Innovation environment: concept, definition, creation and main functions

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

World experience shows that an innovative economy is created on the basis of entrepreneurship development. Peter Drucker, a well-known German scientist, emphasizes that innovation is a special business tool that generates new resources. In our article we will talk about the organization and factors of the innovation environment. Let's analyze the classification and the main functions of the category.

General provisions

Peter Drucker noted that a resource cannot become such until someone finds a use for something significant in nature, and thereby gives economic value to this object or concept. It should be borne in mind that in the modern economy, material (material) production often becomes not the main one, since they become obsolete approximately every 5-10 years. Intellectual resources, on the other hand, are constantly changing their own content. Thus, there is a continuous formationinnovation environment. This phenomenon is associated primarily with the global large-scale process of informatization of the economic sector, which increases the role of information in the management and organization of activities. It must be borne in mind that the informatization of production processes largely "draws" an innovative way to expand modern national economies.

In Russian conditions, the important prerequisites for the implementation of the concept of economic development in the field of innovation are the following:

• Creation of industrial and technological policy at the regional and national levels.
• Restructuring of the industrial area.
• Modernization of production in technical terms based on informatization.
• R&D development.
• Proper reform of the training system, as well as retraining of employees for innovation.

All of the above presupposes the formation of an innovative environment. In addition, these points together make up a variety of different social systems, which together create a favorable or unfavorable environment in the field of innovation. It is within its framework that the development of innovative activity takes place.

Creating an innovative environment

The formation of an innovation-type economy in Russia requires, first of all, targeted and serious training of specialists who are ready to solve applied and scientific problems, put forward new ideas, subject to the application of the existing base of scientific knowledge and experience oninterdisciplinary level. These employees must bring their own ideas to commercial and practical implementation. This alignment presupposes the organization of an innovative environment for an enterprise or another structure.

In this regard, two fundamentally new concepts have emerged in the innovation economy: innovator and innovator. Under the first should be considered a person who puts forward ideas, generates new knowledge. The innovator promotes them, thanks to which he organizes an innovative business and manages the innovative environment in the organization. They work inseparably from each other to create and subsequently develop a successful business, because inventing or discovering is not enough. It is necessary to bring the idea to the final result. Especially in the conditions of the modern economy, when it is required to show strength of character, apply extraordinary abilities in terms of organizational activities, show a willingness to take risks, and also be able to take responsibility.

Models of the innovation environment

Let's consider the category classification. Today it is customary to distinguish two types of environment in the field of innovation:

• External innovation environment. It represents the macro-environment and micro-environment (in other words, the far and near environment), which make up the external environment of anyone participating in the innovation process. They have either a direct (microenvironment) or indirect (macroenvironment) impact on the factors of innovation activity and, accordingly, on the final result. It should be noted that the componentsmacroenvironments are economic, social, political and technological spheres. Among the components of the external microenvironment, it is necessary to single out some strategic zones of management (abbreviated as SZH), the innovation market, the business area, the market for pure competition of innovations (innovations), the market for innovative investments (capital), links of the innovation infrastructure, elements of the administrative system that serve the innovation process. Knowledge of the external environment in the field of innovation requires a correct assessment of the innovation climate in the company.
• Internal innovation environment. In this case, we are talking about intra-company relations, connections formed by the state of certain links in the company's system that affect its activities in the field of innovation. It should be added that awareness of the internal innovation environment implies a competent assessment of the innovative potential of the company.

Knowing the environment as a whole allows you to assess the innovative position of the company.

Learn by example

Next, it is advisable to consider the organization of the innovation environment on a specific example. Two people took part in the creation of the Macintosh company: Apple innovator Jeff Raskin, and innovator Steve Jobs. Almost no one remembers the first, and the second became known throughout the world as a business genius of modern information technology.

The most important requirements for the training of innovators are the following elements:

• Notice and deliver(formulate) the problem.
• Propose solutions that may lead to a change in the social, political, technological or economic situation.
• Evaluate existing solutions and choose the best one.
• Design implementation of the solution.
• Design the evolution of the system, that is, manage change.

It is worth noting that the activity of innovators one way or another takes place in an innovative environment. In other words, we are talking about the totality of all objects, the change in the characteristics of which affects the system as a whole. That is why the creation of an innovative subject-developing environment is considered a defining component of the innovative development of all types of activities.

History of the concept

The concept of innovation environment appeared in 1980. Initially, it was a means of analyzing systemic factors in the organization of innovative activities of economic entities in order to develop new markets and form new production. It is worth noting that one of the first scientists who developed the definition of this term was Manuel Castells. He considered the innovative environment of innovative activity as a specific set of relations between production and management, which is based on social organization. It should be clarified that the latter shares instrumental goals aimed at generating new processes, new knowledge, as well as the creation of new products, and work culture.

The presented definition is based on the systemic principle. Within it, the researcheranalysis of the innovation environment and concludes that it is a combination of different systems that fully ensure the creation of innovative products, but only in the process of organizing production and its subsequent management.

Definitions provided in scientific literature

In the scientific literature, one can find various definitions of the innovative environment of enterprises. It is advisable to introduce some of them:

• The historically established political, organizational, legal and socio-economic environment that ensures or hinders the development of innovation. This is done to implement as well as increase the innovative potential of the environment. As it turned out, the classification into internal and external environment is appropriate here. It should be added that in this definition there is no clear interpretation of the specifics of the environment in the field of innovation - the relationship of various environments is considered.
• The set of processes, tools, mechanisms, human capital and infrastructure elements that support innovation.

It should be noted that the presented definitions of the innovative environment of enterprises suggest the subjective views of scientists and researchers on identifying the boundaries within which the formation of a system of innovative activity is carried out. It is worth noting that there is no single definition in the regulatory framework today. That is why each author has the right to give his ownpresentation regarding the innovation environment. It should be understood that the concepts "system" and "environment" are considered to be the basic terms of systems theory. Thus, the identification of the boundaries of the system in the environment surrounding it, the inclusion of specific objects as the system under study is done directly by the researcher, as a rule, on a creative basis. This rule is one of the main ones in terms of system analysis. Based on this, we offer a universal understanding of the term in question.

Universal Definition

Under the innovation environment, it is advisable to understand the totality of systems that are the fundamental core that forms the innovation activity, based on the classical theory of innovation by J. Schumpeter. That is why, in a generalized version, the Russian environment in the field of innovation can be represented as a combination of the following systems: entrepreneurship, education, science, technical and technological developments. It is important to note that in combination they ensure the full functioning of the overall system of innovative production, and also create an innovative product system.

Comments

Such a representation provides a basis for understanding the need, first of all, to organize the interconnection between the systems of education, science, developments in technical and technological terms and entrepreneurship. They represent the basic basis not only for the development of activities in the field of innovation, but also for innovative thinking, given the innovativedevelopment of modern society.

The entry into this environment of additional components (socio-economic and other systems) gives dynamics and expansion as favorable factors for economic development along an innovative path. It is necessary to know that the presented environment is considered the first level or area for the development of a national innovation state system. It is in it that the formation of the main subjects of innovative activity is carried out, that is, organizations and individuals that implement the creation and further promotion of the product in the field of innovation. All other systems that create the environment can also be classified as infrastructure.

Innovation infrastructure should be understood as a set of business entities, resources and tools that fully provide logistical, organizational, methodological, financial, consulting, information and other services for activities in the field of innovation.

Innovative entrepreneurship in Russia

Today, the development of innovative business activities for Russia is of strategic importance in the implementation of the national innovation policy. That is why government structures pay great attention to this issue. Creating a favorable environment for innovation is necessary in order to fully ensure high-tech production. The presented task is implemented by identifying and further applying the innovative capabilities of the systems discussed above, as well as creatingconditions for the effectiveness of activities in the field of innovation.

It must be remembered that the development of an environment that is favorable for innovation at any level is one of the main tasks set in the Strategy for Innovative Development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020. 08.12.2011 No. 2227-r.

The purpose, objectives and functions of the innovation environment in Russia

The main goal of forming an innovative environment on the territory of the Russian Federation is to create from the standpoint of the state. innovation policy of extremely favorable organizational (medium and small innovative structures), legal (regulation in the field of circulation of objects of intellectual property), as well as economic (tax credits, tax incentives for investments, cooperative research) factors for the effective development of the latest technical and scientific and technological achievements in production.

Key tasks to be completed in order to create an enabling environment for innovation in Russia:

• Assimilation in production, as well as the creation of market prerequisites for a high-tech competitive product (service).
• Creation of conditions for effective and dynamic renewal of both physically and morally depreciated fixed assets in the field of creating a high-tech competitive product (service).
• Creating conditions for efficientintegration of education, science, and industrial production for the full development and expansion of innovative potential.

It should be noted that the key function of the innovation environment is to ensure the proper development, subsequent implementation and application of new technologies, ideas, products, as well as improving the quality of social life through:

• Creating new jobs in services, manufacturing and science.
• Increase in revenues to the state budget by increasing the production volumes of a competitive science-intensive product.
• Solutions to national social and environmental problems through the application of the latest technologies.

Conclusion

So, we have reviewed the basic concepts and definitions of the innovation environment that are used today in the scientific literature. In addition, the key functions, tasks and factors of the category were identified. We have studied the classification and the current situation on the territory of the Russian Federation regarding this issue.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the formation of this environment in the Russian national economy should be based, first of all, on macroeconomic forecasts of socio-economic state development, as well as on the directions and state of development of ensuring the innovation area in the legal and regulatory plan. In addition, the most important factors are the forms of direct (including a single state order in the scientific and technological field) and indirect regulation of the innovation sphere withsides of the state, as well as the state and current trends in the development of the industrial and scientific and technological potential of the Russian Federation. Forecasts for the development of the domestic market of commercial products and labor must be taken into account in any case.

It has been established that the method used to this day to create systems for the development, subsequent implementation and dissemination of innovations, based primarily on an industry approach, is ineffective in today's market conditions. More attractive, as it turned out, is considered to be a methodology that is a problem-functional approach to the design of innovative systems. The main essence of the method is considered to be the orientation of management structures to solve the main problems of the industry, enterprise, territory.

The presented approach is based on a market-oriented model of the innovation system, which includes federal, regional and, accordingly, district levels. It is important to note that the strategic management of the environment in the field of innovation includes a subsystem for managing the creation and further development of scientific and innovative potential, which determines the provision of sustainable development of the country, taking into account the identified factors of the resource and innovation plan based on the adopted Federal programs. The key goal of developing these programs fully reflects their focus on overcoming problems, and also fits into the basic doctrines of the country's development for the coming years.