THE FIELD OF ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION – AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS IN EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

he current business environment is characterized by high competition between companies as well as global challenges and growing technological progress. Businesses must constantly adapt to changes in the business environment, changes in the market environment and the constantly changing requirements of customers. The purpose of this article is to point out the major gaps across eight former communist East-European countries in what regards the innovation: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. In order to compare the trends in hat regards innovation in Eastern European countries we have first collected data for four innovation indicators for each East European country, separately for each field of activity. We have computed variation coefficients that revealed the fields of activity with the highest and/or lowest gaps across selected countries. Our conclusion is that Eastern Europe is increasingly becoming a hotspot for innovation, with countries in the region making significant progress in various aspects of innovation-driven development. By leveraging their strengths, addressing challenges, and capitalizing on opportunities, Eastern European countries can further enhance their innovation performance, competitiveness, and sustainable growth in the global innovation landscape.