The Role of Barriers to the Activity of Industrial Enterprises in the Evaluation of the Business Tendency in Poland

Research background: Surveys of entrepreneurs regarding the assessment of conditions for conducting business activity are carried out by several institutions. They focus on business climate indicators but in parallel they report on numerous barriers to economic activity. The paper examines the barriers that hinder business operations to manufacturing enterprises in Poland. Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to analyse the barriers to business activity and their role in entrepreneurs’ assessment of their general economic situation. It has been hypothesized that statistically significant barriers to economic activity that affect the assessment of the general economic situation by entrepreneurs can be determined. Research methodology: The analysis was based on the Central Statistical Office data from the business tendency survey in manufacturing enterprises spanning the period 2003–2019, broken down into groups of small, medium-sized and large enterprises. Correlation measures and regression models were used. Results: The results allow indicating several barriers that have a significant impact on the assessment of the current economic situation by entrepreneurs. This impact varies depending on the size of the enterprise. No significant relationship was found between the barriers and the assessment of the expected economic situation. Novelty: The paper contributes to studies on business tendency surveys. It develops a detailed analysis of the barriers to economic activity, takes into account the size of enterprises and examines the influence of business barriers on the assessment of the economic situation by entrepreneurs.