T his study evaluates the import dependence of Russian industrial firms and analyzes the 'switch' to using Russian products and technologies in the context of their availability and firms' interest in them. The main information source for the study was a survey of company executives conducted in September-October 2015. The obtained results suggest that in quantitative terms the import consumption levels for manufacturing industries in Russia are relatively small, especially compared with the corresponding levels of Western European countries. At the same time, about two thirds of the surveyed companies are significantly dependent on imports, primarily imports of machinery and equipment. The main reason for the use of imports is the absence of Russian analogues. If they are present, there are problems with the low quality of those Russian analogues and the fact that they are not in line with the client's technological requirements. In general, a higher level of import dependence is typical of high-tech and Keywords: import of products, technologies, and services; import dependence; import substitution; Russian industry; technological level of production; firms' behavior. successful companies, which means that these companies are the most vulnerable to any import restrictions.The current import dependency level does not satisfy many companies which forces them to try to reduce this dependency: mostly it takes the form of switching to national suppliers, slightly less often -import diversification. The Russian import substitution policy is associated with an attempt to revive, modernize or create the missing production elements in the national economy, i.e., it is essentially vertical. However, in the absence of close work with the horizontal measures, such as the development of certain critical technologies, the formation of new areas of knowledge and filling previously missing science competences, such a policy is characterized by a 'limited shelf life' , constant lag, with a focus primarily on the price competitiveness. All this generates an expansion of an economy that is highly sensitive to currency fluctuations. A proactive import substitution policy linked to new emerging markets is needed.
1 Статья подготовлена на основе предварительных результатов анализа факторов спроса производственных компаний на технологические инновации и востребован-ности различных инструментов стимулирования инновационной деятельности, выполняемого Межведомственным аналитическим центром по заказу Минобрнауки России в 2010-2012 гг. Авторы выражают благодарность заведующему отделом научно-технического прогнозирования Института статистических исследований и экономики знаний (ИСИЭЗ) НИУ ВШЭ А.А. Чулоку, принимавшему активное участие в обсуждении методологии исследования.
System of innovation approaches-their emergence and characteristics. In Edquist (ed), System of Innovation. Technologies, institutions and organizations, London. 3 Teubal, M. (1996). R&D and technology policy in NICs as learning processes. World Development, 24 (3), 449-460; Teubal, M. (2002). What is the systems perspective to Innovation and Technology Policy (ITP) and how can we apply it to developing and newly industrialized economies? Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 12 (1), 233-257.
The study is focused on the cooperation of Russian companies with research organizations in implementing R&D projects during technological innovation. Taking into account behavioral changes, authors carry out a micro-level analysis based on empirical data of executive survey of over 600 Russian industrial firms (2011)(2012) and about 350 research organizations and universities (2012). The authors emphasize the key factors of firms' demand for outsourcing R&D reveal the main barriers to the development of university-industry cooperation and their particularities for different cooperation actors.The analysis shows that there is a positive relation between the size of a company and R&D outsourcing. As for the factor of age, the highest cooperation activity of Russian firms is observed among enterprises founded over 20 years ago. As far as concernes cooperation activity of research organizations, large ones are significantly more likely to cooperate with business. A common prerequisite for research organizations' R&D cooperation with business is sufficient academic ranking.Business and science evaluate differently various obstacles to effective cooperation. For firms, the main problems are the inflated costs of national R&Ds, insufficient research organizations' orientation at company needs, and low quality of developments. As for representatives of research organizations, they mention as barriers primarily the lack of companies' receptivity to innovation and inadequate information about promising developments. Businesses are more optimistic about cooperation with science if they already have a relevant experience of interaction. In the case of research organizations we observe a different pattern: most problems seem more significant to organizations conducting R&D in business interests.Keywords: innovations, university-industry cooperation, barriers to research and development, firm behavior JEL Classification: L20, O31, O32The study is based on the results of the research project supported by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration * Interdepartmental Analytical Center
IntroductionEvolutionary growth theory has become noticeably popular among experts and politicians in the past two decades (Metcalfe, 1994;Edquist, 1997). Innovation, according to the theory, is a complicated phenomenon characterized by high risks and requiring broader access to knowledge; hence interaction, cooperation, and partnership among various actors become the most important determinants of innovation processes and technological shifts in economies.The increased attention to the evolutionary growth model is caused by the fact that terms of performing innovation have changed dramatically. We can point to the following global changes that raise the value of interaction in the innovation field:(1) complication of technological innovation has significantly elevated the role of external knowledge sources, even for big companies;(2) the interdisciplinary character of research has become an important factor of...
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