THE GAP OF IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN IN BUSINESS BETWEEN 2014 AND 2016

In today´s very tough market struggle in the Czech Republic, more and more companies are aware that innovation is one of the key aspects leading to market success. The main research aim of this paper is to explore how “design” represents a business success trigger. This article examines the importance of four selected factors in the Czech Republic in 2014 and 2016 (design, quality, price, and reliability) in business success. Solutions were identified in two basic hypotheses (H1: Referring to the importance of design in relation to the success rate of the company, there is a difference between the companies conducting business in B2B and B2C markets; H2: Referring to the importance of design in relation to the success rate of the company, there is a difference among small, medium-sized, and large businesses) that were subject to statistical testing using chi-square and p-value. To evaluate results of the research, brief comparative analyses have been compiled. The conclusion builds on the authors’ 2015 study and shows changes researched on the issue of business importance. Design represents a very important competitive factor that influences their final decision. On the contrary, the company size specification does not influence the perception of the importance of design in Czech companies. The results clearly indicate only a minor shift. The “design” factor as the presumed business success trigger still has a weaker position compared to the rest of the examined factors. Quality and reliability have the strongest importance. In addition, there was a slight decline in the importance of the “product price” factor.