PARTICIPATION OF SLOVAKIA IN THE GLOBAL VALUE CHAIN IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

The article focuses on the expanding phenomenon of the global economy - global value chains. The idea of the value chain describes an increase in value added within the individual phases of the production process, which includes the process from design to production and delivery of the product. One of the major markets in the Slovak Republic is the automotive industry, whose GVC is located in different parts of the world. An example is Volkswagen, which has major development and design centre located in Germany, with the assembly of many car models being implemented in Slovakia. The dominant aim of our article is to interpret the view of engagement and the position of the Slovak automotive industry in global value chains. Through the analysis, we focused on examining the effects of motor vehicle production on generating the value added in the home country and abroad. We have accentuated the value-added dimension by individual economic activities in the last stage of production and value added. We then compared the GVC with the V4 countries and Germany. Based on the comparison of selected economic indicators to the analysis of the participation index and the decomposition of Slovak exports, we determined the position of Slovakia and the automotive industry in GVC. Finally, we evaluate the results achieved and propose measures to improve Slovak participation in global value chains. The results show that Slovakia only engages in global value chains at lower levels of production. Proposals to support innovation could lead to a shift to higher positions.