Home – Home – Jornals – Region: Economics and Sociology 2021 number 4

The main objective of this research is to identify which regional-level environment factors affect the emergence of high-tech companies and assess this impact’s orientation. As an empirical basis, the research uses the indicators of high-tech and knowledge-intensive companies by regions available in the SPARK Database of Russian Companies, regional economic development indicators issued by Rosstat, and public information provided by government authorities. We have evaluated how new companies form by the number of firms under three years of lifespan with non-zero revenues. Another factor analyzed was the ratio of this number to total employment in the region. Regional environment factors were considered in five sets: innovation potential, human resources potential, general characteristics of industrial production, state support of innovation activity, and partnerships among innovation companies. We paid special attention to the last two. Analyzing the general characteristics of the sample formed has proved that young companies are exceptionally unevenly distributed over the country, with 47.8% operating in five regions only. Of all firms, 96% belong to the category of microenterprises. The results of econometric calculations have revealed that the federal funding of innovation activity at the regional level is positively significant in general, as well as organizations being involved in joint R&D projects. Meanwhile, regional budget participation and channeling of federal resources to support innovative infrastructure for SMEs, similarly to whether regional firms are part of clusters and technology parks, do not yet have a noticeable impact on the emergence of new high-tech enterprises.