Fostering innovation in Russian companies in the post-crisis period: Opportunities and constraints

In recent years the Russian innovation policy has made a significant progress that manifests in developing its ‘tool kit’, increasing resource base, etc. However it has not yet succeeded in improving business innovation activities that remain local thus not giving prerequisites to transform the general macroeconomic context. Basing on a survey of more than 600 Russian industrial enterprises the authors analyze key features of innovation in Russian companies under economic recovery, as well as stimuli and obstacles for innovation activities. In particular, the paper shows that lack of competition is the key factor discouraging innovation and that the most limiting constraints to business innovation activities are instable economic environment and intra-corporate bureaucratization. Significant attention is paid to the analysis of the use of various instruments of state support for innovation and their beneficiaries. One of the findings is that Russian innovation policy is "neutral" to the size of companies, but there is a lack of instruments engaging new companies in innovation activities. The authors also discuss two possible models of government support for innovation: the former relies on international innovation spillover and the latter on domestic innovation and import-substitution.