Abstract
The chapter provides a retrospective analysis of entrepreneurship development in Russia from the 9th century to 2020. It highlights four periods in the development of SMEs in Russia and gives characteristics of each of the periods. It also highlights criteria for classifying enterprises as small and medium-sized businesses according to Russian legislation. A retrospective analysis of government programs to support SMEs from 1994 to 2020 was carried out. The state support program, effective since 2016, “Strategy for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in the Russian Federation for the Period Ending 2030,” is considered in detail. Attention is paid to target indicators of SME development until 2030. An analysis of measures of state support for SMEs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has been carried out, highlighting the most affected industries. An analysis of SMEs by region of Russia was also carried out. An analysis of SMEs in effected industries in the post-pandemic period is carried out.
TopBackground
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are one of the forms of organizing the economic life of a society with its own characteristic features: functioning in the local market, prompt response to changes in market conditions, close communication with consumers, narrow specialization in the market and the ability to organize their own business with small capital.
Scientists from various countries of the world are engaged in the study of SMEs. Let's assess some recent research.
Martí & Quas (2018) devoted their research to the problem of state support in the form of equity loans to Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises. After conducting an empirical analysis of 488 SMEs, they concluded that such support was more effective for enterprises operating in high-tech sectors of the economy.
Almost all SMEs want to achieve a stable competitive position and high efficiency, but there are the following factors preventing this: lack of resources, insufficient financial resources and lack of management experience, among others. A study by Songling & al. (2018) examines the impact of government financial and non-financial support on SME performance. The results of the study showed a significant impact of government support on the achievement of sustainable competitiveness of small businesses.
Research by Maher (2018) focuses on the important issue of state support for third-sector small businesses. This reference book covers topics such as government policies promoting social enterprise in the UK, legal issues and procurement policies. Improving the efficiency of SMEs in Nigeria through government support programs was explored by Peter & al. (2018). After conducting a case study of SME owners, they found that financing is a highly effective means of increasing productivity. But bureaucratic barriers prevent access to funds.
Sustainable development of SMEs in the United States is the focus of a study by Lamoureux & al. (2019). Enterprises in areas such as the use of renewable energy sources, waste recycling, and reuse of materials are most common. Small businesses work with local a supplier, which contributes to the resilience of the local economy. But to promote sustainable SME practices in the United States, smarter and more targeted government programs are needed. Rohadin & Yanah (2019) analyzed economic growth in Indonesia and found that the impact of SMEs on the country's economic growth was small and amounted to 12.5%. To increase the role of SMEs in the country's economy, it is necessary to introduce government measures to stimulate and support the export operations of enterprises. A reference book by Rahman & al. (2019) provides guidance on how small and medium-sized enterprises can achieve economic sustainability through the use of marketing and effective customer service.
Key Terms in this Chapter
City-Forming Enterprise: A large enterprise employing more than 50% of the city's population.
“Black Swan”: A philosophical metaphor that became widely used after the book by Nassim Taleb “Black Swan. Under the sign of “unpredictability” and is used to refer to rare and unexpected events that have serious consequences for all areas of life.
Out-of-Pocket Trade: This is a temporary, seasonal job outside the place of permanent residence, where one has to “retire”, leave the village, village.
Industrial Cooperation: Associations of small producers (handicraftsmen, artisans) for the joint production of consumer goods and consumer services.
Handicraft: Single or small-scale production of products using manual labour, in a primitive way, not organized, unskillful.
Roadmap: A convenient and popular planning method. Used for planning construction, government projects.
Artel: Uniting people to work together with a defined share in the income and shared responsibility.
Syndicate: A form of combining enterprises to carry out commercial activities (purchase of raw materials, sales of products, determination of prices for finished products) while maintaining production and legal independence.
Single-Industry Towns (or Single-Industry Cities): These are settlements, cities in which there is one large enterprise (city-forming enterprise). That is, the economic life of the city depends on the economic activity of the city-forming enterprise. The population of a single-industry town does not exceed 250 thousand people. The emergence of the first single-industry towns was associated with the development of mining enterprises. The further emergence of single-industry towns is associated with the industrialization of the economy. In Russia for 2020, there are 333 monotowns.
Craftsman: A person who owns a professional craft. He manufactures the final products custom-made in a handicraft way in his workshop (home). For example, a potter, blacksmith, tailors, etc.