Ideas and Ideals

The change in the system of world economic communications as a result of sanction policy towards Russia and its allied countries forces enterprises and organizations to prove strategies of entry into foreign markets for the purpose of income generation and inclusion in new value chains. Therefore, the purpose of this research is the comparative analysis of factors and assessment of the application of international market entry strategies of Russian IT companies. Qualitative and quantitative methods of economic research were applied to achieving this goal. Qualitative methods included PESTEL analysis, situation and comparative analysis. Quantitative methods included the cost-benefi t method, statistical techniques and economic analysis methods. Tabular and graphic approaches are used for text visualization. In this research the factors infl uencing organizations activity in the international sphere and also the main foreign market entry strategies of IT companies were analyzed. Comparative analysis revealed benefi ts and shortcomings of each strategy, taking into account modern forms of business and currency risks. For the Russian IT company producing software three strategies were evaluated: export, franchising and direct investments. The choice of the IT industry for considering international market entry strategies of Russian organizations is proven. It is necessary to separate the development of new technologies and infrastructure, existence of fi nancial resources and pressure of economic sanctions from the factors infl uencing this process. Of the three strategies analyzed, the lowest-cost and lowest-profi t strategy was the franchising strategy; it can be used when there is a shortage of fi nancial resources. For “growth hacking” the expensive, but highly profi table strategy of direct investment taking into account currency hedging is applicable. Proceeding from the analysis of the infl uencing factors and legal conditions of the Russian Federation it is expedient to follow the strategy of average profi table export for ensuring company development.

The practical application of strategies for organizations to enter foreign markets is a multifaceted object of research that requires a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of business expansion. The received results will help companies make weighed decisions when choosing the optimum strategy for expanding their business in the international market.

In the article the author reveals the most signifi cant methodological problems in this most important area, which is the basis for the reproduction of economic systems, on the basis of considering the most widely used methods of capital investment assessment. The article also provides a brief theoretical characterization of capital investments. It is concluded that the reason for methodological problems in the assessment of capital investments is the issue of the nature of capital, which has not been fully resolved in the fi eld of fundamental economic theory. The author draws attention to the fact that the detailed methods of capital investment assessment for specifi c conditions of management of individual sectoral economic systems, elaborated in scientifi c articles, dissertations and other works, do not receive scientifi c generalization and balanced assessment of the community. In fact, it means that there are no methods proven and used by many researchers and practitioners. It is shown that it is inappropriate to completely identify the investment process, project appraisal and capital investments of enterprises. The author points out the gap between fi nancial and technological effi ciency existing in the theory and practice of work with investments. Further, using the example of the Russian electric power transmission industry, the author shows how general methods of capital investment assessment may not be applicable depending on specifi c industry conditions, and how theoretical and methodological problems in practice turn into a lack of tools for decision-making.

In conclusion, based on the consideration of disproportions in the mechanism of capital investment assessment, implementation and regulation, another fundamental issue of the theory arises – the need to change approaches to the confl ict of interests and regulation of natural monopolies as a non-cooperative game.

Due to the extreme diversity of economic conditions, the level of interregional differences in Russia is unique. The extent of these differences is usually measured by traditional indicators of variation based on per capita GRP indicators. However, while the movement of the coeffi cient of variation, for example, refl ects the systemic properties of the object under study, it may not capture structural spatial shifts. But it is precisely these shifts, if they are stable, that are of particular interest both as a subject of scientifi c research and as an object of management by authorities.

The main question posed in the article is the following: Is there a connection between the level of economic development of a region and its “propensity” for structural displacement? Or in other words: how stable is the territory’s position in the interregional ranking of per capita GRP indicators, does it depend on the value of per capita GRP? It turns out that noticeable structural shifts (predominant growth or increasingly lagging behind the per capita GRP of the region relative to the national average) are the prerogative, fi rst of all, of territories with a level of per capita GDP close to the average.

This article is the fi nal one, the second part of the study devoted to the analysis of the economic history of the USSR in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1942). The author considers the aspects of economic development not discussed in the fi rst part of the article. The greatest place is occupied by the analysis of the standard of living of the population in its various aspects. Numerous sources are used, including statistical collections of the war years, survey guides and memoirs of contemporaries. In addition to the current consumption of goods, the consumption of services and living conditions of the population are also considered.

The author analyzes the role of Lend-Lease economy in the USSR in detail. Supplies under the Lend-Lease program are considered not only for this period, but throughout the war. The analysis is carried out for individual product groups. It is shown that, contrary to the prevailing ideas in literature about the insignifi cance of the share of supplies under the Lend-Lease program, based on their estimates in value terms, especially in many key areas, the role of these supplies in the economy of the USSR during the war was enormous. The state of science and higher education during the turning point of the war is examined. It is shown that they were preserved and played an important role in improving the qualifi cations of personnel and the quality of military equipment. Particular attention is paid to the initial stage of research on atomic weapons. It is shown that despite limited resources, already in the most diffi cult period of the war in the USSR, research on the creation of nuclear weapons began.

This article is devoted to the problems of behavioral economics, which defi nes the boundaries of rational consumer choice and studies models and scenarios of consumer behavior. The author examined the features of consumer behavior in the context of economic and geopolitical crises that modern Russia has gone through from the 1990s to the present. The article provides a periodization of crises, taking into account their specifi cs, causes and consequences. The research included an analysis of models and scenarios of consumer behavior during the acute phase of the crisis period in 2022, a comparative analysis of the cost structure; indices of the decline and growth of spending on the main categories of goods and services were given, and the readiness of consumers to refuse purchases was analyzed. Signifi cant attention in the work was paid to a comparative analysis of the main trends in consumer behavior during the crisis of 1997–1998 and the crisis of 2022, during which it was noted that consumer behavior is infl uenced by the increased maturity of markets and the preparedness of the public administration system for crisis situations. It is concluded that it is necessary to take into account the growing role of consumer behavior that deviates from the usual rational models, which emphasizes the need to develop new forms for building the economic policy of government bodies. In conclusion, the author focuses special attention on the fact that when making management decisions on the formation of programs to support industries and sectors of the economy, it is necessary to take into account emerging models and scenarios of consumer behavior.

The article analyzes the economic history of the USSR, covering an impor­tant period of the history of Stalin’s economic model – the initial period of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1942). The main feature of the Soviet economy during the war was that already in the first months the USSR lost control over the most developed industrial areas. This situation required fundamental reorganization ofthe structure of the economy, when its main production capabilities were used to produce military equipment at the expense of reducing the output of civilian products. The losses of the USSR economy from the occupation of part of the territory are considered and it is shown that the USSR in 1941–1942 fought Ger­many and its allies, having halved mobilization and economic potential. The arti­cle analyzes the process of transferring the economy to the war economy, which required an increase in the length of the working day and the abolition of vaca­tions, the introduction of the card system, and the relocation of plants to other territories. The structure of state administration bodies, changes in the organiza­tion of management and the position of its individual participants in it are stud­ied separately. Tables are given and analyzed, giving an idea of the volume and dynamics of production of means of production in this period, the production of non-ferrous metals, the production of consumer goods, military equipment. It is shown that due to the low quality of military production in the Red Army a huge proportion of non-combat losses, which was primarily due to unrealistic plans. The situation in agriculture is examined, where the decline in producti­vity was due to a number of reasons, including the predominant mobilization of the population from rural areas with a minimum of reservations, the almost complete cessation of supplies of mineral fertilizers and agricultural machin­ery and, consequently, a sharp decline in the mechanization of work. The situ­ation in the construction industry, in the work of railroad transport is studied. The calculation of the dynamics of national income for 1940–1942 years is given. Thus, in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War revealed the strengths of the Stalinist economic model and created in the 30-ies military-economic potential, high qualifications of the country’s leaders promoted in the last pre-war years. The greatest achievements of the Soviet economy in this period are associated with the record-breaking rapid transfer of the entire economy on military rails.

In the confrontation between the global West and the global South, Russia found itself directly on the fault line. The confrontation leads to changes in the world economy, which, of course, have an impact on the standard of living ofthe population. It becomes relevant to study this influence, both in Russia and in countries that impose economic sanctions against it. This study provides a briefanalysis of household income and consumption expenditure in Canada for 2000­2022 across the provinces of the country. Based on the data obtained, a high de­gree of social support for Canadian citizens from the state was revealed, espe­cially in areas densely populated by indigenous peoples. The conditional division of the country according to the standard of living of the population into four geographical sectors is determined: northern, western, central and eastern. It has been established that throughout the entire period under review, the indicators of the standard of living of citizens in the northern provinces are the highest, and in the eastern provinces the lowest in Canada. At the same time, about two-thirds of the total population of Canada live in the eastern provinces, and the Northern provinces are very sparsely populated (less than 1% of the total popu­lation). It has been recorded that relatively high incomes and savings of the pop­ulation are not a determining factor in the country for choosing a place of resi­dence. Much depends on other indicators of the quality of life of people, as well as on the local mentality, traditions and culture.

The article discusses the reasons and motivations behind the demand for consulting services. Particular attention is paid to the motivation of managers ofenterprises, organizations and government agencies who resort to the services of external consultants when they have a large number of their own specialists and advisors. On the basis of the analysis of scientific literature and our own modest experience we draw conclusions that economic consulting is associated with a number of threats and risks both for the consulted organization and for the consultant himself. For enterprises of organizations and state structures the main threat is that, following standard models and schemes, one can miss spe­cific features of the external environment and internal organization of the ob­ject. In addition, recommendations may be implemented incompletely, formal­ly or partially, which may lead to undesirable results. For a consultant, the main threats are conflicts of interest and allegations of corruption and insider trading of information. Innovative solutions are the most effective, but at the same time the most risk. Choosing the right consultant and ensuring their competence andindependence is a particular challenge. Therefore, the relationship between the consultant and the client is no less important than the tools and technology ofhis work in the process of making recommendations. Consulting of state struc­tures has a number of peculiarities, the main of which are the hierarchical nature of construction, latent doctrines of departments, motivation of managers and planning horizon of the manager. Economic counseling allows the researcher to get a unique experience that can be used in further work.

The paper examines the issue of the development of ontologies in the eco­nomic domain. The essential role of ontologies in the digitalization of the econ­omy is determined. The author considers the origin of ontologies in philos­ophy and the transition of ontologies from philosophy to computer science. The paper shows the growth of semantic content and the range of applications of ontologies as they develop. Ontologies in computer science have grown from the tasks of forming a thesaurus to the issues of forming semantic models ofsubject areas, which makes them close, in terms of generality and depth of ap­proach, to philosophical ontologies. Currently, there are a sufficient number of successful examples of the use of information ontologies, nevertheless, these achievements are disproportionately less than the potential inherent in ontolo­gies. In addition, there is a decrease in interest in ontologies and the number ofstudies. To determine the reasons for this, the concepts underlying the formation of ontologies are considered. The most promising set of concepts for the forma­tion of ontology in the economic subject field is proposed. It is determined that one of the reasons for the insufficient development of ontologies is the insuffi­cient elaboration of the concepts of ‘economic cell’ and ‘event’ as the basis for reflecting economic processes. The concept of ‘events’ is formulated, which cor­responds to the dynamic approach in the formation of ontologies. It is proposed to consider an event in the subject area of economic relations as a change in the values of observed attributes (OMECVA). According to the OMECVA concept, events are primary in cognition and in reflecting the subject area. The informa­tional reflection of objects is considered as a cluster of signs and their meanings in structure, space and time. Three types of events are distinguished: events in the subject area, events of cognition of changes in the subject area and events that change the model of cognition. As a starting point for the development ofa promising ontology of economic processes, it is proposed to use accounting as a widespread information system that forms the bulk of economic informa­tion. It is proposed to consider a triplet as an economic cell: an economic entity, a type of economic and legal relations, an economic object. Each of these ele­ments is an economic category and a feature in the context of which economic events are characterized.

Restoration and design of efficiently functioning production and technologi­cal chains of complex structure, consisting of a set of firms with vertical and horizontal interconnections, is an important task of the modern economy in Russia. The implementation of the ‘new industrialization’ program is possible on the basis of large integrated structures capable of implementing innovations and modernization of production.  The dynamics of business processes caused by crisis trends leads to the need to find the most effective forms of interaction be­tween participants within hierarchical structures, allowing them to increase their competitiveness in the markets.  In this regard, the methodology of analyzing such production systems for making optimal management decisions needs fur­ther improvement. Classical micro and macroeconomic models are not fully ca­pable of describing real business processes in industry markets in conditions ofincreasing concentration. A comprehensive approach to the study of modern large firms and supply chains is needed. The synthesis of the theory of indus­trial organization and neoclassical economic theory is used as a methodological basis in the work.

A system with horizontal and vertical interaction of firms operating in the market is economically interested in achieving higher performance results and, above all, through more efficient use of resources. The relevance of this prob­lem requires modeling the parameters of companies’ activities under various be­havioral strategies.  In the article, an approach based on matrix modeling is pro­posed to describe the functioning of such systems, in which the main tool is a technological matrix developed taking into account the requirements for an in­put-output matrix. It is shown that the use of the methodology makes it pos­sible to adequately describe the interaction of firms, display material fl ows, de­termine important indicators of the system and fi rms (fi nal and gross products, volumes of resources, costs) and analyze at a qualitative level. An economic and mathematical model is proposed, which is used both to calculate the economic characteristics of the system and fi rms, and to design the structure of the tech­nological chain.