A total of 159 organisations took part in the survey, to better reflect the real situation in the region, we decided to survey organizations according to their branch of economic activity, that is the number of organizations surveyed in each branch of economic activity was determined by the proportion of organizations in specific branch of economic activity among total number of organizations in the region. Most organizations that participated in the survey are engaged in services and trade, 33.5% and 23.5% respectively. Most of the organizations that participated in the research have fewer than 10 employees (micro enterprises), they constitute of 61.1% of all questioned organizations, 18.9% are small enterprises employing between 10 and 50 employees. Even 80.3% of organizations participated in the research had fewer than 50 employees. 77.4% of surveyed organizations had annual turnover below 7 million LTL. The distribution of enterprises by number of employees and by the annual turnover of the organizations that participated in the survey correspond with the actual situation in Klaipėda region, where most of the organizations are small and medium enterprises, mostly engaged in services and trade branches of economic activity. After analysing the scientific literature and the data from the survey research we came to the following conclusions: cooperation by forming horizontal networks is one of the main aspects of doing successful business in a globalised world. cooperation between organizations is one of stimulating factors of their development, this could lead to the improvement of overall economic and social situation in the region. Two of the most important factors that facilitate the international cooperation between organizations are the spread of information communication technologies and the establishment of English language as a universal mean of communication in the business world. 18.2% of organizations that took the survey declared that they have business partners in Latvia, the sectors where most of cooperation takes place are trade (28.6%), services (19.0%) and education (16.7%). The type of cooperation corresponds to the branch of economic activity of the partners, most common are purchase of services (34.1%), purchase of goods (18.2%) and common channels of trade (18.2%), as additional areas of cooperation respondents determined the academic cooperation, cooperation in the area of innovations and joint research activities. After analysing the data from the survey it became evident, that although the level of cooperation between organizations of Klaipeda region and Latvia is quite low, there is a big need for such kind of cooperation, 42.8% of all the organizations that took the survey stated that they would like to cooperate with Latvian organizations and that is more than twice the number of organizations that are currently cooperating, this tendency can be seen in all branches of economic activity. only 27.7% of the respondents stated that the lack of knowledge of foreign language is an obstacle to cooperate with Latvian organizations. Because Latvia and Lithuania are both small countries their people are forced to learn foreign languages. Traditionally the older generation knows Russian and the younger employs English, which is a universal language for doing business internationally, this, is why most of organizations in the region fi nd one or another way to communicate with Latvian organizations. The bigger obstacle for organizations of Klaipeda region to cooperate with Latvian organizations is the lack of information about Latvian business (tax, legal rules, etc.). Even 67.9 % of the organizations that took part in the survey stated that they lack such information and also stated the need of such information in Lithuanian language. To facilitate the cooperation of organizations from Klaipeda region and Latvia, more information about Latvian business should be provided; if possible it should be in Lithuanian language. There also should be a bigger coordinating role of government institutions from both countries in forming the horizontal cooperation networks, especially between organizations from business, government and science sectors, partners from Latvia could participate in those networks, making them more productive. |
