TECHNOLOGY & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
IN DIGITAL SOCIETY

On November 30, 2022 at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation in Moscow the TEDS'22 was held. It has once again become magnet for theorists and practitioners in the field of management sciences not only from Russia, but also from France, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Tajikistan. More than 450 people gathered at the site of the Financial University to share the results of their research, exchange views and share best practices. The event was organized by the Department of Management and Innovation, the Faculty of Higher School of Management, Financial University. The co–organizer was the Real Economy Publishing House.

On the first day of the conference 17 student section meetings were held, as well as a section of university lecturers "Investment management in the real sector of economy".

The highlight of the second day was a plenary session on the topic "The secret ingredient: how to build a strategy in new conditions?". Welcoming the audience, Dean of the Faculty "Higher School of Management", Professor of the Department of Management and Innovation of the Faculty "Higher School of Management" of the Financial University, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor Arkady Trachuk stressed that the current conference was an anniversary one and traditionally its participants would have a rich programme.

"The sections planned within the framework of the conference encompass all the main aspects of management issues – management in commercial organizations and state municipal management, as well as general management issues. I think those who are involved in the work of the sections will enjoy it, they will find something important and useful in the reports of colleagues," Arkady Trachuk stressed.

Delegates from different regions of Russia took part in the conference: Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Vladimir, Sverdlovsk, Ivanovo, Samara, Rostov regions, Perm Krai, the Republic of Bashkortostan, Donetsk People's Republic.

"We welcome representatives of more than 30 universities from the Russian Federation and other countries, as well as scientific research centers and institutes, organs of governance and commercial organizations. I would like to note that our conference is not only for accomplished scientists, but also for those who are dipping their toe into science – student sections are organized especially for them," Arkady Trachuk specified.

In his report he told about the imitation strategies of Russian industrial companies and presented the results of a corresponding study. The research included three stages. At the first stage they formed a sample and conducted online surveys in companies. At the second stage they clustered companies according to the type of implemented strategy. At the third stage they analyzed the effectiveness of imitation and innovation strategies. The survey involved 132 industrial companies, including representatives of food, chemical industry, production of machinery and equipment.

During the study it turned out that most times Russian companies imitate product features, since unlike the business model and manufacturing process, the product features are visible and it is easier to reverse engineer them. The least number of companies copy the design and brand. At the same time a majority of companies, while implementing imitation strategies, would like to attract new consumers, maintain the desired market share and sales volume.

Professor Jean-Eric Pelet, who works on topics related to consumer behavior when using a website and other digital systems (e-learning, knowledge management, e-commerce platforms), and how the interface can change this behavior, made a report on the topic "Considering the importance of the convenience of last-mile home delivery with cargo bikes".

"E-commerce would not exist without delivery services, without an established supply chain management process," the expert said. - Bikeways for cycling, movement of cargo bikes and universal means of delivery are increasingly appearing in large cities. Why shouldn't we use bikeways to help the development of e-commerce? Cargo bikes can become a good alternative to vehicles used for the delivery of various goods and products – this is a safer mode of transport for the environment."

Despite the fact that cargo bike has a cargo-carrying capacity less than a traditional vehicle has (only 250 kg), it is quite possible to deliver food, medicines and even compactly packed mattresses, as well as various fragile goods. The author of the report gave relevant examples.

Vice-rector for commercialization and Director of the AlmaU Technology Commercialization Center at the Almaty Management University, founder and CEO of Marchmont Capital Partners, venture investment expert Kendrick Davis White spoke about the situation in the scientific area. In his opinion, in recent years there was a real breakthrough in this area, due, among other things, to the fact that now scientists often join forces, and their scientific work has reached new heights.

"In my opinion, the Russian Federation has unique scientific solutions that can change the world. The problem is that sometimes scientists in Russia and Kazakhstan, engaged in new developments, do not think long-term, namely, who will become their future buyer," Kendrick Davis White stressed.

According to the head of the project on state export support of Russian Export Center JSC, Candidate of Economic Sciences Daniil Kupreev, such a secret ingredient for building a strategy in new conditions may well be measures of state support.

"The sphere of FEA has probably suffered the most in the conditions of sanctions issued by unfriendly countries," the expert believes. - De facto they are closing the traditional for our exporters countries, the exporters are forced to redirect their supplies to new markets, to promote them. Logistics chains are breaking, the exporters logistics costs, fundraising costs and costs in other areas are increasing. In these conditions, the support of the government is very significant."

The Russian Export Center JSC (REC) actively supports the export. Currently they are implementing 12 state export support programmes. The portfolio of support programmes in 2022 is 51 billion rubles (+65% compared to 2021). 65 billion rubles will make up the portfolio of support programmes in 2023 (+28% compared to 2022). Three support programmes are implemented in digitized form (AIC transportation and 2 exhibition programmes). Two programmes are planned to be implemented in 2023 in digital form (pavilions, AIC certification).

The speech of Director on Business System Development of the Severgroup, Ph.D. in Technical Sciences Alexander Kolobov concerned strategic management of the development of Russian diversified business systems.

The speaker stressed that the diversification strategy versions used by diversified companies tend towards predominance of related, horizontal diversification. Widely diversified conglomerates in the current period often refocus in order to increase concentration in groups of related industries. At the same time, corporations are looking for new types of connectivity of corporate business units (information technology, based on intellectual resources, business models, similar dynamism of industries).