Economics/14. Economic
Theory
Ph.D.
Govryakova NN
Mordovia State University, Russia
Innovative Culture as a Factor of Innovative
Development of Russian Economy
The
formation of innovative model of economic development should be based not so
much on the technological basis modernization as modernization of human capital
and proper institutions while the Russian innovation policy now is still based
on the principles of the technological basis modernization. This approach has
disadvantages, the most important of them is the disincentive to retain the
innovation capital (primarily the human capital) in the country. This leads to
the inefficiency of the strategy at national level.
The
technocratic approach to the innovation process is initially ineffective for the
new economy with the prevalent human factor. If technology is inert to innovations
and the individual is receptive, the innovation process can be initiated. If
the individual is not receptive to innovations, even high technological
innovations will not yield the expected results. It follows from this that the
innovation process is rather social than technologicalone . Therefore, it is
necessary to develop innovative culture for the growth of innovative economic
system.
The
innovative culture must be understood as a complex of knowledge, skills and
references acquired and used in the process of comprehensive assimilation and
production innovations in various fields of human activity with the protection
of dynamic unity of traditions, innovations, and novations in the system. (1)
In a general sense, the innovative culture as a social phenomenon is the readiness
and ability of society to innovate in all forms: production, management,
education, and legislation.
In
the real sector of economy the innovation culture contributes to acceleration
and enhancement of efficiency of adaptation of new technologies and inventions.
In the field of management it contributes to a feasible anti-bureaucratic
tendencies. In the field of education it promotes the realization of innovative capacity of the individual. In
the field of culture it optimizes the correlation between traditions and
renewal, different types and kinds of cultures. Thus, there is an unlimited
range of innovative cultural manifestations - from the creating conditions for
effective use of innovative capacity of the individual, company or organization
for the benefit of society to the guarantee of maximal balance in its reforming.
The
level of innovation culture development in modern Russia is very low in all
these areas. The main reason of it is a particular historical development of
our country. Command economy did not stimulate the emergence of innovations on
the strength of the absence of competition and motivation in the results of
work product. Therefore it contributed to the emergence of generations of
workers who were not interested in innovation activity. In addition, the Soviet
economy was developed mainly by extensive way which did not stimulate the
innovation development. Only as the sources of extensive development began to
reduce, there is an intensive development of engineering and technology in the
society, based on scientific-and-technological innovations producing with a
help of new significant innovations. Thus, the natural wealth has a negative
impact on the formation of motivation to innovate. Besides, the production of
natural resources is much less risky than the innovation activity, and the profit
is more stable and predictable (2).
As
a result, the modern politics of the state was faced with a huge problem in the
scope of innovations and human capacity-building. The problem is that people
are unable to perceive innovative changes due to the low level of the
innovative culture. In 2011, the Information Technologyand & Innovation
Foundation (ITIF) published a rating of 40 countries and regions in the world
for innovation development in which Russia took the 35th position.
Today
the Russian innovative culture represents a culture of "conservative
novatika" as on the one hand it contributes to a nonstandard approach to a
labor activity and the cognitive process, and on the other hand the
"conservatism of actions" holds the adaptation of ideas under the
hypothesis "you never know what might happen". This has a
disciplining effect on the innovative development.
Konstantin
Tsiolkovsky in his article "Engines of Progress" wrote that the main
reason of our wrong attitude to discoveries and inventions laid in the human
weaknesses. He brought the whole system of problems standing before
innovations: inactivity, vacancy of mind, conservatism; distrust of unknown
names, egoism, and unawareness of common and social benefits; temporary damages,
the opposition of workers to something new, unwillingness to be retrained, corporate
interests, professional jealousy.
Thus,
it is obvious that science and education are the key determinative elements of
the innovative culture in modern period as they make clear goals, problems and
gears of the innovative culture. They also contribute to the development of
social requirements in innovations. Therefore it is such a critical question concerning
an urgent need of conceptual reformations in the Russian education system. It
is important to build innovative tolerance and receptivity in pupils and
students, recognize innovative gifted children, develop a business activity. This
requires training and methodological works concerning the innovative culture taking
into account modern educational technologies and capability of technological
resources. This does not seem possible without more deep theoretical thinking
about innovative culture and identifying factors that facilitate and hinder its
development.
The
creation of necessary cultural conditions must be an important factor for
innovation activity in Russia. This guesses accomplishment of the following
measures:
-
formation of positive attitude to innovations as a particularly important
personal and public value in society and increasing use of mass media for this;
-
monitoring of innovation activity in organizations at the federal level and level
of individual regions and assurance of publicity of the results;
-
arrangement and development of different forms of innovation activity on a
competitive basis and consolidation of competitiveness in society.
Thus,
the transition to innovation economics must begin with changing both the
culture of society as a whole and its segments and organizations to the culture
of innovation type. It requires the institutionalization of innovation culture,
i.e. transformation of its development to organized and ordered process which
has structured relations, the rules of conduct, and the responsibility of
participants.
References:
1. O.V. Andreev's Innovative culture as a major infrastructure component of
the innovation process / / Electronic Journal of Engineering Bulletin Don.
2009.¹2 http://ivdon.ru/magazine/archive/n2y2009/124
2. N. Malakhov Innovative culture of modern Russia: problems and prospects.2011. http://www.viperson.ru/wind.php?ID=643675