Journal of the National Research University Higher School of Economics

The new issue of the Foresight and STI Governance journal (2019 vol. 13, No. 3) presents analyses of theoretical and applied aspects of various countries’ innovation policies, and estimates of Russian cities’ and regions’ innovation potential.

The paper by Fred Gault “User Innovation in the Digital Economy” is devoted to innovation policy during digitisation, with the focus on households. The author describes competencies needed to create user innovations in various sectors of digital economy. 

After the period of rapid growth, the South Korean economy experienced a recession. The paper by Seong Soo Kim and Yo Sop Choi “The Innovative Platform Programme in South Korea: Economic Policies in Innovation-Driven Growth” analyses the reasons of this situation, and ways to overcome it. The authors emphasise the need to balance contradictory priorities of the innovation promotion policy, the need to increase people’s income, and provide a level competitive field for all players. 

The paper by Evgeny Kutsenko and Yaroslav Eferin ““Whirlpools” and “Safe Harbours” in the Dynamics of Industrial Specialisation in Russian Regions” studies specialisation industries and development patterns of Russian regions. The authors identified various types of regional specialisation, assessed the scale and depth of structural transformations, and the key development factors. 

The paper by Ekaterina Streltsova and Gleb Kuz'min “Russian Technograds: the Technological Profiles of the Cities” discusses technological specialisation areas and patent portfolios of Russian “technocities”. The authors identified technology areas where technocities have the strongest competitive advantages and the highest potential. 

Specific features of companies’ R&D investments are considered in the paper by Neo Molotja, Saahier Parker, and Precious Mudavanhu “Patterns of Investing into Business R&D in South Africa”. The bulk of such investments is made by large companies, while small and medium enterprises only rarely spend money on R&D. The results of the study may help design targeted policies to promote corporate R&D in various countries. 

The impact of strategic thinking on productivity of Russian small and medium companies is analysed in the paper by Galina Shirokova, Liudmila Ivvonen, and Elena Gafforova “Strategic Entrepreneurship in Russia during Economic Crisis”. The authors conclude there’s a positive correlation between the strategic focus and performance of small and medium companies, mostly those located in the Central Federal District. 

Social entrepreneurship opens wide opportunities for testing advanced policy tools designed to promote economic growth and innovation in the service sector. The study by Silvia Carnini Pulino, Riccardo Maiolini, and Paolo Venturi “Social Entrepreneurship Policy: Evidence from the Italian Reform” presents the Italian landscape in this area, and proposes a model for measuring the reform’s impact on innovation, technology adaptation, and job creation. 

You can buy the latest issue of the Foresight and STI Governance journal in Moscow at the HSE’s own shop BookVyshka (20 Myasnitskaya St.), or subscribe to the paper edition. The electronic version is freely available on the journal’s website, online libraries e-Library and Cyberleninka, and through mobile applications available at AppStore and GooglePlay.