Integration Theory of Sustainable Regional Development - Presentation and Application

The article presents information about the new integration theory of sustainable regional development. It is an empirically verified theory; its main components are the business environment quality (BEQ), the innovation potential of companies (IPC), and the use of human resources (UHR). Its foundations can be expressed as follows: an improvement of regional quality of business environment stimulates the development of entrepreneurial activities with positive impacts on employment rate and creation of innovations; thus generated synergic effects reinforce the territorial integration of economy and regional competitiveness, which form the basic prerequisites for sustainable regional development. The objective validity of the theory has been confirmed mainly based on hypotheses that BEQ values have strong links to GDP level and further and correspond with the population of regions as the essential measure of their significance. Application of theory allowed formulating a regional development strategy of the Czech Republic.