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CHANGING THE CONCEPT OF COMPETITIVENESS UNDER THE IMPACT OF SANCTIONS
S.N. Larin1, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Leading Researcher
L.Yu. Lazareva2, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Leading Researcher
T.V. Stebenyaeva2, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Leading Researcher
1Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
2Autonomous noncommercial organization Continuing Professional Education Institute of
International Accounting and Management Standards
(Russia, Moscow)
DOI:10.24412/2411-0450-2022-10-2-38-44
The article was prepared with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project №20-010-00169a
Abstract. The introduction of sanctions restrictions by the United States and other countries of the collective West has a negative impact on the development of the Russian economy. One of its consequences was a decrease in the competitiveness of Russian enterprises and their products. Sanction restrictions have significantly limited the conditions for conducting production activities by domestic enterprises and their interaction with major foreign counterparties. The expansion of the range of sanctions restrictions in relation to certain industries and enterprises has led to a sharp change in conditions for conducting competition.
The current situation has led to significant changes in the economic essence of the concept of competitiveness in relation to domestic enterprises and their products. In this regard, the main goal of this study was to clarify the economic essence of the concept of competitiveness and the economic factors that form it in relation to the activities of enterprises in the context of sanctions restrictions. To achieve it, authors used methods of analysis and synthesis of economic information, as well as publications of foreign and Russian scientists on the subject of research. The results of the study allow us to clarify the definition of the concept of competitiveness of enterprises and their products under sanctions restrictions.
Keywords: Russian economy, enterprises, products, sanctions restrictions, competitiveness, factors.
Introduction. The sanctions restrictions imposed by the United States and the countries of the collective West, directed against the development of the Russian economy, and predetermined the necessity to supplement the economic essence of the concept of competitiveness with new aspects. For many Russian enterprises, an additional factor in the negative impact of the external environment on the development of production was the introduction of a number of packages of sectoral and financial sanctions restrictions. The destructive actions of the United States and the countries of the collective West contributed to an increase in the instability of the Russian national currency and the emergence of problems with obtaining foreign loans to maintain the liquidity of enterprises in the leading sec-
tors of the Russian economy in the short term. Thus, unfavorable conditions that was created for the normal development of the Russian economy as a whole, its individual industries, as well as enterprises and their products in long and short time periods [1, 2].
Faced with the negative impact of sanctions restrictions, enterprises and sectors of the Russian economy force to look for new ways and make additional efforts to reduce this impact on their competitiveness. Accordingly, enterprises of the leading sectors of the Russian economy in the context of sanctions restrictions force to intensify the search for internal reserves to maintain the competitiveness of their products and search for new competitive advantages in the domestic and world markets. To do this, they must modern-
ize production in a short time and rebuild relationships with potential counterparties, reorienting themselves to the countries of Asia and Africa. The purpose of these transformations is to replace the purchases of foreign products, products and components, technologies and equipment with domestic counterparts. Domestic analogues should not be inferior in quality and functional characteristics to foreign samples.
This paper will clarify the economic essence and highlight a number of issues of taking into account the impact of sanctions restrictions on the competitiveness of enterprises and their products.
Research results
The concept of the competitiveness of an enterprise and its products, as well as the factors of its formation, studied in the works of well-known representatives of various economic areas. Among foreign scientists, A. Smith [3], D. Ricardo [4], M. Porter [5], and many others dealt with this topic. Among domestic researchers, the works of G.G. Azgaldov [6], M.I. Gelvanovsky [7], A.P. Gradov, T.A. Zavyalova, E.G. Yasin and many other authors. The presence of a sufficiently large number of fundamental studies of various aspects of the concept of competitiveness leaves room for their systematization and interpretation in relation to the conditions of sanctions restrictions.
The development of the essence of the concept of "competitiveness" is in many ways similar to the evolution of various interpretations of the concept of "competition". This is clearly that from the results of numerous studies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Therefore, E. Chamberlin and J. Robinson developed theories of monopolistic and imperfect competition. They argued that competitiveness lies not only in the ability to fight competitors, but also in the ability to get away from it through entering new markets and expanding the range of products [8, 9]. E. Chamberlin substantiated the growing influence on the process of competition of non-price factors of competition - the quality of goods, services and advertising.
Assessment of the competitiveness of an enterprise as its ability to introduce new ideas, technologies, and products proposed in
works by J. Schumpeter and P. Romer [10, 11]. In the works of B. Henderson and O. Williamson, low production costs and the usage of more efficient production methods at prices similar to those of competitors taken as the basis for competitiveness [12, 13]. In the works of G. Hemel and K. Prahalad, competitiveness recognized as the ability to foresee the situation on the market, the experience and skills of staff, and intellectual leadership [14].
Here are some definitions of the concept of competitiveness made by other foreign authors.
The competitiveness of a firm is its ability to produce some product better than the competitors' products, which allows the firm to attract and retain customers [15].
Competitiveness of the company - its ability to acquire, maintain and increase the share of its products in the market [16].
There are a number of works, which quite fully cover various factors in the formation of competitiveness. Therefore, in the monograph by Dolinskaya M.G. and Solovieva I.A. the concept of competitiveness studied through comparison with another important category of products - its quality [17]. The authors put forward a range of states that reduce the uncertainty of the concept of product competitiveness:
1) This concept based on a set of only those properties that ensure the satisfaction of consumer needs;
2) To assess competitiveness, it proposed to compare consumer requests with the properties of products manufactured by the enterprise and its competitors;
3) Justified the necessity to assess the competitiveness of different types of products.
Work of the Russian scientists Aleksan-drov N.N., Kozlov V.D. and Kryuchko-va D.V. presents an overview of existing approaches to the definition of the categories of competition and competitiveness [18]. The greatest interest is the analysis of the approach put forward in the work of Y. Korm-nov, which denies the possibility of the existence of a universal definition of the concept of "competitiveness", since it very much de-
pends on the characteristics of the economic object to which it is applied [19].
Among qualimetric scientists, let us sign out the works of P. Zavyalov, G. Azgaldov, I. Faminsky and R. Fatkhutdinov. Below there are the definitions of the concept of competitiveness proposed by these and a number of other authors.
Competitiveness is the process of comparing the costs of producing a product and the results achieved in its implementation [20].
"Competitiveness is a comparative characteristic of a product, containing a comprehensive assessment of the totality of its qualitative and economic properties (parameters) in relation to the identified market requirements, or properties of another product" [6].
"The competitiveness of an organization is the ability to produce products that are competitive in a particular market, its advantage in relation to other enterprises in this industry within the country and abroad. On a national scale, competitiveness means effective integration into the world economy, the proper functioning of all its structures to ensure sovereignty and a high quality of life for the population" [21].
In the work of V.M. Muromtsev, the concept of competitiveness of products defined as "its ability to meet the prevailing market demand in a certain period of time" [22]. At the same time, the author supplements this definition with quality factors, which, like the competitiveness of products themselves, are independent objects of management.
The importance of quality, as one of the properties that determine the competitiveness of products, defined by R.A. Fatkhutdinov. He also defines the concept of competitiveness as "a product property that reflects the degree of satisfaction of specific consumer needs in comparison with similar products from other manufacturers" [23]. The author believes that the competitiveness of products is the basis for the competitiveness of an enterprise, especially in the face of the negative impact of sanctions restrictions.
In the work of E.P. Glukhov, the concept of product competitiveness defined as obtaining additional competitive advantages by an enterprise [24]. They formed through efficient use of resources and high-quality products.
The production of competitive products provides to the company income and additional profit.
The presence of different approaches to the concept of competitiveness allows us to conclude that this category is quite complex and ambiguous, and attempts to consider it from any one side are fundamentally wrong. Given this fact, in the context of sanctions restrictions, it is worth considering the qualimetric and efficiency approaches to the definition of the concept of competitiveness as complementary. This allows, on the one hand, a quantitative assessment of efficiency, and, on the other hand, to have many opportunities for in-depth analysis of a large number of factors and individual properties of various types of products.
Summarizing the results of the analysis of the literature, we can draw the following conclusion. In the modern economy, the concept of competitiveness used to define categories at various levels: products, enterprises, industries, regions, national economies, states. At the same time, for our country, its economy, individual industries and enterprises, there is a necessity to rethink the essence of this concept, taking into account the negative impact of sanctions restrictions.
In the economic sphere, the concept of competitiveness and multi-level relations between economic entities detailed in this way:
- micro-level - characterized by specific enterprises and the types of products they produce, taking into account functional, quality, price and a number of other factors;
- meso-level - characterized by individual industries, cluster structures and other types of business associations, as well as the efficiency of the development of industries through a system of relevant indicators;
- macro-level - characterized by large national and international corporations, individual countries and their associations according to economic interests, taking into account the balance of interests, equal investment conditions, the effectiveness of the development of such associations through a system of relevant indicators [7].
Our study aimed at revealing the essence of the concept of competitiveness in relation to enterprises as direct manufacturers of
products, as well as to the composition of its functional and other factors that form it under sanctions restrictions.
The concept of enterprise competitiveness is a relative category. It characterizes the features of its activities and economic development in relation to the areas of economic activity of its competitors. The competitiveness of an enterprise determined by such factors as the efficiency of production activities and the degree of satisfaction of the needs of consumers of the products it produces in terms of its functional, quality, cost and other parameters. The competitiveness of an enterprise in the context of sanctions restrictions supplemented with the ability to quickly adapt its activities to existing ones and take into account the possibility of new prohibitions in the competition for sales markets.
The concept of competitiveness of an enterprise is not considered as a kind of constant value, since it undergoes certain changes depending on time and on the conditions in which the production activity of the enterprise carried out. In addition, this concept influenced by a large number of objective and subjective factors of the external and internal environment, which can also change over time. The combination of these and a number of other factors directly forms the competitiveness of the enterprise. Conventionally, we can combine all factors into three groups: economic, entrepreneurial and regulatory. Since these factors act simultaneously, they can both increase the competitiveness of the enterprise and decrease it.
It is obvious that in the context of sanctions restrictions, in order to maintain and grow competitiveness, enterprises of all industries need to use new approaches to the organization of production and management. First, this concerns the development of an investment policy, the implementation of a comprehensive modernization and the introduction of new production technologies.
A more detailed study of the economic essence of the concept of competitiveness of products in the context of sanctions restrictions revealed the existence of a large number of definitions of this concept. However, the economic meaning of most of them does not imply taking into account the nega-
tive impact of sanctions restrictions, and the concept itself undergoes significant changes in its essence, related to the consideration of various factors by different authors.
Note that the competitiveness of products also understood as a set of certain factors, the presence of which creates opportunities for better satisfaction of consumer needs. Moreover, these factors are so important that they allow consumers to identify uniquely the products manufactured by the enterprise in comparison with similar products of other enterprises. The combination of these factors allows the company to receive additional profit from the sale of products. This means that the determining condition for the competitiveness of products in the end is the presence of functional properties and factors that are significant for consumers even in the face of sanctions restrictions.
Summarizing the above definitions of the concept we are studying we can conclude that the key issue of these definitions is the totality of product properties. At the same time, most economists singled out such a characteristic as quality. In all cases, it was not the only characteristic, which determined the presence of a stable market demand for a particular type of product. Based on this, the essence of the concept of product competitiveness lies in the ability to successfully compete with similar types of products from other manufacturers and satisfy consumer needs, expressed through a set of its individual properties and factors. This definition does not set boundaries for the competitiveness of products through the "price-quality" ratio. It follows from it that the ability of each specific type of product to compete with similar products determined by a certain set of properties and factors that are individual for each enterprise and its products.
Among the approaches discussed above to the definition of the concept of competitiveness of products, we single out the most common:
- Approach based on price factors in ensuring the competitiveness of products;
- Approach based on quality as the main characteristic of the competitiveness of products designed to meet consumer needs;
- An independent approach in which a key role is based on the needs of consumers and the ability of a particular type of product to better match them compared to similar products of competitors.
Based on a brief analysis of various definitions, the competitiveness of products that we can understand as the total set of its individual properties and factors that can most fully satisfy consumer needs. However, in the face of the negative impact of sanctions restrictions, consumer demands are a subject to significant dynamic changes. Therefore, in order to maintain the competitiveness of specific types of products, an enterprise must promptly respond to any changes in such environmental factors as the introduction of sanctions restrictions.
Conclusion
Based on the results obtained during the research, we can draw the following conclusions:
1. The introduction of sanctions restrictions led to the emergence of additional factors of the negative impact of the external environment on the level of competitiveness of many Russian enterprises and their products.
2. Competitiveness is a complex, multifac-eted concept. In addition to different approaches to determining its economic es-
from micro - for an enterprise to macro - for the competitiveness of the economy and the country.
3. A brief review of the studies of foreign and Russian scientists regarding the definition of the concept of competitiveness shows the existence of many different methods and approaches to solving this problem. This fact confirms the impossibility of the existence of a universal definition of the concept of competitiveness.
4. The consequence of the introduction of sanctions restrictions was the necessity to take into account new economic features of the concept of product competitiveness. These include the ability to manage competitiveness as one of the key parameters of the strategic development of Russian enterprises, the dynamics of its change over time, the conflicting interests of product manufacturers and its potential consumers.
5. Authors clarified the definition of the competitiveness of products as a combination of its individual factors and properties that most fully meet the needs of consumers. However, under sanctions restrictions, consumer demands are a subject to significant dynamic changes. Therefore, in order to maintain the competitiveness of its products, the enterprise must promptly respond to any changes in environmental factors.
sence, there are different levels of its study
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ИЗМЕНЕНИЕ ПОНЯТИЯ КОНКУРЕНТОСПОСОБНОСТЬ В УСЛОВИЯХ ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЯ САНКЦИОННЫХ ОГРАНИЧЕНИЙ
С.Н. Ларин1, канд. техн. наук, ведущий научный сотрудник
Л.Ю. Лазарева2, канд. техн. наук, ведущий специалист
Т.В. Стебеняева2, канд. экон. наук, ведущий специалист
Центральный экономико-математический институт РАН
2АНО ДПО Институт стандартов международного учета и управления
(Россия, г. Москва)
Аннотация. Ввод США и другими странами коллективного Запада санкционных ограничений оказывает негативное влияние на развитие российской экономики. Одним из его последствий стало снижение конкурентоспособности российских предприятий и производимой ими продукции. Санкционные ограничения существенно ограничили условия ведения производственной деятельности отечественными предприятиями и их взаимодействию с основными иностранными контрагентами. Расширение спектра санкционных ограничений в отношении отдельных отраслей и предприятий привело к резкому изменению условий ведения конкурентной борьбы.
Сложившаяся ситуация привела к существенным изменениям экономической сущности понятия конкурентоспособности применительно к отечественным предприятиям и производимой ими продукции. В этой связи основной целью данного исследования стало уточнение экономической сущности понятия конкурентоспособности и формирующих его экономических факторов применительно к деятельности предприятий в условиях санкционных ограничений. Для ее достижения были использованы методы анализа и синтеза экономической информации, а также публикаций зарубежных и российских ученых по тематике исследования. Результаты проведенного исследования позволили уточнить определение понятия конкурентоспособности предприятий и производимой ими продукции в условиях санкционных ограничений.
Ключевые слова: российская экономика, предприятия, продукция, санкционные ограничения, конкурентоспособность, факторы.
