This paper is devoted to the study of the correlation between the perceived significance of indicators of innovation activity and their actual use at enterprises of the Russian manufacturing industry. A sample of 132 manufacturing enterprises in Russia was used for the analysis. It was found that the recognition of the significance and the actual use of financial and non-financial indicators varies significantly depending on the affiliation of companies to a particular innovation regime: radical innovators, technological innovators, effective producers, creators of value innovations and imitators. Three key performance indicators (KPIs) reflecting the company's focus on the introduction of technological innovations (the share of modern equipment in the company's technology park (taking into account the technological features of industries); the average time to adapt the acquired innovative product, days; the share of implemented patents from the total number of patents received by the organization) were recognized as important managers of companies belonging to technological and radical innovators (74.5, 76.9, 78.1%, respectively). Three key performance indicators reflecting customer orientation (the number of new categories of products or services introduced in the reporting year; the share of products certified according to international standards in the total production of the company; the percentage of innovative expenditures on the modernization of existing products/processes/business models in relation to the total innovative expenditures on products/processes/business models) were recognized as important companies classified as effective producers and creators of value innovations (83.4, 81.9, 76.8%, respectively).

But at the same time, the study showed that the most commonly used indicators are sales growth from new products (88.7%); the share of patents implemented (74.3%); total R&D expenses per 1 thousand dollars of revenue in the current reporting period (89.2%). In summary, conclusions are drawn about the actual application of key performance indicators of innovation activity by companies.

This study provides an evaluation of the effectiveness of the maize index insurance in reducing the risk exposure of small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe. Maize yields and rainfall data for the period 2010–2019 farming season were obtained from AGRITEXT and the NASA website. The Black-Scholes optional pricing framework was applied to estimate the prices of the maize index insurance. The mean root square loss (MRSL) was evaluated for the case where there is no insurance and where there is insurance. MRSL was compared for the two scenarios. The index insurance was found to be efficient in risk reduction as positive changes in MRSL were observed.

Technological changes taking place in Russia and in the world have an impact on many sectors of the economy, including the electric power industry. There has been a tendency for consumers to withdraw from centralized power supply due to a wide range of factors: the spread and cheapening of generation technologies using renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, as well as the development of smart metering systems. The proliferation of digital technologies of Industry 4.0 allows innovative energy technologies to be integrated together.

The purpose of this work was to identify and verify the effects generated by the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution in the electric power industry, and the resulting new models of interaction between consumers and energy companies in the electricity market.

At the beginning of the study, the effects of the spread of distributed generation (including the use of renewable energy sources), energy storage systems, smart electricity metering systems, as well as digital technologies of industry 4.0 were identified, and the impact of these technologies on changing the nature of consumer interaction and energy companies.

Further, the analysis of the main approaches to organizing the interaction of energy companies with a new type of electricity consumers - an active consumer, is carried out, and the key effects from the spread of active consumer models are determined.

At the end of the work, industry experts were interviewed with subsequent questionnaires, which made it possible to assess the prospects for deploying active consumer models.

The purpose of this article is to analyze consumer behavior and the formation of value proposition in the market of wine products. The analysis of sales of wine products, as well as the analysis of preferences in the choice of alcoholic beverages in Russia has been carried out. The analysis was based on a survey of 372 Russian consumers of wine products, as well as 47 wine companies from six Russian regions.  The survey showed that the most valuable characteristics for wine producers and consumers are the following: taste and price, price-quality ratio, aesthetics (design and packaging), composition, brand, possibility to taste and country of production. At the same time, it is possible to distinguish a number of different features between the value for consumers and the formation of the value proposition wine companies and consumers distinguish. The results of this study were the conclusions that wine producers should consider in the formation of the value proposition: the appearance of packaging, product disclosure, discounts and promotions.

 The activation of innovation processes always requires the presence of an appropriate enabling environment - an effective national innovation system (NIS), which determines the country’s ability to generate and implement various kinds of innovations. However, the formation of a full-fledged country’s innovation system is quite difficult, at least for two reasons: the presence of purely national features of the functioning of the main agents of change, as well as the specifics of the modern world, when many important processes for innovation go beyond individual countries, forming a globalized environment, the presence and the specifics of which determine the potential and strategic directions for the further development of each NIS. The scientific and methodological approach proposed in the paper is generally based on the hypothesis of the expediency of regulating a particular national innovation system development, taking into account its belonging to a certain basic type, which determines the specific features of development. For its implementation, the methods of genetic algorithms, cluster analysis, and neural network training were used. Within the framework of the study, four basic types of NIS were identified and qualitatively interpreted, which have characteristic features in the context of the quadruple helix concept of development. To identify the national innovation system, a neural network, which simplifies the modeling of its development, was built. As a demonstration of the additional possibilities of the toolkit, four supranational associations of countries have been identified and analyzed. The practical significance of the results lies in the possibility of conducting variable analytical and predictive studies in the course of substantiating the optimal directions for the further development of the national innovation system in terms of global and cluster trends.

The discovery of new genetic editing technologies (new genetic technologies, NGT) made it possible to change the genetic material of organisms faster, easier, more accurate and cheaper. Gene modification in the laboratory has become the most promising method of creating new crops. In all developed countries possessing such technologies, including Russia, the question has been raised for a long time whether NGT should be qualified in the legal field in a different way than previously known traditional methods of genetic engineering, which have been in practice since the 1970s.

The Russian and European experience of evaluating technologies in the field of NGT has been studied and summarized in order to overcome the mentioned barriers in the Russian agro-industrial sphere, solve import substitution problems, ensure the sustainable development of domestic breeding and crop production, and realize the competitive advantages available today in Russian legislation for Russian innovative firms and agricultural producers.

The options of modernization of the Russian legislation are considered, which would allow to consolidate and develop the successes of domestic scientists and breeders, to make it more stable and safe to provide Russian consumers (as well as importers of Russian food abroad) with high-quality and inexpensive food products.

For the first time, a comparative analysis of studies of new genetic editing technologies in the context of their industrial implementation and legal regulation, basing on analytics from leading European centers and Russian Federation institutions, was carried out.

The article reviewed the literature, which made it possible to identify groups of industrial companies in terms of sustainability and sensitivity to innovation risks. The conducted cluster analysis made it possible to single out four groups of Russian industrial companies according to the level of stability and sensitivity to innovation risks: leaders, innovators, conservatives and low-performing companies.

A study was also conducted to identify the level of risk appetite and the level of risk management culture for each cluster of industrial companies in terms of sustainability and sensitivity to innovative risks. As part of the study, approaches to risk management were identified for each cluster of industrial companies in terms of the level of sustainability and sensitivity to innovative risks. The article proposes measures to improve the risk management system of industrial companies. These activities will ensure the continuous development of industrial companies and increase their level of competitiveness.