Best Innovation Policy Practices in the New Issue of ‘Foresight’ Journal
The new issue of Foresight journal (Vol. 13. No. 3) focuses on the theoretical and applied aspects of innovation policy in different countries, as well as assessing the innovation potential of Russian regions and cities.
Fred Gault’s paper ‘User Innovation in the Digital Economy’ reviews the current state of user innovation in the business and household sectors and considers the impact of the digital economy on user innovation. Outcomes of the study include the implications for the skills needed to support user innovation in different economic sectors of the digital economy and the relevance of user innovation to policy objectives.
After several decades of rapid development, South Korea has recently experienced a critical economic downturn. The paper 'The Innovative Platform Programme in South Korea: Economic Policies in Innovation-Driven Growth’ by Seong Soo Kim and Yo Sop Choi considers the prerequisites for the current state-of-the-art, as well as the new economic policy agenda aimed at fostering innovation in various sectors, thereby suggesting improved policy directions. For this policy to be successful, the authors believe, it is vital to understand and resolve the trade-offs between contradictory policy priorities — including innovation-led growth, income-led growth, and a fairer economy.
The paper by Evgeny Kutsenko and Yaroslav Eferin ‘“Whirlpools” and “Safe Harbors” in the Dynamics of Industrial Specialization in Russian Regions’ analyzes sectors of specialization and sectoral dynamics in the regions of the Russian Federation. It proposes a typology of regions depending on the number of specialized industries and the depth of sectoral development.
The paper by Ekaterina Streltsova and Gleb Kuzmin ‘Russian Technograds: The Technological Profiles of the Cities’ discusses the technological specialization and patent portfolios of Russian ‘technograds’ — those cities which are the key actors in contributing to the development of new technologies in the country. The researchers identify technological areas where these cities have a significant competitive advantage and high potential for further growth.
The paper by Neo Molotja, Saahier Parker and Precious Mudavanhu ‘Patterns of Investing into Business R&D in South Africa’ explores patterns of business investment in research and development. Major financial and other assets are concentrated within a few large companies in a limited number of industries, while the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises invest in R&D projects only sporadically, and for a period of no more than two consecutive years. The research results suggest different approaches to policies supporting R&D performance in the business sector not only in South Africa, but also in other countries.
The paper by Galina Shirokova, Liudmila Ivvonen, and Elena Gafforova ‘Strategic Entrepreneurship in Russia during Economic Crisis’ aims to explore the relationship between different components of strategic entrepreneurship (in particular entrepreneurial mindset, innovation, managing resources strategically, and competitive advantage) and SME performance during the economic crisis. The findings suggest that the entrepreneurial component of strategic entrepreneurship is positively related to SME performance in the Central Federal Region during the economic crisis.
Social entrepreneurship represents an interesting opportunity for policy makers to explore new frontiers of economic growth and implement innovation in a potentially growing services sector with possible job opportunities coming from new job creation in the upcoming decades. The paper by Silvia Carnini Pulino, Riccardo Maiolini, and Paolo Venturi ‘Social Entrepreneurship Policy: Evidences from the Italian Reform’ considers the broader picture of this phenomenon, as well as proposing a model for interpreting the impact of the recent Italian reform of the third sector at various levels of the ecosystem, an approach which favors innovation, technology adaptation, and greater employability.
The new issue of Foresight is on sale at BookVyshka bookshop in Moscow at 20 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa. Printed versions of the journals are also available by subscription. The free online version is available on the journal website, online libraries e-Library and Cyberleninka, as well as through the AppStore and GooglePlay.