Evaluation of the potential for commercial space industry growth: an entrepreneurial environment analysis of Russia
- Paper number
IAC-15,E6,2,6,x30957
- Author
Dr. Praskovia Milova, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
- Coauthor
Mr. Jan Svoboda, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), Germany
- Year
2015
- Abstract
Sustained development of the commercial space sector hinges on a thriving entrepreneurial environment. Start-ups foster market diversity, competition, and technological evolution leading to profitable innovation. While innovation occurs at the level of the individual, entrepreneurship requires both personal initiative as well as an appropriate socioeconomic environment. Consequently, factors such as the existence of poor cultural perceptions of entrepreneurship, perceived technical risk, and general lack of awareness may negatively impact entrepreneurial development and the growth of the commercial space sector. This is a serious concern, as commercial space acts to mobilize business-minded innovators while repurposing “out-there” space technologies for direct application on Earth. At the 2014 Space Generation Congress, the entrepreneurship working group investigated the current entrepreneurial environment in Russia at three levels a) Microscopic: the perspectives and challenges faced by the individual entrepreneur; b) Mesoscopic: the impact of start-up accelerators and events which serve to create awareness and unite like minded individuals; and c) Macroscopic: the impact of culture on willingness to enter space industry, the role of government policy in enabling entrepreneurship, and the interactions between competing businesses. This paper provides analyzes of the overall entrepreneurial environment in Russia on the three levels defined above. An investigation into country’s culture, government policies, and economic factors was performed to characterize its entrepreneurial potential. This investigation yields insights as to the role of local values, societal stigma, current state of the economy, governmental policy, and other demographic indicators in the growth of the space industry. Considering specifics of Russian space sector, the research tries to evaluate how favourable the conditions are for space entrepreneurs to start their own companies/initiatives, and how established players and new entrants can benefit from each other within Russian space industry.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)