Results of the project No18-18-00270 "Competitiveness of and leapfrogging by Russian business on the basis of intangibles"

The project No18-18-00270 "Competitiveness of and leapfrogging by Russian business on the basis of intangibles" aimed to find empirical evidence of what types of intellectual resources can strengthen or, on the contrary, weaken the competitive advantages of companies, and, as a result, should form the basis of effective management decisions at different levels. The research applies classical three-component classification of intellectual resources. Thus, the importance of the leadership as an important element of the company's human capital is emphasized; technological changes associated with digital transformation identify structural capital; and business reputation and brands of Russian companies represent relational capital. Each of these factors is investigated as a separate research direction. The results of two years project are presented in 11 articles, 9 of them are published in journals indexed in the Scopus and/or Web of Science databases (5 are included in Q1). The aim of the research project has been achieved and all the tasks have been completed in full.

Key results within the framework of the research direction "Technological changes in companies associated with digital transformation" are as follows:

- A research design was developed to evaluate digital profile of the company and its choice of strategies "excess momentum" and "excess inertia". It has been empirically confirmed that Russian companies are more inclined to follow the “excess inertia” strategy, which means the introduction of digital technologies later than the industry/regional benchmark. (Article "Excess momentum or excess inertia: Do companies adopt technologies at the right time?", authors E. Shakina, A. Daviy)

- It has been empirically confirmed that the effect of the introduction of digital technologies on the productivity of Russian companies significantly depends on the regional technological infrastructure and varies from 3% to 9%. (Article "Does the regional environment matter in ERP system adoption? Evidence from Russia", author A. Daviy)

- Changes in the requirements of companies to the qualification of the workforce in the context of digital skills are identified. The text mining of more than 9 million vacancies posted on one of the largest online job market agencies in Russia between 2006 and 2018 showed that an additional advanced digital skill increases wages by an average of 5.8%. (Article “Which professional skills value more under digital transformation?”, authors E. Shakina, S. Paklina)

Key results in the second research direction "Business reputation and brands of Russian companies in local and global markets" are as follows:

- The effect of influential shareholders on corporate dividend policy was studied in the context of exogenous changes that took place in the Russian economy. Testing on a sample of 90 traded Russian companies from 2009 to 2019 showed that since imposed sanctions in 2014, state-owned companies are investing more in the reputation built by dividend payments, while companies owned by influential businessmen, on the contrary, are reducing their dividend payout ratio. (Article “The impact of influential shareholders on corporate dividend policy: Evidence from Russia”, authors T. Ershova, M. Zavertiaeva, D. Kirpishchikov)

- The significance of the company's reputation indicator in the framework of the predictive model for assessing the probability of bankruptcy is justified. On the example of a sample of Russian banks for the period from 2012 to 2019 modeling of the probability of bankruptcy was carried out. (Article “Survival of Russian banks: how efficient are the control measures?”, authors V. Krakovich, A. Barajas, F. Iturriaga; Article “Bank Portfolio Allocation Strategy and Its Probability of Failure: Case of the Russian Banking Sector Purge”, authors V. Krakovich, D. Udaltsova)

- The effect of the positive influence of the reputation of foreign-buyers was found in the analysis of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on a sample of 7606 cases considered by the FAS for the period from 2012 to 2017. (Article “Russian merger control: in favor of foreign companies?”, Authors M. Molodchik, A. Redkina, C. Jardon)

Key results in the third research direction "Leadership and management capabilities of Russian companies" are as follows:

- Theoretical justification of the impact of the top management personal characteristics on company’s competitiveness was carried out. A system of metrics for the social capital of company top managers was developed. The analysis of a sample of Russian companies included in the Moscow Exchange Broad Market Index during the period from 2014 to 2018 showed that attracting directors associated with other companies is inefficient in terms of the company's profitability and does not affect the market value. (Article "Interrelated boards of directors and the activities of Russian companies: results of a network analysis", authors M. Zavertiaeva, P. Popova)

- It is proposed to adjust the metrics of CEOs human capital for the personal characteristics of the board of directors and influential shareholders, which may have a restrain effect. Empirical validation of the metrics has shown that a higher proportion of shareholders among board directors and their experience can limit CEO power, and lead to an increase in corporate efficiency. (Article “Rule with an iron hand: powerful CEOs, influential shareholders and corporate performance in Russia”, authors M. Zavertiaeva, T. Ershova)

- It has been empirically confirmed that transformational leadership plays a crucial role in shaping the knowledge-driven competitiveness of an organization. The complementarity effects of knowledge culture, transformational leadership and flexible organizational structure by influencing the employee proactive behavior are revealed. It justifies the need for their simultaneous implementation in Russian companies. (Article "Knowledge management model based on organizational and motivational mechanisms", authors M. Molodchik, I. Esaulova, A. Molodchik)

- The mechanism of the influence of economic policy uncertainty on the company's human capital and investments in it is justified. Based on a sample of large public companies from five European countries, it was found that during increased economic policy uncertainty, companies reduce investment in human capital. (Article "Economic policy uncertainty and company's human capital", author I. Naidenova)

The results of the project were presented at international and Russian scientific conferences and discussed at research seminars of the International Laboratory of intangible-driven economy. Members of the project's research team actively use the developed materials and collected databases in the educational process for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students of NRU HSE-Perm and NRU HSE-SPb.