Supplier Concentration and Strategic Import Dependence: Evidence from Slovakia
Viktória VÖRÖSOVÁ
https://doi.org/10.18267/pr.2026.vol.2587.34
Abstract: This paper analyses Slovakia’s strategic import dependence within global value chains, with a focus on the concentration of external suppliers of strategically relevant products. Recent developments in European industrial and trade policy, including debates on strategic autonomy and supply chain resilience, have highlighted the vulnerability of small open economies to disruptions arising from highly concentrated import structures. Using detailed trade data for the period 2019-2023, the study assesses supplier concentration in Slovakia’s imports by applying the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and combining it with an economic relevance threshold. The aim of the paper is to quantify strategic import dependence and identify concentration patterns that may increase exposure to external shocks and supply disruptions. The results indicate a temporary increase in supplier concentration in 2022, accompanied by a rise in the number of strategically dependent product categories, followed by partial moderation in 2023. Strategic dependencies are concentrated primarily in energy-related commodities and selected industrial inputs. The findings suggest that Slovakia’s import dependence is not systemic across the entire import structure but concentrated within specific economically significant segments.
Keywords: Strategic import dependence, Global value chains, Supplier concentration
JEL Classification codes: F14, F23
Fulltext: PDF
Published by: Prague University of Economics and Business, Oeconomica Publishing House
Year of publication: 2026
Online publication date: 20 May 2026
Copyright: Authors of the papers
ISBN 978-80-245-2587-7
ISSN 2453-6113
Pages 407-419