Innovative activity, especially in modern conditions of fierce competition, is a necessary factor in the successful development of economic, technological, scientific and other structures. This applies to aspects of production, management and service in a variety of areas. In a broad sense, innovative development is a tool due to which individual indicators and characteristics of the modernization target are improved, but it can also be used in system transformation to obtain various positive effects of the core business.
Innovation Overview
The whole history of mankind is inextricably linked with the discovery and development of new technologies, thanks to which scientific and technological progress did not stand still and today is at an unprecedentedly high level. Moreover, in our days, innovations fundamentally affect the economic and economic activities of society. And a key role in shaping the nature of this influence is played by innovative development. This is a conditional innovation that can take place in the field of technology, labor organization, management or in the niche of technological development. The basis for new discoveries is a combination of the achievements of scientific knowledge and accumulated experience, however, the introduction of new products occupies an increasing place in innovation.
At the same time, it is impossible to consider innovations as a scientific and technical tool, acting in only one direction. We also feel the principle of the inverse effect of the economy and commercial structures as a whole on the quality of scientific research, the emergence and dissemination of new developments. Creativity, through which new ideas are generated even independently of material and technical factors, cannot be ruled out. Thus, the concept of innovation development infrastructure arises - this is a whole complex of factors and systems, which in principle form favorable conditions for scientific and technological progress. The main elements of this infrastructure include:
- Progressive legislative and regulatory framework.
- Institutions providing a high quality of life.
- Venture and science business.
- Developed platform for fundamental science.
- High level of education.
- An effective system for the production of high-tech products based on modern knowledge.
The innovation infrastructure may lie within the existing system of an individual company, region or state. In accordance with the characteristics of the object of its application, an appropriate list of its functional components is also formulated. In addition to the conditions for innovative activity itself, one can distinguish real objects of its production, which are usually understood as technoparks, technology centers, expert groups, incubators, etc.
Basic concepts
In the scientific community, when considering the essence of innovation, a number of concepts are distinguished that reveal this term from different points of view. The main ones include:
- Innovative activity. It is supposed to create an improved or new product (technological process), implemented within the framework of a specific industrial and commercial system.
- The innovation process. It means a natural, from a technological point of view, transformation of old or outdated solutions into new forms with new content, which ultimately helps to increase the results of activities.
- Innovation Policy. Usually applied to development strategies pursued by domestic authorities at the political level. in a narrower sense determines the direction and nature of the innovative development of enterprises in the socio-economic sphere.
- Innovative activity. Indicates the speed of transition of production to an innovative model, reflects the level of readiness for this process and the desire for change.
- Innovative susceptibility. The initial ability of the object to master innovative solutions.
Types of innovation in the context of development
Innovations can be applied in different environments with different specifics and implementation conditions, which determines the variety of classification features. The main features of this separation include:
- Areas of use. New developments find their place in management, organizational and production processes, ecology, material and technical support systems, etc.
- The reasons for the occurrence. Scientific and technological progress, as a rule, is determined by certain needs of society. At the current stage of scientific and innovative development, strategic and reactive factors are identified that determine the need for new ideas and solutions. Strategic innovations are proactive in nature, with the goal of providing a competitive advantage with a future perspective. Reactive factors, in turn, are dictated by the response to existing requests.
- The focus of the impact. Again, depending on the scope, the mechanism of action of innovation may differ. So, innovations can contribute to the expansion of enterprises, improve the introduction and modernization of technologies, optimize certain processes, etc.
- Terms of innovation. In this case, supporting and disruptive factors of modernization are distinguished. Supportive innovative development is a process aimed at stimulating production in order to increase its competitiveness, adjusted for the fulfillment of basic or planned tasks. In the second case, we are talking about the transition to a fundamentally new qualitative level, for example, to capture new markets.
- Place in the target exposure process. Innovations can be applied both as the main tool for improving a particular indicator, and as an additional means of increasing efficiency in the operation of an object.
Innovation development strategy
Effective application of innovations is impossible without a clear understanding of their tasks and mission, which is implemented by the target. Initially, key goals are set for the development, implementation and organization of ways to use innovations taking into account factors of instability of the external environment. An important role is also played by the tactics of managing innovative development, which is understood as the continuous process of generating and implementing set strategic objectives. The definition of this tactic is carried out on the basis of current problems and expert opinions, allowing to build a development model in the given conditions.
The innovation application strategy itself is formulated as a set of goals and objectives, allowing to transfer the target object or its individual characteristics from the current situation to a more favorable one. Characteristics can be understood as the managerial structure, technological support, the properties of the financial and economic model, etc. An important component of the innovation development strategy is the rules by which the developed project will be implemented. Both the rules and the principles of strategic development ultimately determine the nature of innovative stimulation. For example, an enterprise in line with such development can passively follow the market or use the policy of aggressive capture of new market sites, in both cases using similar innovative tools.
Innovation cycle
A specific technological product cannot be considered as a full-fledged derivative of the innovation process, since after the advent of a conditional innovation a lot of resources are required for its integration. For this reason, many companies involved in the development of high-tech products cannot compete even with more attractive offers. For example, Dell has long won the competition precisely because of the secondary factors for using innovative infrastructure, which included efficient logistics, new sales methods, a quality service support system, and others. Comprehensive accounting of all the factors for developing new solutions forms a complete innovation cycle. It is calculated on the basis of market forecasts, largely reflecting the activity of competitors. In the field of development of innovative technologies at the initial stage of project implementation, additional research is often required. Only on the basis of a ready development analysis can a decision be made on choosing a further development strategy within a given cycle.
Stages of the innovation cycle
The process of creating a product of innovation is almost always multi-stage and staged. At each stage of the cycle, certain manipulations with the product are performed, allowing to evaluate its characteristics, including in practical use. And this is not counting the period of direct development of the goods. So, the typical cycle of the innovation development system may include the following stages:
- Research activity. Data is collected on the environment of use of the product, the conditions of its use and the requirements for performance.
- Directly development.
- Production of the product in a small series.
- The transition to mass production.
At each stage, a small cycle is also implemented, mainly bearing the character of a test cycle. It can be represented by the concept of “planning-action-verification”. Depending on the results of a small cycle, at each stage, either an adjustment or a further movement of the product is performed. During testing, the result obtained at the current stage is checked for compliance with the requirements of the project plan. If it does not comply with the instructions, then completion is being carried out. By the way, many modern projects in strategic planning are initially developed taking into account the possibility of deviation from the original plan, as well as changes in individual requirements. This is precisely due to the dynamic competitive environment in the market and the constantly changing conditions of technological development.
Innovative development of Russia
The current stage of development of Russia in the context of innovation is characterized by a general upsurge in various directions, which is facilitated by state support. So, in recent years, several innovative projects have been implemented to create business incubators, technology transfer centers and technology-innovative economic zones. Innovative economic development in the Russian Federation still largely depends on the energy sector, where new developments also appear. Among the main areas of innovation in this area are:
- Updating the infrastructure of mining and oil refineries.
- Mastering new concepts of energy saving.
- Engineering solutions and technologies in nuclear reactions.
Also today, the strategy of innovative development of Russia, designed for the period up to 2020, is being implemented. Its description includes 30 sections that comprehensively affect socio-economic development programs. From the point of view of covering different areas, we can distinguish the concepts of the development of education, science and technology, an innovative economy and other programs aimed at the development of high-tech sectors of industry and the national economy as a whole. The most advanced sectors with priority development tasks include the nuclear power industry, space and aviation.
Innovation Performance
The importance of innovation may vary depending on the principles of their application and characteristics. In particular, they highlight radical, modifying and combinatorial innovations. Features of these categories should be considered separately:
- Radical. They are distinguished by high costs, aggressive implementation policies, a large number of risks and threats. As a result, they can count on obtaining a product with a high level of novelty, which gives a corresponding positive effect in the competition.
- Modifying. A carefully calculated and in some way insured development model, characterized by a low level of risk, a defensive strategy and a high degree of predictability. The modifying development of innovation can, with little effort and investment, provide a balanced increase in productivity and product improvement, but without a major breakthrough with changing market positions. This is a common development concept, which in terms of technological improvement gives more likely a cosmetic effect.
- Combinatorial Also a relatively predictable high-risk approach. A feature of combinatorial innovations is a high degree of foresight of expected market reactions, as well as the ability to expand market platforms and attract new consumer groups with small investments.
Innovation Issues
As world experience shows, innovation gives not only a positive, but also a negative effect, which largely determines the problems of their application. To a large extent, all the risks of innovation are associated with the need for constant support of the material, technical and scientific research base, under which we can count on the payback of the same progressive business projects. In Russia, a whole layer of problems of innovative development is associated with a lack of personnel engaged in advanced research and development. We are talking about qualified personnel capable of fruitful vigorous activity along with the leaders of the global intellectual environment.
Conclusion
Without innovative developments today, no state can aspire to a worthy representation in world technological and economic processes. The program of innovative development of the Russian Federation currently being implemented just reflects the ambitious goals of the Ministry of Economic Development to achieve high results in promoting the state in several directions. This applies not only to domestic economic and social blocs, but also to competition on the world stage. An example of this is the Skolkovo Center, which has every chance of becoming one of the largest innovative generators of ideas and developments in the 21st century.