CLUSTER ANALYSIS OF FACTORS EFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE ACTIVITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE QUALITY

One of the priorities in terms of building an innovation economy and promoting innovation activities at all level is infrastructure development, i.e. a modality for integrating innovation processes at different levels and in different economic sectors. Among the most significant limitations to innovative growth is infrastructure quality which conditions the investment appeal of national economy and the speed of return on investment. This paper adopted Ward's hierarchical clustering method to analyze various Russian regions. Cluster analysis revealed a direct correlation between infrastructure development indicators and innovation parameters. One of the disruptive factors is a time lag between innovation subjects' demand for individual infrastructure elements and their actual exploitation. In the current context, there is a need to develop projections and comprehensive plans for regional development, thereby improving the efficiency of innovation potential and eliminating the existing disproportions between the levels of innovative development.