Content №2 от 2016
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Innovation Priorities and Development Problems
A variety of perspectives on contributions made by small, medium-sized and large enterprises to the innovative development of Russia and approaches to researching this problem indicate that this topic remains open for discussion. The article shows the reasons why small and medium-sized companies make a minor contribution to the innovative development. Basing on a survey among executives in Novosibirsk Oblast, we have found out that the majority of enterprises follow a conservative behavior model. Under new economic conditions, their innovation goals are still related to updating and expanding their production capacities. Research and development as a basis for developing fundamentally new competitive products is declared to be a priority only in a few companies surveyed. Among the wide range of state support measures for entrepreneurship aimed at easing institutional and structural barriers, the most important ones for small and medium-sized companies are financial instruments. The need to help develop cooperation ties and networking is not yet recognized as a priority.
