Assessment of Competitiveness of Shipbuilding Industry in Russia

Russia has a rich centuries-old tradition of naval and civilian shipbuilding. Upon the end of the ideological confrontation, the competition of the main sea-faring nations of the world took on the new and at the same time – more traditional form for the market economy. The global economic crisis and the decrease of the freight traffic, including the sea freight, led to the exacerbation of the competitive struggle in this market. Whereas the Naval Engineering and Armament (NEA) in Russia are at a very high level, which is proved by the position Russia holds within the global markets of this kind of production, the civilian shipbuilding is not only unable to compete in the global market, but even barely present on the domestic one. The future of the civilian shipbuilding is in such promising niches as the development of the equipment for the exploration of the Arctic oil fields, the iceboats for the maintenance of the Northern Sea Route, and the sea- and river-going vessels for the domestic operations. In this article, the authors analyse the current state policy in regards of both civilian and naval shipbuilding, the position of Russia in the global market of the NEA, assess the current state of this industry and the competitive potential of the Russian Federation, reveal the problems and consider the prospects for the development. The analysis is based on the rich factual material and the available statistical data. The careful study and its results allowed the authors to come to the certain conclusions and to provide advice for the improvement of the state policy in regards to the shipbuilding

The Positions of Russia and Croatia Shipbuilding Products on World Markets and Prospects of Co-Operation (Analytical Overview)

Both Russia and Croatia are the great seafaring nations with glorious past, complicated present and, hopefully, a rewarding future. The countries that historically had long sea borders are almost destined to become the global shipbuilding centres. Since the ancient times, the marine shipping routes have connected the most distant nations, countries and entire continents through trade and economic relations. At the same time, the high seas were also a place for the constant battles between the fleets of the major seafaring nations. Thus, both civil and naval shipbuilding was and will always be of utmost importance for any country with a sea access. The product of this industry stays in demand at any time and under any circumstances – both during the periods of growth and the times of crises. The shipbuilding is subject to the same kind of difficulties as the economy as a whole, but due to the technological specifics of this industry it has some additional specific problems. This article deals with the comparative analysis of the recent and current state of the shipbuilding industries of Croatia and Russia. We tried to find out the problems that are similar for the shipbuilding industries of both countries, as well as their national particularities. The main difficulty for the comparative analysis was the fact that while the major part of the Croatian shipbuilding is civil, the Russian industry is predominantly naval. However, it does not preclude the existence of common problems, for the research of which the comparative analysis could be a useful tool

The financial condition of corporations of the Russian defense-industrial complex, which are included in the TOP lists of the largest military companies in the world

Research background: Over the recent period, new “players” have appeared on the world arms and military equipment markets as large exporters, which were previously positioned as large importers of weapons. As international experience shows, in order to become a global exporter of weapons and military equipment, one needs to create powerful military companies. Russian defense companies occupy high places in various TOP lists, which provides the country with a stable position in the export markets. An analysis of the financial condition of these companies makes it possible to deepen the assessment of the prospects for Russian arms exports. The authors have repeatedly addressed the topic of Russian arms exports and the place of Russia in the global arms and military equipment trade markets. Purpose of the article: The main goal of the study is to analyze the current financial standing of the leading Russian defense industry companies, which ensure the country’s stable positions in global export markets. Methods: Generalizations of the research are based on the processing and systematization of data obtained from available information sources. By analyzing the statistics, the authors were able to deduce the trends of the current moment and determine the prospects. Findings & Value added: Consideration of the financial condition of backbone enterprises of the Russian defense industry enabled the authors to make an educated guess about what the prospects for Russia hold high positions in the global markets of AME

Actual problems and limiting factors in the development of the Russian military-industrial complex

Research background: The completion of the ideological confrontation of socio-economic systems that occurred in the early 90s of XX century after the collapse of the USSR did not radically affect the development of the global defense industrial complex (DIC). Taking into account the place and role of national DICs in the economies of the world’s leading powers, we can only talk about the modification of their development in the new historical conditions. The defense industry complex in Russia, as before in the USSR, is one of the priority areas of the country’s development. Purpose of the article: The aim of the article was to study the current state of the Russian DIC, to analyse problems, limitations and prospects for its development. The hypothesis was put forward that the condition of the Russian DIC is currently determined by the whole complex of factors, both internal and external, and therefore the solution of these problems should also be comprehensive. Methods: The study was based on statistical analysis of information from both official databases (SIPRI, World Bank, Federal Government Statistics Service) and other open sources. Findings & Value added: The analysis showed that all corporations of the Russian DIC have positive dynamics in the value of their assets and generally demonstrate good financial stability under difficult external and internal economic and political conditions. At the same time, a number of problems requiring prompt resolution pose a threat to the successful development of the Russian defense industry in the near and distant future. The scientific value of research is determined by the comprehensive approach itself

Competition in the global arms trade markets and its consequences

Research background: The global arms markets are constantly fiercely competitive. Over the past period, new important trends have emerged in these markets, and the role of some countries is changing. This requires analytical reflection in order to assess the prospects for Russian arms exports. The authors have repeatedly addressed the topic of Russian arms exports and the place of Russia in the global arms and military equipment trade markets. Purpose of the article: The main purpose of the study is to analyze the current state of the global AME markets in individual segments, compare the positions of its main participants and assess the prospects for Russia's presence in these markets in the future. Methods: Generalizations of the research are based on the processing and systematization of data obtained from available information sources. By analyzing the statistics, the authors were able to deduce the trends of the current moment and determine the prospects. Findings & Value added: Analysis of the positions of individual "players" in these markets and the trends identified allowed the authors to make an educated guess about how events might develop in the future. Despite all the changes taking place in the global arms and military equipment markets, Russia has good prospects for maintaining and strengthening its positions in certain areas

Positions and prospects of Russian shipbuilding in the world market of naval equipment

Research background: The products of the arms and military equipment market create the material basis for the country’s military security. The most important segment of this market is the market of naval equipment. The acquired competencies have naturally led Russia to the role of the most important exporter in this market. The authors have repeatedly addressed the topic of Russian shipbuilding and the role of Russia in the world market of naval equipment and military ships. Purpose of the article: The main goal of the research is to analyze the current state of the market of naval equipment, the positions of its main participants and, especially, Russia. To determine the future prospects of Russia’s presence in this market, it was necessary to identify the main problems of Russian shipbuilding and consider the impact of external factors on the state of the industry. Methods: Generalizations of the research are based on processing and systematization of data obtained from available information sources. Analyzing the statistics, the authors were able to deduce the trends of the current moment and determine the prospects. Findings & Value added: The analysis of key market indicators, as well as the problems of Russian shipbuilding, allowed the authors to build possible scenarios for its future development, from optimistic under favorable external factors to pessimistic, in which the loss of not only military security, but also the position of the largest exporter in the world market of naval equipment and military ships is inevitable

Improvement of retail pricing strategies in food distribution networks in terms of global competition (St. Petersburg’s example)

The global crisis that hit the world economy at the end of the first decade of the 21st century has significantly affected Russia. Since 2014 and up until now, due to internal and external reasons, there has been an almost continuous decline in real disposable income of Russian households. Many Russian families are forced to economize down to the essentials. As is generally known, food costs are at the very bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and their reduction occurs in the last place. However, within this primary segment of consumption negative processes also occur; in determining the structure of costs the choice is cast over the quality of food and in favour of its affordability. Faced with the fall of its turnover, even large retail chains brands are forced to improve their pricing strategies in order to stabilize their falling revenues in the face of increasing competition. “How can they achieve this?” is the question the authors of two articles in this series attempt to answer. The first article examines problems associated with development of “customer loyalty programs”, and proposes a model for improving the existing system of trade margins. The article also looks at the advantages and limitations of the proposed model

Price strategies of mobile operators in Russia in the conditions of the global economic recession

Research background: Currently, the four major mobile communications providers dominate the Russian market. The oligopolistic structure leads to negative consequences, such as a weak stimulus for the product development or technological innovation, and the lack of incentive for the call-rate reduction. In their line of work, the mobile service providers use different price strategies. To comprehend what determines the current price level and what changes one should expect therein, we have to understand which factors influence the price of the mobile services. Purpose of the article: The chief goal of this work is the analysis of the influence of the crisis on the price strategies of the providers, as well as the forecasting of the changes of prices for their services. As the main hypothesis, this work presents the assumption that during the recession the price of the mobile services in the different regions of Russia will grow. Methods: The authors built regression models for the dependence of the average price of the mobile providers' services in a particular region from the selected factors. In this work, we selected the following types of the multiple regression equation as the modeling functions: linear, power-law, exponential. Adding the time factor (t) is the key element of the forecasting. Findings & Value added: After gathering the data and the subsequent calculation of the medium price baskets, we were able to build different multiple regression models. To build the forecasts for the dynamics of prices in the regions for the year 2018 we selected the best regression models. The analysis of the acquired forecasting results generally proved our hypothesis about the growth of the average prices for the mobile communications services, expected in 2018 in the majority of regions. The analysis itself, the programs created for its implementation, as well as the results obtained, can, in our opinion, be considered as some contribution to the development of the theory of price competition in oligopolistic markets. The mobile services' markets in many EU countries have a similar structure, and, with this in mind, the results of forecasting price dynamics obtained from Russian experience may be of interest to scholars dealing with similar problems in their respective countries, including the possibility of conducting comparative studies

Private Label as a global trend of food networks for pricing policy optimization (case study of St. Petersburg)

The practice of creating Private Label by large food chains is a global trend. Such international and Russian retailers as Auchan, SPAR, Prisma, Okay, Lenta, etc. have these products of their own brand. However, this marketing policy is not used by all the players in this market. In the conditions of a protracted economic recession that began in Russia in 2014, even such a seemingly stable sector of the economy as grocery retail faced a decline in its trade. The main reason for the current situation is, of course, a significant, more than 15% in 5 years, fall in real disposable incomes of Russian households. At the same time, for certain groups of households (families with children, single pensioners, etc.), the poverty is still much higher. In such households, expenses for food take significantly more than half of their incomes. The heightened competition of retail chains for a shrinking budget of buyers pushes them to search for new models of pricing policy. This article explores the possibility of using the practice Private Label by food chains

Oligopolistic Competition among Providers in the Telecommunication Industry: The Case of Slovakia

The issue of the paper is devoted to the oligopolistic market structure, which is a popular form of imperfect competition occurring in the current market economies. The main aim of the paper is to quantify the selected oligopolistic structure of the telecom industry in the Slovak market in the period 2013–2017. We subjected the oligopoly to concentration analysis of the market to quantify and assess the competitive environment in which mobile providers are operating. Market concentration was measured while using specific indicators of market concentration CR2, CR3, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, and coefficient of variation, using the information on total revenues of operators, the share of mobile operators on total revenues, number of active customers, and the penetration of SIM cards. The calculated values of the selected market concentration indices in the telecom sector proved that the mobile operators market is highly concentrated. The services that are offered by operators are not identical, and they are differentiated based on price, quality, availability, or the target group of customers. We also identified the entry barriers, which can be categorized to strategic, economic, technical, and time barriers. The Slovak telecom sector is an oligopoly where competitors offer slightly differentiated products; however, the competitive environment in which they operate is highly concentrated and competition needs to be regulated to achieve the sustainable development of the telecommunication sector