Vol. 9, No 4, 2012 pp. 407 - 416
UDC 330.341.1:338.124.4
INNOVATION ACTIVITIES IN THE PERIOD OF CRISIS
Marija Džunić
Faculty of Economics, University of Niš, Serbia
marija.dzunic@eknfak.ni.ac.rs
The outbreak of the global economic crisis has caused significant changes in the functioning of modern economies. The effects of the crisis are reflected in production decline, bankruptcy of major financial intermediaries and a sharp drop of turnover in financial markets. The accompanying manifestations of these events are reflected in the sharp fall of aggregate demand, the firms' profit decline and chronic lack of financial funds. In these circumstances, the economic category most affected by the crisis is innovation. However, even in a time of crisis there are firms whose innovation activity has not reduced, while the main drivers of innovation are changing. The paper suggests that the recession may not necessarily cause a drop in the investment activities of the firms, and particularly emphasizes the role of the national innovation infrastructure in encouraging innovation in the crisis period. Social networks as social structures that promote cooperation between firms contribute to the intensification of innovation processes that take place as process embedded in a given social, institutional and cultural environment.
Key Words: economic crisis, innovations, national innovation system, social networks
INOVACIONE AKTIVNOSTI U PERIODU KRIZE
Izbijanje svetske ekonomske krize izazvalo je značajne promene u funkcionisanju savremenih privreda. Očigledne posledice krize ogledaju se u padu proizvodnje, bankrotstvu velikih finansijskih posrednika i oštrom padu prometa na finansijskim tržištima. Prateće manifestacije ovih događanja ogledaju se u znatnom padu agregatne tražnje, padu profita preduzeća i hroničnom nedostatku finansijskih sredstava. U ovakvim uslovima, ekonomska kategorija koja je najviše pogođena krizom jesu inovacije. Međutim, čak i u kriznom periodu postoje preduzeća čija se inovaciona aktivnost ne smanjuje. Takođe, u periodu krize se menjaju osnovni pokretači inovacija. U radu se ukazuje da u recesiji ne mora neminovno doći do opadanja investicione aktivnosti preduzeća, a posebno se ističe uloga nacionalne inovacione infrastrukture u podsticanju inovacija u kriznom periodu. Društvene mreže kao društvene strukture koje podstiču saradnju između preduzeća doprinose intenziviranju inovacionih procesa koji se odvijaju kao ukorenjeni procesi u datom društvenom, institucionalnom i kulturnom okruženju.
Ključne reči: ekonomska kriza, inovacije, nacionalni inovacioni sistem, društvene mreže
