Ecosystem of structural and technological development: restarting growth of firms and entrepreneurial factor

The article examines the problem of structural and technological development of the Russian economy in conditions of an unfavorable external environment. In the context of the digital transformation of the economy at the micro level, several areas of the structural and technological development can be distinguished: generation of new business, accelerated development of successful (growing) enterprises, transition to restarting growth of enterprises that have been showing declining sales for a long time. The purpose of the work is to study the restarting growth of firms. The article assesses its economic results and also explores the influence of the entrepreneurial factor on the transition of enterprises to the restarting growth. The full sample consists of 2 918 enterprises that have been demonstrating a decline in revenue for a long time. This sample has been divided into groups of organisations that show and do not show the restarting growth. Using economic and mathematical methods, we have assessed the rate of revenue growth and examined the influence of the enterprise manager’s personality on the transition to the growth in the context of formed groups of companies. The paper has found that firms with the restarting growth show high rates of revenue growth that exceed its decline during the problematic period. The best results are demonstrated by a group of enterprises with the long-term rapid growth. Consequently, enterprises with the restarting growth can be considered as one of the options for the structural and technological development of the Russian economy along with the generation of new firms and development of growing enterprises. It has been proven that one of the growth factors is human capital, namely the head of the organization (entrepreneurial factor). Manager replacement has occurred more frequently in the group of enterprises with the long-term restarting growth compared to the group of enterprises that have not shown it. We believe that new leaders have initiated processes of digital and technological transformation of the business that lead to long-term growth.

1. Abduzhalilov H.A., Avanesyan K.A., Ajdarkina E.E., Alyokhin V.V., Alyoshin A.V., Ali B. et al. Ecosystems in the space of a new economy: monograph. Rostov-on-Don – Taganrog: Southern Federal University; 2020. 788 p. (In Russian).

2. Adizes I. Managing corporate lifecycles. Santa-Barbara: Adizes Institute; 2004. 460 p.

3. Adner R. Prosperity strategy. A new look at competition, business ecosystem development, and leadership. Trans. from Eng. A. Zakharov. Moscow: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber; 2023. 300 p. (In Russian).

4. Chistyakova E.A., Sokolova O.Yu., Zakharova S.V. Common digital ecosystems of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. Vestnik Saratov State Socio-Economic University. 2020;2(81):37–40. (In Russian).

5. Denisov I.V., Polozhishnikova M.A., Kuttybaeva N.B., Petrenko E.S. Digital business ecosystems: business platforms as a means of increasing the efficiency. Issues of innovation economy. 2020;1(10):45–56. (In Russian). http://doi.org/10.18334/vinec.10.1.100662

6. Dyatlov S.A., Litvinova N.A. Ecosystem of human capital reproduction in the digital economy: methodological approaches to research. Innovations. 2022;2(280):42–48. (In Russian).

7. Filimonov I.V. Digital ecosystems: subject identification issues. Innovations and Investments. 2020;6:51–58. (In Russian).

8. Flek M.B., Ugnich E.A. Formation of human capital in the real economy sector: ecosystem approach. MIR (Modernization. Innovation. Development). 2022;2:154–171. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.18184/2079-4665.2022.13.2.154-171 Gasanov M.A., Potiagailov S.V., Volkova A.L. Digital ecosystem of structural shifts in economics. Tomsk State University Journal of Economics. 2023;61:40–54. (In Russian). http://doi.org/10.17223/19988648/61/4

9. González-Uribe J., Reyes S. Identifying and boosting “gazelles”: evidence from business accelerators. Journal of Financial Economics. 2021;1(139):260–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.07.012

10. Goswami A.G., Medvedev D., Olafsen E. High-growth firms: facts, fiction, and policy options for emerging economies. Washington: World Bank; 2019. 193 p.

11. Kolmykova T.S., Kovalev P.P. Ecosystems as a global trend in the digitalization of the economic space. Society: Politics, Economics, Law. 2023;5(118):123–128. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.24158/pep.2023.5.17

12. Leydesdorff L. The evolution of communication systems. Journal of Systems Research and Information Science. 1994;6:219–230.

13. Linder M., Williander M. Circular business model innovation: inherent uncertainties. Business Strategy and the Environment. 2017;2(26):182–196. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bse.1906

14. Mashegov P.N., Zajtsev A.G., Lebedev M.A. Strategies for the formation of elements of innovative entrepreneurial ecosystems (on the example of engineering support for small innovative enterprises). Central Russian Journal of Social Sciences. 2016;5(11):180–186. (In Russian).

15. Mikhailyuk M.V. Digital entrepreneurial ecosystems. Financial Research. 2022;4(77):50–59. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.54220/finis.1991-0525.2023.77.4.006

16. Moore J.F. Predators and prey: a new ecology of competition. Harvard Business Review. 1993;3:75–86.

17. Pavelieva T.U. NBIC-convergence and its impact on the development of modern science. Sociopolitical Sciences. 2018;4:66–68. (In Russian).

18. Piaskowska D., Tippmann E., Monaghan S. Scale-up modes: profiling activity configurations in scaling strategies. Long Range Planning. 2021;6(54):102101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2021.102101

19. Pique J.M., Berbegal-Mirabent J., Etzkowitz H. Triple helix and the evolution of ecosystems of innovation: the case of Silicon Valley. Triple Helix. 2018;11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40604018-0060-x

20. Pokorná P. Financial sources for company scale-up. In: Developing entrepreneurial competencies for start-ups and small business. Hershey: IGI Global; 2020. Pp. 97–108.

21. Spitsyn V.V., Leonova V.A., Bragin A.D., Tsibulnikova V.Yu., Spitsyna L.Yu. Sustainable development of enterprises after stagnation: identifying growth factors using analysis of varience. Journal of Creative Economy. 2023;6(17):2081–2096. https://doi.org/10.18334/ce.17.6.117867

22. Spitsin V.V., Leonova V.A., Spitsina L.Yu., Bragin A.D. Stagnation and renewable growth of enterprises: an empirical analysis by sectors of the Russian economy. Vestnik universiteta. 2023;7:178–187. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.26425/18164277-2023-7-178-187

23. Willis A.J. The ecosystem: an evolving concept. Functional Ecology. 1997;2(11):268–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.1997.00081.x