Key Indicators of Innovation Performance: Perception of Significance and Practical Application

This paper is devoted to the study of the correlation between the perceived significance of indicators of innovation activity and their actual use at enterprises of the Russian manufacturing industry. A sample of 132 manufacturing enterprises in Russia was used for the analysis. It was found that the recognition of the significance and the actual use of financial and non-financial indicators varies significantly depending on the affiliation of companies to a particular innovation regime: radical innovators, technological innovators, effective producers, creators of value innovations and imitators. Three key performance indicators (KPIs) reflecting the company's focus on the introduction of technological innovations (the share of modern equipment in the company's technology park (taking into account the technological features of industries); the average time to adapt the acquired innovative product, days; the share of implemented patents from the total number of patents received by the organization) were recognized as important managers of companies belonging to technological and radical innovators (74.5, 76.9, 78.1%, respectively). Three key performance indicators reflecting customer orientation (the number of new categories of products or services introduced in the reporting year; the share of products certified according to international standards in the total production of the company; the percentage of innovative expenditures on the modernization of existing products/processes/business models in relation to the total innovative expenditures on products/processes/business models) were recognized as important companies classified as effective producers and creators of value innovations (83.4, 81.9, 76.8%, respectively). But at the same time, the study showed that the most commonly used indicators are sales growth from new products (88.7%); the share of patents implemented (74.3%); total R&D expenses per 1 thousand dollars of revenue in the current reporting period (89.2%). In summary, conclusions are drawn about the actual application of key performance indicators of innovation activity by companies.