The aim of this paper was to extend the study of the relationship between strategic networking and institutional environments of Southeast European countries. The paper looks at how the strategic networking antecedents: (1) trust and reputation, (2) cooperation and communication, and (3) commitment, affect institutional quality: (a) competitiveness, (b) ease of doing business, and (c) ease of financing. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2019-2020 on 963 respondents from six former SFR Yugoslavian countries. The results show that cooperation and communication positively affect competitiveness and ease of financing, while commitment positively affects competitiveness. SME size served as a moderator variable, which did not exhibit any statistically significant effect between independent and dependent variables. The sample was further divided between the European Union member states (Croatia and Slovenia) and non-European Union member states (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia). The only exception was a negative moderating effect of SME size on the relationship between communication and cooperation on one side and competitiveness and ease of financing on the other side, in the sample of the European Union member states. Namely, an increase in SME size dampens the relationship between communication and cooperation and either competitiveness or ease of financing.
Loading....