Joint creative activity as a source of competitive advantages of Russian
enterprises
Sherstobitova T.I., candidate of science, Associate
professor of the chair “Marketing, commerce and services”, Penza State University (Russia)
The principle
“get renewed or you will die” in the global business environment is the
priority for the entrepreneurship development and it makes enterprises to look
constantly for new sources of competitive advantages. As researchers state the
priorities of profit earning have changed evolutionary. In the 50es-60es
productivity was the basis for high profit earning, in 70es-80es – quality, and
beginning from 90es growth and stable
business development are provided
namely by innovations.[2] This fact prompts interest of the researchers
and practical persons to creativity as a stimulating factor for
innovations because only entrepreneurial efforts were not enough.
So that to
receive a quick effect from innovations you need a large amount of participants of the market involved in the
innovation process as suppliers and recipients of knowledge. It is supposed
that the more participants are involved in the process of knowledge exchange,
the higher the probability of knowledge creation and distribution is. The so called “open” innovations
stipulates attraction of a considerable number of consumers with the creative
potential.
As some
researchers note, receptivity of the economy to innovations is rather higher
when in the structure of the society there is a considerable amount of creative
people – people involved in creation and circulation of intellectual property
and other intangible assets. According to the evaluation of the international
experts, Russia possesses the second largest creative population in the world
–about 15 mln people.
But according to the indices
reflecting the role of these people in the life of the society Russia rates
only as the 25th country
in the world. [3] Taking into consideration the above stated, one
of the reasons why entrepreneurs and consumers have a very weak desire to join
the innovation environment is inadequately implemented creative potential,
which should be revealed in the desire to create something new, to be busy with
self-development. It’s a pity but in the Russian practice alongside with great attention paid to the
development of entrepreneurial
competences little attention is paid to the development of creative potential.
From
the point of view of modern behavioral and sociological theories the desire to
create is one of demands of a human being. The desire to create and to generate
something new is itself a powerful
incentive for development. It is
significant that traditionally creativity was considered as individualistic
process, as a fruit of the mind. According to the practice of economically
developed countries special attention is paid there to the development of
creative potential of individuals and even organizations. The reason for this
is their ability to create innovations and participate in the process of its
distribution in the economic system.
It
is necessary to admit that creativity and innovation are not identical notions,
very often they contradict each other. Creative potential is “mental activity”
which produces new ideas, decisions and notions; innovation is “intellectual
process” which turns creative ideas into something having value. [2] Creative
potential works for getting pure knowledge not taking into consideration its
commercial effect. Innovation process considers any idea from the point of view
of possible profit obtaining. The recognition of this difference made it
possible to define different roles of an inventor and entrepreneur in the
innovation process and to prove the necessity of their interaction. Innovations
have become the result of cooperation of a network of players performing
certain roles in the innovation process. But it does not mean that an
entrepreneur should not possess a creative potential. His creative potential is
directed at the search of new better ways of profit earning. An inventor in its
turn can have characteristic features of an entrepreneur but the priority of
commercial goals is an obstacle for a successful creative activity. Thus, joint
creative activity presupposes coordinated activity of an inventor and an
entrepreneur aimed at generating and creation of business models necessary for
ideas implementation.
Considering
the fact that creativity may be taught with the help of special technologies
and the possibility of interaction causes a new approach to creativity as to a
social process. Special programs for encouraging creativity are implemented in
some countries of the world, special
tools to facilitate intellectual process and to contribute to new ideas working
out are being developed. The process of
encouraging creativity is directed
first of all to getting “positive external effects” from the interaction
of economic agents who can impulse unconventional knowledge creation and new
technologies development.
Modern technical
means open broad possibilities for formation and development of effective
communications, namely social networks and web-seminars and etc. An important
thing becomes a creation of a special infrastructure promoting the process of
information transfer and knowledge exchange between the participants of innovative
environment. Application of the technologies described above needs the
assistance of the structures specializing in this activity. Under the present
conditions not “scientific knowledge
possession, ability to generate and use them” [1, p48] but ability to find partners and make
correct relations which give maximum effect from knowledge becomes very important as for separate
economic subjects so for the economy in general.
Bibliography:
1. Firsanova o.v. Methodology of the process of market subjects interaction
in the theory of marketing -management. / Authors, abstract for
doctor in economy degree- Spb; publishing house SpbGUEF, 2003
2. Heindl Dennis J. Innovation Infrastructure: Systems approach to building
an innovation organization//[ýëåêòðîííûé ðåñóðñ]. URL: http:// innovationtools.com, 2008
3. Zubarev V. Creative Class;
Innovations demand people community accumulating intangible capital of the
country. “Rossiyskaya Business Gazeta” -Innovations - ¹798(16) - 17/05/2011