Approaches to Assessing the Strategic Sustainability of Large, Medium, and Small Enterprises in the Depressed Regions of Russia
Authors: Kuznetsov Yu. V. , Anokhina E. M. , Melyakova E. V. 
Published: December 2019

The presented study examines the results of the assessment of the strategic sustainability of the complex of large, medium, and small enterprises in Russian regions. The specific features and parameters of the complex of enterprises in the depressed regions of the Russian Federation are identified. The hypothesis about the dependence of the economic indicators of regional development on the strategic sustainability of enterprises operating in the region is confirmed. Directions for applying the results of this study to boost the economies of the depressed Russian regions by improving the management of the complex of enterprises are proposed. Aim. The study aims to analyze the methodological approaches to assessment proposed by the authors as well as the strategic sustainability of large, medium, and small enterprises in the depressed regions of Russia.

Tasks. The authors develop a methodology for analyzing the strategic sustainability of the complex of large, medium, and small enterprises in Russian regions as a crucial factor of regional economic growth; identify specific features in the development of this complex in the depressed regions of Russia by calculating an integrated index for performance assessment – index of strategic sustainability of the complex of enterprises in the region; determine the sustainability parameters of the complex of enterprises in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation based on the developed system of indicators. According to the results of the study, the authors characterize directions for improving the management of the complex of large, medium, and small enterprises.

Methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study comprises theories and concepts of the role of enterprises and entrepreneurship in regional economic development, allowing the authors to propose definitions for the concepts of ‘strategic sustainability of the complex of enterprises in the region’ and ‘regional profit center’. This study also uses general scientific methods: analysis and synthesis, comparative and statistical analysis, systematization, calculation of an integrated index, cluster analysis, and correlation analysis. The calculations are based on the data of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, Russian Federal Tax Service, and SPARK database by Interfax.

Results. The study shows that the complex of enterprises in depressive regions is not strategically stable. In comparison with regions where the socio-economic development rate is higher, the depressed regions of the Russian Federation have a significantly lower proportion of large business enterprises, lower labor productivity and innovative activity of enterprises, less favorable demography of enterprises, much lower share and growth rate of corporate income taxes in the total tax revenues of the region, and other indicators pertaining to the analysis of activity of enterprises. This confirms the hypothesis of the dependence of regional economic development on the business structure of the region and makes it possible to propose ways of improving the management of strategic sustainability of enterprises in depressed regions for federal and regional authorities.

Conclusions. The complex of large, medium, and small enterprises in depressed regions is characterized by low and extremely low sustainability parameters, which affects the economic and social development of the regions. Many key indicators of the development of depressed regions over the past 30 years have values below 50 % of the average level in Russia. Improvement of the management of development of depressed regions should focus on enhancing government support tools that facilitate the development of the complex of enterprises in the regions. The management of sustainability of the complex of enterprises in a region should be integrated into the strategic management system at the federal and regional level.