Interaction of Participants in the Innovation Process in the Region in

the Context of Sustainable Development

Irina A. Tronina

, Galina I. Tatenko

and Svetlana S. Bakhtina

Orel State University named after I.S. Turgenev, 95, Komsomolskaya St., Orel, Russia

Keywords: Sustainable Development of the Region, Innovative Development, Interaction of Stakeholders of the

Innovation Process, Quadruple Innovation Helix, Open Innovation.

Abstract: Studies of the processes of sustainable development of regions are associated with the solution of a number

of scientific problems that describe economic parameters. This takes into account the increasingly complex

context and new requirements for the relevance of models for the development of multi-level management

systems. The variety of elements possessed by modern dynamic socio-economic systems at all levels should

contribute to the formation of their flexibility, adaptability, stability, and multivariate development. A new

approach to the study of the problems of sustainable innovative development of the region can be offered by

the theory of systems with emphasis on a new understanding of complex self-organizing structures and the

laws of their evolution, as well as the concept of open innovation, which allows participants in the innovation

process to establish partnerships based on the exchange of knowledge. Therefore, the purpose of the study is

to provide a theoretical justification and develop a model solution for the formation of interaction between

participants in the innovation process in the region in the context of its sustainable development. The proposed

approach allows us to reveal the problem of involving the civil community as stakeholders of the innovation

process in the region in the process of choosing priorities for its development. Since the socio-cultural

characteristics of the region's population can both limit and stimulate innovation processes, it is important to

take them into account when implementing innovation policies in the context of sustainable development of

the region. The research materials can be used to substantiate the directions of sustainable development of the

regions, taking into account the socio-cultural factors that determine the behavioral model of the civil

community in the innovation sphere.

1 INTRODUCTION

The current strategy of innovative development is

important for a preventive response to the changes

that are taking place, when resources are limited, and

the situation requires the formation of a new «image

of the future» of the region and its understanding by

all participants in the innovation process. According

to the «quadruple innovation helix», the participants

in the innovation process in the region are four groups

of stakeholders: state authorities, business

community, civil society, science and education. The

model serves as a tool for visualizing collective

interaction and knowledge exchange within the

following subsystems of the regional innovation

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9593-5129

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6491-2370

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4621-5467

system: political, economic, civil, scientific and

educational. At the same time, each subsystem has its

own potential, creates its own type of capital and

participates in the formation of a regional strategy in

the context of sustainable development of the region

through the principles of cooperation and partnership

in the innovation sphere. It is about building

partnerships for the joint development of innovations

based on special tools that stimulate the exchange of

information and knowledge. The competitiveness of

the region as a territory of innovative development

depends on this. Partnerships and interactions are of

fundamental importance for the development of best

practices and the introduction of new business models

in the format of innovative activities in the region and

Tronina, I., Tatenko, G. and Bakhtina, S.

Interaction of Participants in the Innovation Process in the Region in the Context of Sustainable Development.

DOI: 10.5220/0010593105070515

In Proceedings of the International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference on Sustainable Development of Regional Infrastructure (ISSDRI 2021), pages 507-515

ISBN: 978-989-758-519-7

507

the expansion of opportunities to overcome global

challenges in achieving the sustainable development

goals.

In the modern scientific literature there is a

sufficient number of interesting works in the

terminology «innovative territory», «innovative

nation», «smart region», «smart strategy», «smart

development», «sustainable development». The

interrelation of these concepts is manifested in the

construction of a general picture of the harmonization

of national and local efforts to achieve positive

dynamics of socio-economic development of the

territory, as well as in the understanding of the current

processes of activation of innovation activities and

the formation of an innovation strategy. Moreover, it

is important to note the special role in the

development of the territory of its unique features and

industry specialization, which is a source of

formation of innovative and strategic potential.

Taking into account the spread of the term «territory»

in the scientific literature and its contradictory content

meanings, in the framework of this study, we will

consider the regional level and the region as a socio-

economic system as a territory. Therefore, in the issue

of territorial competitiveness, we will study the

problems of harmonizing the skills and developing

the potential of stakeholders as participants in the

innovation process due to the synergy achieved at the

regional level.

2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In the course of the research, we used modern tools

applicable in the management of innovative

development of regions in the context of sustainable

development, scientific works of foreign and domestic

scientists on the problem under study. The

methodological basis of the research was made up of

general scientific methods of cognition, statistical

methods of research, as well as the principles and

methods of the systematic approach. The information

component of the study includes data from Russian

state statistics, reference data from domestic and

scientific literature, materials of scientific and

practical conferences, as well as information from

scientific journals and the Internet environment.

The formation of the scientific position of the

authors was influenced by the work Carayannis E.,

Dezhina I., Grigoroudis E. Glaziev S., Haken G.,

Kuznetsov B., Porter M., Prigozhin I., Schumpeter I.,

Zubarevich N., whose ideas are the basis of theory

and practice on the problem under study.

Despite the existing scientific background on the

problem of sustainable development of the regions,

would like to note the lack of elaboration of the issues

of choosing priorities for regional development with

the involvement of groups of participants in the

innovation process, according to the quadruple

innovation helix. There is no comprehensive

approach to studying and organizing the interaction

of participants in the innovation process in the region

based on the principles of open knowledge circulation

as the basis of innovation activity.

3 RESULTS

The problem of sustainable development of the region

is relevant for all subjects of the Russian Federation,

which is especially evident in the conditions of

nonlinear dynamics. In the first place, the issues of

translating a new technological paradigm, which

involves the transition from the knowledge economy

to the economy of action through the identification

and use of global trends and achievements in the

development of a particular country, region, industry,

organization, come to the fore. The understanding

that the effectiveness of the country's innovation

system is determined by the quality and level of

innovative development of the regions is overlooked.

Given the differentiation of Russian regions in the

field of innovation, we can say that there are no

effective mechanisms to support companies with the

potential to develop world-class innovations, as well

as weak incentives for innovative activity of Russian

enterprises (Gorodnikova et al., 2018). The study

showed the presence of systemic problems of a

regional and sectoral nature:

 low level of commercialization of

developments that use the capabilities of

modern «end-to-end» digital technologies;

 insufficient balance of innovation

infrastructure as an important tool for

supporting innovation activities of regional or

industry entities;

 limited financial resources as a barrier to the

development of innovations in any field of

activity;

 weak effectiveness of the mechanism for

coordinating and stimulating project activities

in the field of innovation development and

implementation;

 low activity of industrial enterprises in the

development and implementation of innovative

technologies in their activities;

 insufficient elaboration of the mechanism for

including aspects of the innovation process in

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the elements of the value chain in theoretical

and applied terms;

 low activity of research centers in the creation

and promotion of innovative projects;

 low level of innovation culture that promotes

effective and open interaction of participants in

the innovation process;

 insufficient attention to the problem of the

formation and development of the innovation

environment as an important condition for the

innovative development of the territory.

Innovation activity in the regions of the Russian

Federation can be characterized as focused on

imitation, and not on the creation of breakthrough

innovations (Gokhberg and Kuznetsova, 2010). A

critical analysis of the scientific works of domestic

and foreign scientists on the problem of innovative

development of territories allows us to conclude that

there is a serious problem of balancing innovative

development, the essential model of which is

presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The model of innovative development of the region in the context of the formation of its innovative environment.

Modern systems theory allows us to conduct an

up-to-date study of the problem of innovative

development of the region from the point of view of

its dynamic complexity (Кnyazeva, 2020). The basic

postulates provide an understanding of the system

elements and characteristics of the region.

Considering the region as a complex dynamic system,

which assumes a change in time and the possibility of

switching different modes of operation, it is necessary

to note such an important system property as holism

(Figure 2).

Interaction of Participants in the Innovation Process in the Region in the Context of Sustainable Development

509

Figure 2: Holism as a basic property of a dynamical system.

According to the research, scientific knowledge

about the systems allows us to expand the approaches

to the formation of the innovation process and the

development strategy of the region. We are talking

about the use of the principles of dynamic complexity

management as guidelines for the organization of

management activities in the socio-economic systems

of the regional level:

 a new perception of chaos (randomness,

variability and variability are properties of

evolutionary processes that form diversity as a

combination of elements with unique

characteristics; for the balanced development

of the system, diversity is extremely necessary,

especially in the innovation sphere of the

region);

 self-organization (builds internal structures of

the system based on external requirements

through self-adjustment and self-regulation

mechanisms; as a result, new values can be

formed, shared by all subsystems of the region;

the pace of development of elements within the

complex structure of the regional system can be

synchronized);

 non-linearity (complex systems have many

paths of evolution that correspond to their

internal nature and the cyclical nature of the

ongoing processes, which confirms the need for

the use of scenario planning methods for the

region);

 preventiveness (in the process of systems

functioning, points of singularity inevitably

arise, accompanied by increased turbulence,

chaos, and irrationality in behavior; this fact

must be taken into account when forming a

regional development strategy and react

proactively to upcoming changes in the format

of determining new forms of interaction

between participants in the innovation process

in the region to create and implement

innovations);

 holistic thinking (the ability to see «the forest

behind the trees» - the whole behind its parts,

to act at the local level on the basis of a strategic

vision; to form a strategy for innovative

development of the region based on its unique

characteristics, based on the trends of the

global technological paradigm);

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 coevolution (understanding the ways to build

dynamically stable integral structures leads to

mutual coordination and harmonious

development of the system elements – their

coevolution, which allows to accelerate the

progress of the formed integral structures and

develops synergy in the system);

 soft iterations (for high efficiency, small in size

and insignificant in effort, but properly

organized actions (iterations) are necessary;

correct and soft impact, applied at the right

point and at the right time, can «awaken» the

system; correct management in the region can

reveal and develop its innovative potential);

 structural correspondence (topological optimal

combination and connection of the system

elements into an increasingly stable whole with

the formation of a single structure that ensures

future development; for the region, we are

talking about an optimal and relevant

management structure that corresponds to the

chosen strategy of innovative development);

 the open nature of the future (passing through

the phases of instability and bifurcation, the

system inevitably finds itself in a situation of

choosing the future path of development from

possible alternatives; regional systems are able

to form their resilience, extracting new

opportunities, increasing readiness for the

development of innovative potential,

determining the strategy of innovative

development through the formation of the

«image» of the future).

Thus, the use of the principles of the concept of

holism in solving the problem of innovative

development of the region as a complex dynamic

system allows us to distinguish the following settings:

the «image» of the future for the region can and

should be formed; the scenario of the future

development of the region depends on the correct

choice of priorities for innovative development;

current actions are important for the implementation

of the «image» of the future. This fact justifiably

proves the need for effective management of regional

development to use the methods of scenario planning

and foresight research.

Continuing to study the problems of innovative

development of the regions, we come to the

conclusion that it is necessary to review the

approaches to the activation of innovative activity of

the participants. Innovation in a regional context

requires all participants to work together, despite

differences in goals and interests. To study the

problem in the framework of the study, the model of

the «quadruple innovation helix» was taken as the

basis for the formation of the innovation architecture

in the region (figure 3).

Figure 3: The «quadruple innovation helix» model as a basis for the formation of the innovative architecture of the region.

The model assumes the formation of an effective

innovation space in the region based on the interaction

of four sub-spaces formed by groups of participants

(state authorities, business community, civil society,

science and education). The core of the model is the

civil society as the real «users» of innovations

Interaction of Participants in the Innovation Process in the Region in the Context of Sustainable Development

511

(Carayannis and Grigoroudis, 2016). This is due to the

fact that the very idea of creating a quadruple

innovation helix is aimed at boosting innovation and

creating innovations that are important for users. It is

the users who determine the essential content of the

innovation process and are its driving force.

A feature of the innovation process in the region

can be considered the possibility of using dynamically

balanced approaches «from the top down» - an

initiative in the direction of interaction between

government agencies, the business community,

science and education; «from the bottom up» - the

actions and opinions of the civil community. When

using the model, there is a need to involve all groups

of participants in the innovation process in the

discussion of the strategy of innovative development

of the region, which means the formation of new

forms of cooperation and partnership (Kutsenko,

2015). The study of the theory and practice of using

the model allowed us to identify the problem of

involving a group of civil society in the innovation

process of the region. In Russian practice, there are no

examples of active participation of citizens in the

reasoned discussion of initiatives and the creation of

innovations. In European practice, the following

forms of interaction with the participation of the civil

community can be distinguished:

 territorial poles of economic development (a

set of initiatives of companies, social and

solidarity economy networks united by a

common territory, in which managers of social

small and medium-sized enterprises, local

authorities, research centers and educational

organizations participate, implementing a

common strategy of cooperation and mutual

assistance to support local innovative projects

of sustainable development);

 territorial development projects (public-private

partnership format involving the innovative

potential of the civil community on a

competitive basis for the implementation of

three types of projects: local initiatives;

structural projects implemented jointly with

neighboring territories; flagship projects to

strengthen the reputation, improve the image

and increase the attractiveness of the territory);

 houses of territorial development (territorial

observatories for evaluating incoming

initiatives, attracting representatives of the civil

community to participate in projects, filling

them with humanitarian content).

Such forms of interaction occur against the

general background of the independent development

of civil society through the activation of their

innovative activity. The involvement of the

population is stimulated through various services, and

the local economy is fueled by more intensive

contacts and communications. In the European

concept of «smart specialization», this process is

called «entrepreneurial search» - a technology for

organizing a constructive dialogue between

stakeholders to develop a strategy for innovative

development of the territory. It is interesting that the

parties to the agreement become effective participants

in the innovation process in the region and agents of

the regional innovation culture (Tronina et al., 2019).

An important challenge is to achieve synergy

between the participants in the innovation process to

ensure «complementarity» of skills and build

consensus. At present, the scientific literature has

accumulated a good reserve of theoretical knowledge

and methodological developments on the issues of

synergy. In social terms, synergy manifests itself in

the formation of integrity and cooperation, as well as

in holistic individualization. At the same time, the

whole does not suppress the individual, but develops

it. Therefore, in well-formed social structures with

high synergy, the level of aggression is reduced to a

minimum, and the intensity of cooperation reaches a

maximum (Loginova, 2015).

To form synergy as a measure of the effectiveness

of interaction of stakeholders of the innovation

process in the region as a system, the following

conditions must be met:

 consistency in time and space of the conditions

for interaction of participants as subsystems of

the regional innovation system;

 the presence of «disturbed» states of

subsystems that contribute to the development

of the system through qualitative changes;

 external control actions on the system in the

form of state regulation should be compatible

and comparable in direction and momentum;

 identification of the leading link in the

innovative development of the system and

ensuring its self-development.

Leading theorists and practitioners of regional

development point out the importance of forming

common ideas that correspond to the local culture, are

widely shared by local communities, and therefore

provide motivation for joint actions. This requires the

creation of certain conditions and mechanisms of

cooperation, allowing to break the existing mental

stereotypes of the impossibility of open interaction.

One of the modern approaches to solving the problem

of interaction of participants in the innovation process

in the region is the open innovation model as a driver

of innovative development (figure 4).

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512

Figure 4: The essence of the Open Innovation model.

The model is based on the principle of free

dissemination of knowledge and results obtained at

different stages of research (Оttonicar et al., 2020).

We are talking about overcoming the boundaries in

attracting external specialists to the internal

innovation activities of the subject within the

framework of projects and on the basis of strategic

partnership. As a result of open innovation, scientific

knowledge is combined with practical skills, and the

following advantages are developed:

 formation of entrepreneurial and critical

thinking;

 adaptation and improvement of the education

model at the regional level;

 integration of entrepreneurial, scientific and

educational activities into the system of

continuous learning;

 the emergence of new structures to encourage

innovation;

 formation of a new innovative culture in the

region.

In the scientific research of many authors, the

undeveloped practice of interaction between the

participants of the innovation system is noted,

however, the principles of openness should be

integrated into the innovation activities of the region

in the context of its sustainable development.

4 THE DISCUSSION OF THE

RESULTS

The effectiveness of innovation policy at the regional

level can be explained by the difference in the socio-

cultural characteristics of the Russian regions and the

values characteristic of their population. From the

point of view of innovative development, the region

forms its own ratio of the demand for innovations

(conditions for the introduction of innovations in the

region) and the supply of innovations (conditions for

the generation of innovations). The sociocultural gap

(values and behavioral attitudes) is determined by

studying the following characteristics: the

sociocultural profile; the specifics of generalized and

institutional trust; behavioral attitudes related to

various aspects of innovation activity.

Interaction of Participants in the Innovation Process in the Region in the Context of Sustainable Development

513

In conditions of significant cultural diversity and

taking into account the extent of the territory of

Russia, the socio-cultural characteristics of individual

regions can serve as drivers and, conversely, become

barriers to the introduction of new technologies and

the formation of new technological markets. This

should be taken into account when developing and

using tools to stimulate innovative growth.

Thus, the model solution to the problem of

interaction of participants in the innovation process in

the region allows us to take into account the

theoretical constructions of the theories studied in the

course of the study and present them in the format of

principles (balance, holism, synergy, openness),

supplemented by the peculiarities of the influence of

socio-cultural factors (Figure 5).

Figure 5: A model solution for the formation of interaction between participants in the innovation process in the region.

As innovation activity at the regional level

becomes more flexible, it means that new users

should be involved in it, using new integration tools.

The model solution proposed by the authors for the

formation of interaction between the participants of

the innovation process in the region can be

supplemented by the open innovation platform model

as a key coordination mechanism. This will provide a

qualitatively new space for interaction, and the

platform participants will have the opportunity to

share knowledge and use the urban environment as a

«living laboratory» (Raunio, Nord, Kautonen and

Rasanen, 2018).

5 CONCLUSIONS

The study highlights systemic problems of a regional

and sectoral nature, reflecting the relevance of issues

of stimulating innovation activity in the context of

sustainable development of the socio-economic

system. In the continuation of this, the essential

model of the innovative development of the region in

the aspects of the formation of its innovative

environment is presented. Studying the features of

innovative development from the point of view of

system complexity, the authors consider the concept

of holism, which allowed us to form the principles of

managing the region as a complex dynamic system.

The necessity of involving groups of participants in

Principles of Balance

(balance of interests for cooperation and interaction of

the state, business, civil society, science and education

for the innovative development of the region)

Principles of Holism

(the complexity of the dynamic system is taken into

account as a reference point for the organization of

management activities at the regional level)

Innovative space Innovation culture

Principles of Synergy

(transition to the system-synergetic concept in the

development of knowledge about the organization and

management of the innovation process in the region)

Principles of Openness

(creating value from the cooperation of participants in

the innovation process through the use of open

interaction tools)

The «image of the future» for the

region can and should be formed

The future scenario depends on the choice

of priorities for innovative development

Current actions implement the

«image of the future»

Civil society

Science and education

Business community

State authorities

Innovative solutions:

- mutual interest;

- mutual benefit;

- mutual trust.

Socio-cultural factors of innovative development of the region

(characterize the civil society (population) of the region in the following aspects: socio-cultural profile of the region;

attitude to new technologies and innovations; attitude to entrepreneurship)

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the innovation process in the discussion of the

strategy of innovative development of the region and

the special role of the civil community in this issue is

justified. The model of open innovation as a driver of

innovative development of the region is considered,

which allows to study the relationship between

groups of stakeholders based on the free exchange of

knowledge, intellectual property and new ideas. The

joint solution of the problems of sustainable

development creates a synergistic effect and allows a

large number of ideas to be in demand as part of the

selection of priorities for improving the

competitiveness of the territory. Important in this

process is the influence of socio-cultural factors that

reflect the characteristics and attitude of the

population to the issues of sustainable development

of the region through innovation.

This article are exploratory in nature and contain

a conceptual approach to the study of the features of

interaction between participants in the innovation

process in the region, which is of scientific interest.

The practical significance of the study is connected

with the possibility of using the model solution

proposed by the authors in the methodology of

forming a strategy for innovative development of the

region with the involvement of regional stakeholders

in this process. The directions of further research of

the authors will be related to the study of the

development of the necessary competencies of

stakeholders for the use of the principles identified in

this work for the formation of interaction of

participants in the innovation process in the region in

the context sustainable development.

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