Features of the Conjuncture Measurement of Entrepreneurs’ Digital Activity in Russia: Approach, Indicators, Pilot Results

Abstract

The process of the digitalization of economic activity currently raises many questions of economic and social policy in Russia that need to be solved with relevant statistical and analytical data.In this case, it is important to significantly increase the sources of efficient, accessible and comparable data on sectoral digitalization. The authors believe that the opinions and assessments of direct participants of digital events (economic agents from various kinds of economic activity) should also be taken into account when forming targeted decisions of policymakers aimed at the inclusive growth of the national economy, including through such force as digitalization.Therefore, in 2018 the Centre for Business Tendencies Studies at National Research University Higher School of Economics launched the pilot project focused on measuring the digital activity of Russian enterprises of main types of economic activity. The authors define the main task of the study as the development of such criteria for measuring the industry’s digital market conditions, sample requirements for respondents and a system of indicators that together with the results of the pilot surveys would allow the expert community to actually provide effective data and analytical support to entrepreneurs with forming of sectoral digital platforms.The main idea of the study is that the success of the country in promoting digital technologies is largely related to the possibilities of collecting large-scale qualitative data on digital trends, barriers and effects comparable to international counterparts.The review presents the main methodological principles and first results of pilot market surveys among industrial and commercial enterprises in Russia and outlines criteria for selecting indicators for the first pilot sampling. As an example, the section of the article devoted to key results of the 2018 pilot survey of industry uses analysis of digital transformation in medium-size and large manufacturing enterprises.Innovations in the 2019 pilot survey are addressed as an independent direction. In this regard the article notes that the survey program involves measuring ICTs capabilities and potential to increase resource and environmental efficiency in industry, evaluating investment activities related to green growth and aimed at the development and dissemination of green technologies and achieving environmental goals, assessing final consumption (demand) for environmental goods in trade, accounting for the development ICT technologies aimed at greening and resource efficiency by organizations.The article concludes that taking into account the first results of the market survey, the basic requirements for a system of market indicators were determined. These requirements reflect the level, directions, intensity, dividends, and effectiveness of digital transformation of the main kinds of economic activities for a more representative consideration of the digital contribution to GDP growth.