Structural and Institutional Traps in Technological Development During External Shocks

The article examines the grounds for adjusting state policy and corporate strategies in order to adapt to external shocks while avoiding structural and institutional traps (SITs) as Russia pursues technological leadership. Its purpose is to elucidate the adjustment of government policy and corporate strategies for adapting to external shocks and overcoming structural and institutional traps that may undermine Russia’s technological progress and also to consider how structural factors in regional development may affect that progress. The research employed a three-component approach combining qualitative analysis of corporate reports and cases, econometric modeling, and comparison of adaptation models. Structural and dynamic analysis was applied based on an assessment of the volume, structure, dynamics, and actual financing of national technological projects. Dysfunctions and the limited effectiveness of universal state support measures were examined. The significant impact of the quantifiable structural characteristics of regions on innovation was confirmed. Qualitative analysis indicated that the waves of business adaptation (import substitution, restructuring, new technologies) have been thwarted by specific SITs that correspond to the typology of them developed by the author. The innovative aspect of this research lies in developing the concept of institutional traps through the introduction and quantitative operationalization of SITs for the analysis of macro- and mesoeconomic processes, as well as in the empirical identification of the dual role of commodity dependence as a financial resource of adaptation and also a source of structural risks. Another special feature of this study is its examination of the strategies of the largest Russian companies and consideration of innovative processes in the context of the structural characteristics of regional development. Overcoming SITs requires differentiated support measures based on the diagnosis of structural constraints in the economy. The conclusions reached can be used to adjust tax incentives and government programs and to develop targeted measures aimed at overcoming structural and institutional barriers to development.

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