Sharbanu Turdalina

The study aims to analyze the innovation potential of enterprises, explain the use of the binary regression methodology, and explore different indicators of the enterprises in the regions of Kazakhstan for building an effective management strategy. Methodological substantiation is based on the complex survey data analysis, provided by the World Bank Enterprises Survey (WBES) for Kazakhstan. WBES database has covered a sociological survey of enterprises, which was conducted using a random survey and representativeness among 1,296 enterprises, mainly in the production sector. Besides, the data were collected among companies regarding their experience in environmental perception (including innovation activity), in which they worked. The results have demonstrated that the age of the company, exporter status, type, sector, or activity – all these have a positive influence on the company’s tendency to innovations. However, as part of the study, it has found out that competitors in the marketplace and regions of activity of enterprises predominantly negatively affect the prospects of introducing innovation. It was also in evidence that the same factors (foreign ownership, advanced training, type, size, and sector of an enterprise) are essential determinants of product, technology, R&D, ICT, and innovation. Obtained results can be used by enterprises for building an effective management strategy of own business innovative development, as well as by local authorities to upgrade the competitive performance.

Acknowledgments
This study has been funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant “Priorities and mechanisms of inclusive regional development of Kazakhstan in the context of overcoming the economic recession” No. AP09259004).

Project managers from different areas struggle to find universal set of factors to achieve high project efficiency. However, the project efficiency assessment varies across industries, making it difficult to apply general concepts and guidelines in the specific project environment. The study’s main purpose is to assess the impact of organizational support on project efficiency in different areas and identify critical processes that increase it. The paper presents quantitative research results by using data from 261 project managers in the Republic of Kazakhstan during 2018–2019. The research sample consists of commercialization projects, scientific projects, social projects, and projects from the service industry. The research findings show the different quality levels of top management support and its high correlation with project efficiency. Furthermore, the study reveals the specific processes for each investigated type of project that highly correlate with project efficiency dimensions. Commercialization projects that intensively use the organizational support processes were the most efficient projects by showing the best result in cost overrun (15%) and the second resulted in schedule overrun (17%). These findings have theoretical and practical implications, supporting project managers in increasing their project efficiency by choosing the critical, proper project management tools and techniques.

Type of the article: Research Article

Support for the education system is a strategic measure that ensures the long-term development and growth of a country’s economy. Increased funding in this area enables the training of qualified specialists who can adapt to the challenges of the modern economy. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to assess the impact of government spending on education to generate highly intelligent human capital on economic growth in Kazakhstan from 2009 to 2023 using the least squares method, which includes components of government spending on education, as well as the GLS random effects model, which is used to determine the reliability of results. The results show a strong relationship between economic growth and government spending on secondary technical education (0.2393), a moderate relationship between higher education spending (0.0423) and economic development, and a weak relationship between primary education (–0.0050) and economic growth. Thus, a 1-point increase in expenditures for secondary technical education may lead to a 0.2393% increase in GRP, and a 1-point increase in government spending on higher education will lead to a 0.0423% increase in GRP. However, a significant share of government spending is on basic primary education (58%). Based on this, the financing of the education system requires a shift in the financing vector, with a greater focus on higher and secondary technical education, to achieve a more significant impact on economic development.

Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (AP19680246 “Building up highly intelligent human resources in the conditions of digitalization of the economy of Kazakhstan: problems and prospects”, 2023–2025).