Cooperation Between University Scientists and Entrepreneurs as a Factor for the Development of Small Innovative Enterprises in Russia
The paper presents the results of a sociological study of small innovative companies, established at universities in Russia according to the 217-FZ. Based on the analysis of foreign research and development practice of Russian small high-tech enterprises it is hypothesized that the dominant factor in the development of these companies is their affiliation with a larger firm. It is shown that interaction with others really matters for small innovative firms, since the required sum of investment exceeds many times personal savings or grants of public funds for the support of entrepreneurship. The cooperation is aimed primarily at the joint R&D, as well as marketing products. However, a significant part of external companies are actually linked by ties of ownership to the employees of the university, which at the same time and are co-founders of small innovative enterprises. In other words, the majority of external firms is not independent. However, one should reject the widespread belief that the vast majority of small firms were created exclusively for getting government grants or at the request of the parent body
Keywords: small innovative enterprises, innovation, technology transfer
