Import substitution lacks competence

Import substitution lacks competence



Among industries with a high share of imports of goods and technologies, the largest innovation potential is found in the manufacturers of computers, electronics and optical products, as well as machinery and equipment. Experts from the HSE Institute for Statistical Research and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) came to this conclusion. At the same time, according to a survey of industrialists conducted by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, businesses are experiencing a critical need for import substitution precisely in terms of purchasing components and equipment. Most of all, in their opinion, the lack of competencies and the scientific and technical base hinders building the necessary to replace imports of their own production facilities integrated with science.

For the first time, ISSEK experts assessed the innovative capabilities of large and medium-sized businesses in industries with a high share of imports of goods and technologies (assessments are given based on the results of 2021). In total, six such industries were identified: chemicals; vehicles; computers, electronic and optical products; machines and equipment; food and drink; metals. In all these sectors, the level of innovative activity over the past four years exceeded the national average of 11.9% (the share of organizations that carried out technological innovations). In the production of computers, electronics and optics in 2021, it was 49.6%; machinery and equipment - 42.4%; motor transport - 37.5%; in metallurgy - 26%, in the chemical industry - 25.3%; in the production of food and beverages -16.3%.

At the same time, according to the ISSEK estimates, the first two of the listed industries have a relatively high innovative potential - electronics manufacturers and machine builders. In the first case, 43% of manufacturers and 36% in the second have specialized research and design (NI and PC) divisions (on average in the Russian Federation - only 5.7%). The share of personnel engaged in research and development (R&D) in them is 10.4% and 2.6%, respectively. 23.8% of manufacturers of computers, electronic and optical products are constantly engaged in research, another 29.3% - periodically within the framework of specific projects. Among manufacturers of machinery and equipment, these figures are 12.4% and 29%, respectively.

The experts also assessed the share of enterprises that had cooperative ties in the field of R&D. Thanks to them, companies can expand the potential of research and compensate for the lack of their own competencies. Despite the fact that almost all companies in the six sectors mentioned above entered into contracts for the implementation of joint R&D with research institutes, universities and other organizations, the intensity of these ties is several times lower than foreign indicators. For example, in the US, the share of organizations with cooperative ties in the field of R&D is 73.2%, in China - 65.1%, in France - 30.5%. As for Russian manufacturers of computers, electronic and optical products, only 14.6% of organizations have joint projects in the field of R&D - and this is the highest result among six industries (on average for the country it is 2.3%).

It should be noted that in the conditions of a number of foreign manufacturers and suppliers leaving the Russian market, such cooperative ties could help businesses solve the problem of the lack of the necessary competencies. As shown by a survey of industrialists conducted by the RSSP, more than a quarter of organizations “have no competence in a number of areas, but they are compensated by hiring and / or attracting the necessary specialists (companies) on the basis of contractual relations.” However, the majority of surveyed companies — 40.7% — are still confident in their abilities in the matter of import substitution.

According to the survey, business experiences the greatest need for import substitution in terms of purchasing components and equipment. 31.7% of respondents critically need to replace components and assemblies, and 29.3% - equipment in general. The main obstacle to building a vertically integrated production to replace imported components on their own is considered by the majority of those surveyed by the RSPP (72.6%) to be the lack of competencies and the scientific and technical base of production in the Russian Federation.

Venera Petrova



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