Undertaking innovation activities at enterprises: A model for building efficient teams

Abstract

The pandemic-induced financial crisis forces modern Russian enterprises to look for ways to maximise their efficiency while keeping financial investment to a minimum. A potential avenue is to attain a high level of innovation feasibility due to efficient human resource management, in particular through the optimal distribution of employees between projects. The research aims to investigate the possibilities and limitations of contemporary mechanisms for building effective teams and develop a model for staffing innovation activities at enterprises. The methodological basis of the research includes the theory of team effectiveness and team intelligence, conceptual understandings of team formation modelling. In terms of the methods, the study uses in-depth interviews, projective techniques, modified semantic and personal differential, economic statistical modelling, qualification testing, Markowitz portfolio analysis, and digital methods for addressing the issues of optimisation. The authors propose a three-level model for staffing innovation activities, which allows determining and adjusting the composition of teams quickly in line with the company goals and for specific projects. Testing of the model at the case of an enterprise in Chelyabinsk oblast demonstrated its efficiency and practical value. The adoption of the model promotes income growth, diminishes risks of innovation activities, and shortens the payback period of projects, which is esp