Book chapter
THE TYPOLOGY OF RUSSIAN REGIONS ACCORDING TO THE LEVEL OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Over the course of the study, the ratings of Russia’s regions were constructed according to the level of development of two categories of enterprises in the manufacturing sector: (a) small and (b) medium. This allowed for the identification of typological groups of regions that differed in their degree of balanced development of the manufacturing enterprises’ analysed categories. The features of the obtained regional segments, in relation to the direction (profile) and the level of economic development, are revealed in this study. It seems promising to build ratings of regions on the developmental levels of different size groups of manufacturing enterprises on a regular basis. This approach allows for the identification of changes to the positions of the Russian Federation’s subjects, the definition of the most successful regions, along with the dynamic nature of the development of manufacturing SMEs, as well as problem regions. Comparison of the composition of selected typological groups of regions in the dynamics is aimed at revealing structural changes that are taking place in a timely manner. The results of this analysis contribute to the development of measures that may further support manufacturing SMEs and may be adapted to regional characteristics, as well as identify effective forms of interaction between different enterprise categories in Russia’s manufacturing sector.
There co-exist several problems when measuring the level of competitiveness. The major one is that it represents an integral indicator of the enterprise performance. The indicator has something in common with the notion of the utility function used in economics. The latter one stamps a numerical equivalent of the utility associated by an individual from the consumption (or possession) of certain goods. Nevertheless, it stays an implicit (non-observable) function.
I report the results of observations of management practices in 20 Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of Western multinational corporations (MNCs). I argue that to counterbalance the higher country-specific risks associated with investing in Russia, MNCs impose on their Russian subsidiaries high demands for superior performance in terms of both technical and economic efficiency. My observations confirm that in most cases such demands are successfully met by the implementation of highly effective practices. Thus, I challenge several beliefs about industrial management in Russia, including the myths that Russian firms are hostile towards knowledge sharing and are wary of talent.
Little is known about how transfer processes are shaped by the underlying industry and its technical regimes. In our analysis, we differentiate between Science and Technologymodes of learning which incorporate the latest developments in research, and a more practice-oriented mode based on industry-specific knowledge. We test whether Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs), that provide technology transfer to firms, follow one or the other mode in correspondence to their customer’s needs. Our analysis is based on 67 Russian RTOs transferring technology either to low-tech or high-tech manufacturing firms. For high-tech manufacturing, the use of patents and the intake of scientists are vital for successful technology transfer. Own basic research is positively correlated only with transfer to low-tech manufacturing.
The chapter focuses on the alternative measures of the relative competitiveness of Russian manufacturing enterprises and on assessing the changes in the distribution of manufacturing firms by those measures between 2005 and 2009.
This study presents a snapshot of investment projects in manufacturing that were implemented by foreign investors in Russia during 2017–2018. We assemble a unique database of all new plants opened by foreign companies in Russia during 2012–2018 to clarify the distribution of investment projects implemented during 2017–2018 across industries and territories with different tax regimes. We also identify the most interesting individual investment projects, interrelated investment projects, and elements of collective actions. In general, foreign investors in manufacturing demonstrate high ingenuity in discovering and exploiting the remaining emerging growing market segments and promising niches in consumer and professional markets and express significant persistence in realizing investment projects. We also demonstrate the methods applied to decrease the uncertainty of the project costs by establishing partnerships with local foreign- and domestically owned companies and the attempts to correct the government’s decisions and regulatory measures that are uncomfortable for foreign investors.
To help countries achieve their full industrialization potential and fulfil the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and thereby improve their general welfare, UNIDO is promoting the concept of comprehensive and sustainable industrial development (ISID), which was established in the Lima Declaration adopted by UNIDO Member States on 2 December 2013. The UN General Assembly recognizes the significance of ISID as an important strategic direction for fostering global development in the future. ISID is a key instrument for achieving sustainable economic growth, the creation of quality jobs, the building of equal societies, the protection of the environment, and the active shaping of comprehensive sustainable globalization. The promotion of ISID as the key driver for successful integration of economic, social and environmental factors necessary to achieve full implementation of sustainable development by creating and improving countries’ industrial potential is the main priority of UNIDO’s current activities. To successfully implement ISID, UNIDO acts as a global forum for industrial development and the establishment of relevant international standards, including standards on industrial statistics [UNIDO, 2014; 2013a]. Accordingly, UNIDO has been implementing the regional project “Improvement of industrial statistics and development of statistical indicators for the analysis of industrial development in the CIS countries” since 2013. The project’s main objective is to provide methodological assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) national statistical services in implementing international standards on industrial statistics in the statistical practice and presentation of modern, internationally comparable information for a qualitative and reliable reflection of industrial development processes. This report presents the results of the statistical analysis describing the availability, quality and measurement capabilities of official statistics in the CIS countries accumulated over the period 2005-2014.