Innovation activity in industrial regions of Ukraine: current status, trends and challenges

At present innovations are firmly recognized as one of the main sources of sustainable economic growth for developed and emerging economies. In the countries which have undergone significant economic shocks the stimulation of the latent innovation potential is seen as a possible catalyst for economic recovery. That is why the further study of the problems of innovation, their effective commercialization and dissemination in the economy is an urgent problem. Innovation processes are extremely important for industrial regions because of the necessity of solving the strategic tasks connected with updating of technical and technological base of the industry and increase in scales of production of finished end products - knowledge-intensive, with a high share of a value added. The article is devoted to the analysis of the conditions and trends of innovation activity in the industrial regions of Ukraine. We used the latest available data provided by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and the Department of Statistics in the respective regions. The analysis indicated that the level of innovation activity, the volume of sales of innovative products and the structure of the general innovation expenditures in the industrial regions vary greatly. It is primarily caused by their different branch specialization, share of industry in the gross regional product and features of the industrial structure. Since 2011, by the indicator of a share of the innovative industrial enterprises in their general quantity the leading positions among other industrial regions are held by the Zaporozhye area (22,9% as of 2014). At the same time such high rate for Ukraine in general (average value across Ukraine makes 16,1%) much less similar indicator of the leading industrial countries. It is explained by the different reasons and, first of all, low level of the economic competition, poor quality of the institutional environment, low knowledge intensity of traditional industries. Disclosure of the regional innovation potential, strengthening of innovation demand of the industrial enterprises is a long-term and difficult process which requires more focused integrated efforts at the state and regional levels. It demands formation of the competitive market environment including attraction of direct foreign investments that will force business to invest in innovations, to refuse of outdated production technologies, to increase quality of production and promote fuller use of the available capacity of regions.