INNOVATIONS AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN BUSINESS

This article deals with innovation performance of the individual countries of the European Union. It describes the current trends of innovation activities in the Czech Republic and the innovation potential of the Moravian-Silesian Region. The data was drawn from the European Information Bulletin which is a specialized publication of the Agency for Support of Business and Investments and from the innovation activities of industrial firms as well as other firms. The reason for these innovation activities is to obtain competitive advantage and to strengthen the position on the market. In the global environment, the continuous innovation is a necessity whether it is innovation of the product, the processes or the business strategy.