THE IMPACT OF INNOVATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN RUSSIA: ЕMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

The article is devoted to the study of the impact of different types of innovation on the efficiency of Russian SMEs. The purpose of the study is to assess the importance of different types of innovation for Russian SMEs and to determine the impact of types of innovation on the efficiency and competitiveness of SMEs. The research methodology involves a consistent approach combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. As a collection of information, a survey was conducted among owners of small and medium-sized enterprises in Russia on the use of innovations in the course of business activities in the last three years (2020–2023) and their impact on the company՚s performance. In addition, the experiences of some participants were explored through in-depth interviews. In total,

112 entrepreneurs took part in the survey. The results of the study showed that innovations are used by the vast majority of small and medium-sized enterprises in Russia. There is no stable relationship between the size of enterprises and the innovations they choose, although in some cases we can say that certain companies tend to a certain type of innovation depending on the number of employees. Organisational innovations are the least popular in enterprises innovation, and the greatest marketing; marketing innovations showed the highest percentage of negative experiences during implementation, despite the fact that they are the most popular category of innovations.

The majority of respondents see an improvement in the financial situation of the company according to various criteria and are satisfied with the results of innovation; at the same time, the larger the company, the more goals it pursues trough innovations. The smaller the business, the more interested it is in solving specific problems to increase sales, profits and customer loyalty. The larger the company, the more it follows the 360 strategy: that is, it pays attention to the creation of new goods and services, as well as to the introduction of innovations in production processes.

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