Designing a multi-division model of national innovation capability promotion based on social network analysis

Purpose This study aims to design a national innovation capability appraisal model. This would indicate Iran’s competitiveness situation among regional countries and suggest factors influencing Iran’s performance promotion. Design/methodology/approach The methodology included four sections: bibliometric analysis to discover intellectual evolution of innovation capability and related concepts; construction of a multi-division structure of national innovation capability according to the clusters extracted from bibliometric results, and experts’ opinions; creating dynamic network data envelope analysis (DEA) according to designed structure, and analysis of Iran’s performance among regional countries; identification and prioritization of the factors extracted from experts’ opinions that improve Iran’s performance in created network using Fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method. Findings The contemporary bibliometric analysis by its extracted clusters proved the necessity of a multi-division for measuring national innovation capability performance that each division and indicators of each step were designed according to clusters concepts. In designed structure, dynamic network DEA results revealed the weakness of Iran’s performance in the third division in the transformation of patents and high-tech imports to high-tech and creative exports, which led to proposing improving factors by getting experts’ opinions to enhance Iran’s performance in this division by prioritizing them. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations of this research was that the indicators used in three phases of national innovation capability in DEA were extracted only from the World Intellectual Property Organization database. Another limitation was the number of experts in focus group sessions because due to the difficulty of gathering them in one session, the researchers lost the participation of some of these recognized experts. Also, the research concentration was on the improvement of the third phase of national innovation capability, in which Iran’s performance was weak. Originality/value Creating a relationship between the divisions of dynamic network DEA, as a national innovation capability appraisal model, and the concepts of clusters extracted from reviewing the intellectual structure and evolution of innovation capability and related concepts.

The trends of export activities development of small and medium enterprises: world experience and russian practice

The article analyzes the peculiarities of export activities of small and medium-sized businesses, shows the high involvement of companies belonging to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the high-tech sector. The contribution of SMEs to the creation of the value of a product/service through the introduction of innovations and their adaptation to different contexts by providing new or niche products that meet the diverse needs of customers is noted. Based on the analysis of the world practice of export activities of SMEs, the author concludes that SMEs can contribute to economic diversification and economic sustainability. This is especially true for resource-rich countries that are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in raw material prices. The emphasis is placed on the analysis of the export activity of Russian SMEs, an insignificant share of SMEs in the total volume of exports in comparison with other countries is highlighted. It is concluded that Russian small and medium-sized businesses are in the process of formation, which makes them vulnerable to the influence of both external and internal threats. It is shown what impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on SMEs. It was emphasized that the main problems for such companies were non-fulfillment of contractual obligations and a sharp decline in demand.

Substitution effect in high-tech industry in the USA in foreign trade share and domestic market protection

The transition to the sixth technological order, characterized by the systemic elements of the information revolution, requires a comprehensive analysis of the aggregate dynamic processes trade operations in the context of the respective commodity groups. Using the traditional methods of the statistical and economic method, in general terms, reduced to the formula: "domestic production + import - export", the relative quantitative indicators of the share of imports and exports of products of the leading high-tech industries of the United States were calculated for specific periods of time in the period 1951–2020, correlated with domestic production for the same period. Thus, an assessment of the impact of the "substitution effect" in the high-tech industry of the United States is given in relation to the volume of exports and imports in the context of certain groups of analyzed industries. The empirical results obtained contributed to the identification of trends in the regulation of American imports of high-tech industry products to protect the domestic market under the influence of the substitution effect in US foreign trade in the period under consideration. The main conclusion is that the priority in the focus of American foreign trade policy in terms of protecting the domestic market of high-tech industrial products, was and remains a flexible, expedient (in terms of substitution and integration vectors) combination of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on imports.

Public-Private Partnership for the Development of Space Sector in the United States and Great Britain

The article provides an analysis of modern trends in building public-private partnership (PPP), gives an overview of key studies devoted to this subject in general and PPPs in the field of space activities in particular. The authors analyze the practice of public-private partnerships in the U. S. and Great Britain on the examples of specific mechanisms, their key features, advantages and disadvantages that determine the possibility of their application in different areas of government-business cooperation in the field of space exploration. In order to find possible ways for direct application or adaptation of this experience in Russia for organizing space exploration PPPs the researchers concluded that the level of high-tech production in this country is insufficient and significant administrative barriers for attracting private sector into the space industry are still present.

Creating and Managing EU Funded Research Networks: An Exploratory Case

The collaborative European funded research and development landscape drives competitiveness among innovative organisations. Recently it has seen the rise of public private partnerships significantly impacting the dynamics of these networks. Thus, the complexity of managing research networks has intensified with the increased diversity of research network members. Additionally, the emergence of the academic entrepreneur has augmented the focus of educational institutions to include innovation and building start-up organisations. The impact of research is scalable if an optimum research network is created and managed effectively. This paper investigates network embeddedness; the nature of relationships, links and nodes within a research network, specifically their structure, configuration and quality. The contribution of this paper extends our understanding for establishing and maintaining effective collaborative research networks. The effects of network embeddedness are recognized in the literature as pertinent to innovation and the economy. Network theory literature claims that networks are essential to innovative clusters such as Silicon valley and innovation in high tech industries. The concept of embeddedness is what differentiates network theory from economic theory. This study adopts a qualitative approach and uncovers some of the challenges of multi-disciplinary research through case study insights. One challenge is competition between network members over ownership and sharing of data. The contribution of this paper recommends the establishment of scaffolding to accommodate cooperation in research networks, role appointment, and addressing contextual complexities early to avoid problem cultivation. Furthermore, it suggests recommendations in relation to network formation, incubation and operations. The network capability is enhanced by the recognition of network theory, open innovation and social exchange with the understanding that the network structure has an impact on innovation and social exchange in research networks and subsequently on research output. The research concludes that the success of collaborative research is reliant upon establishing a common language and understanding between network members to realise their research objectives.