Assessment of the business climate for SMEs: The case of Moscow Region municipalities

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors affecting the business climate in the Moscow Region municipalities, to determine the nature of this influence, and on this basis to formulate recommendations for improving the business climate. The concept of “business climate” is treated as a combination of objective and subjective factors that affect entrepreneurial activity in a particular area. Based on the analysis of methods for assessing the business climate and the availability of data, factors such as financial support for small and medium-sized businesses, the level of development of urban infrastructure, the functioning of co-working centers, the difficulty of registering a business, obtaining licenses and permits for activities, the difficulty of paying taxes and finding personnel were selected, as well as a subjective assessment of the level of infrastructure development, the attitude of society towards entrepreneurs. In accordance with the results obtained, the level of development of urban infrastructure and the ease of registering a business make the entrepreneurial climate of the municipality more favorable and have a significant positive impact on entrepreneurial activity. According to the results of the survey, it can be concluded that the greatest difficulty for entrepreneurs is the search for personnel with the necessary qualifications. The number of coworking centers does not have a statistically significant impact on the level of entrepreneurial activity. The results obtained largely consistent with the findings of other studies. Thus, in order to improve the business climate, it is important to develop the urban environment, as well as to simplify the procedure for registering a business. It is recommended to hold more events (for example, job fairs in educational institutions) that will help entrepreneurs find qualified specialists, organize special programs for advanced training and retraining of personnel. In addition, it is recommended to expand the list of factors taken into account to assess the business climate in the Moscow Region and include the attitude of society towards entrepreneurs, as well as the level of development of urban infrastructure and the ease of business registration.