Modernization of Institutional Environment of Entrepreneurship in Russia for Development of Innovation Initiative in Small Business Structures

Abstract

1. Introduction Small business structures in economic process of reproduction are one of the main elements of sustainable innovational development, as they are the most dynamic and ensure national competitiveness and economic growth in long-term perspective. Substantiation of the main role of small business structures in the developed and developing countries is obvious, as they are the ones that create around 80% of jobs, and their contribution into formation of GDP constitutes 50%-80% (Report, 2015). Besides, their significance in development of new technologies is obvious--due to economic and social specifics and business qualities. Modern unstable state of the system of small business in Russia is caused primarily by imperfection of mechanisms of its development management. In particular, there is no system of cooperation of small business structures with subjects of large and medium business, due to which small innovational enterprises exist separately from enterprises of large and medium business--though the technologies they create are aimed for implementation in their production. At present, Russian economy goes through the period of adaptation to new socio-economic conditions of functioning and realia of current processes of globalization of the world economy; moreover, these conditions can significantly change under the influence of many external economic and political forces. Modern Russia faces serious economic conditions: ruble depreciation, the Central Bank key interest rate, economic sanctions, and limited access to foreign markets of loans and credits, which is a serious challenge for various types of modern business structures in Russia. Results of the conducted research of subjects of small and medium business show that most of existing small enterprises--legal entities (85.9%)--are micro-companies with up to 15 employees. These small companies provide a third part of jobs and 43% of revenue of the sector of small and medium business. Sectorial structure of the sector of small and medium business, as of year-end 2014, consists in the following: most of small and medium enterprises are involved in trade, transport vehicles service, and household goods service (38%), operations in the sphere of real estate and services (21%), construction (11%), minerals extraction, production and distribution of electrical energy, gas, and water (11%). Individual entrepreneurs work primarily in the sphere of trade, transport vehicles service and household goods service, service sphere, and agriculture. More than half of individual entrepreneurs (53%) are involved in wholesale and retail, transport vehicles service and household goods service, 11%--transport, 11%--real estate operations and service sphere, and 7%--agriculture and forestry. Recently, there has appeared a lot of enterprises which conduct their activities in the sphere of R&D work and production of high-tech and science-intensive products, but still priority in small business remains with companies of trade and service sphere--25%, real estate operations--21%, production and distribution of utilities (water, gas, electricity), minerals extraction--19%, construction companies, agricultural enterprises--7% (Federal State Statistics Service, 2014). This statistics shows that development of small business structures in Russia is peculiar for their low inclination for innovations, while there are a lot of small companies in innovational sector in the world. Modern tendencies of development of innovational activities of small business structures in the Russian economy do not fully correspond to expectations which would stipulate the formation of economy of innovational type, absence of tools and institutions of support which provide and stimulate innovational development of small business, imperfection of state regulation and management--all of this shows the necessity for creation of reliable institutional basis (order) of business environment, aggregated with changes in economy, based on leading regional and international experience. …