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The main goal of Lisbon Strategy is to make Europe the most competitive knowledge based economy in the world by 2010. The Strategy is aimed at promoting sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. Czech firms can make the best of such comparative advantages as lower cost, knowledge of local contacts and communication are. However, long-term comparative advantage can be achieved only within innovations. Innovation is implementation of a new or significantly improved product, service, distribution process, manufacturing process, marketing method or organisational method (European Commission). Four main types of innovations exist: product innovation, process innovation, organizational innovation and marketing innovation. The main goal of our article is to assess the innovation performance of firms in the Czech Republic. In the beginning business environment in the CR is described its weaknesses and strengths. Onward, the most important types of public support of innovative enterprise are set out. Innovative firms are mostly supported by subsidies, loans, consulting, training and business rooms. Institutions play as well as important role in the area of innovative enterprise. The main actors of Czech national innovation system are: Ministry of Trade and Industry, Research and Development Council, CzechInvest, universities (Czech Technical University in Prague, Brno University of Technology, Masaryk University and so on), research institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, technology and business centres, banks and of course innovative firms. The main part of our article is about innovation performance of Czech firms. It is analysed e.g. number and share of innovative enterprises in regions of CR, financial support of innovative firms (and the opinion of these firms on it), importance of information sources for innovation, share of innovated products on the total turnover, innovation expenditures, and effect of factors hampering innovation activity. The analysis is completed by tables and graphs.
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