Assessment of Small Business Environments (SBEs) in the Irkutsk Region
One focal area of the Russian Federation's economic policy has been the development of small business environments (SBEs). The paper postulates, after analyzing certain factors and conditions, that effective small business cannot be developed without also creating a favorable environment. But as a precursor to covering favorable SBEs, it studies isolated subsystem elements, as well as the conditions and factors occurring in the formation of individual subsystems. Finally, it moves from the general environment in Russia to the specific environment of Irkutsk, examining what constitutes a favorable SBE in that region. According to the paper, 55% of a group of experts — including top organizational leaders, professionals and consultants covering SBEs, and operators and managers working in the small business market for over 10 years — have concluded that Irkutsk has neither external stimuli nor internal factors supporting the development of small business infrastructures. The only factor it does have to support SBEs, the experts opine, is its internal capacity.