Monitoring the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises as a tool for public-private cooperation in modern Russia

Introduction. In modern Russia, the issue of increasing the effectiveness of interaction between the state and small and medium-sized enterprises seems relevant for a number of reasons. Firstly, the existing mechanisms of state support for small and medium-sized businesses need to be improved. Secondly, small businesses are not sufficiently involved in socio-economic transformations. Thirdly, the existing mechanisms of government-public interaction do not allow us to fully articulate the demands of business in relation to the state, as well as convey to entrepreneurs the expectations of the government.

Purpose. To evaluate the monitoring of the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, implemented by the All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium-sized Businesses "New Formation", from the perspective of the effectiveness of tools for interaction between government and small businesses in the Russian Federation.

The methodological basis of the study was the concept of the relationship between monitoring and control, as well as methods of sociological survey (questionnaires, in-depth interviews), data analysis and interpretation, and quantitative content analysis. 

Results. The thesis on the relevance of monitoring the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises as a tool for identifying and articulating the interests and requirements of small and medium-sized businesses, communicating government objectives to businesses, and   involving small   businesses   in the socio-economic and political processes of modern Russia is argued. Monitoring needs by interviewing 850 representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises in 15 regions of the Russian Federation with different levels of socio-economic development, as well as 25 in-depth interviews with business representatives, allowed us to draw meaningful conclusions regarding the prioritization of government support measures and tools by regional businesses. On the one hand, a significant differentiation of respondents' opinions was revealed in the following areas: assessment of the level of accessibility of government support measures for   small   and medium-sized   enterprises;   the effectiveness of the implementation of the tools of the Corporation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and the digital platform of small and medium-sized enterprises as tools of state support and business development; the importance of government incentives for the development of mechanisms of interaction within the business sector. On the other hand, estimates for the following parameters were found to be approximately similar for all regions: high demand for priority financial support measures for small and mediumsized enterprises; the need to improve tax regulation of small and medium-sized businesses at the federal and regional levels, regardless of the region; the importance of intensifying the participation of small and medium-sized businesses in socio-economic and political processes; the average level of need for small and medium-sized businesses in government and/or business community support measures to scale their business.

Conclusions. The article argues that monitoring the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises is an effective tool for government-small business cooperation in articulating the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, communicating government expectations to businesses, and involving small businesses in the processes of socio-economic and political development of the Russian Federation. It is proved that the differentiation of the needs of small businesses by region is partly explained by the different levels of their awareness of existing tools, partly by the formality of some tools.

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