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. AcknowledgmentsThis 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).

The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of science and technology development and digital readiness of scientific research institutes based on the author's assessment methodology (a set of evaluations and multifactorial indicators). Keeping with the previous literature, the research is caused by the novelty of the problem, which suggests dividing the literature review into two main research groups: theoretical background, which concentrates on the digital readiness definition, and the impact of digital readiness on science. Moreover, the scientific significance lies in the fact that proposed ideas in the research, developed theoretical and methodological provisions can significantly enrich theories related to the identification of the digital readiness of science and its consumers. Further, the research is devoted to the development of assessment methods of digital changes and analysis of the level of development of digital readiness of scientific research institutes, which is based on the author's assessment methodology (a set of evaluations and multifactorial indicators). The methodology provides an opportunity to build ratings of the digital readiness of scientific-research institutes to the formation and development of a digital economy. Obtained results show that the priority task in the current and the future period is to increase the authority and recognition of scientific organizations, the quality of scientific research, and the formation of demand for scientific products.

The research aims to assess the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on economic growth in different regions of Kazakhstan. A few basic complex methods, such as systematisation of statistical data and regression analysis, conducted using the STATA software package, were used to analyse the relationship of indicators in different periods. Based on data for the period 2007–2018 obtained from the World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union and statistical yearbook of Kazakhstan, we assess how ICT, expressed by such indicators as Internet access in organisations, the number of computers and fixed telephones, influences economic growth. Our analysis revealed differences in the speed of implementation and development of ICT depending on the region, meaning that the least developed territories still lag in the number of Internet users. We have concluded that since 2014, the country’s currency has weakened due to the decrease in the cost of oil and consequent economic decline; mobile devices are increasingly used, reducing the demand for fixed telephones; computers in organisations are affecting economic growth in more developed regions since 2014, although the negative effect of Internet access is growing, as the model shows. The obtained results can used for strategy development to compare economic growth in regions with low, medium, and high development rates.

Kazakhstani companies have a long-standing problem of low technological innovation performance. With the increasing complexity of technology research and development and the continuous increase of costs and risks, cooperative research and development between enterprises has become one of the important ways of corporate innovation. This article is based on the World Bank 2019 Survey Data of Kazakhstani companies, the propensity score matching method and the generalized propensity score matching method are used to investigate the impact of inter-firm cooperative R&D decisions and the intensity of inter-firm cooperative R&D on the technological innovation performance of enterprises. The research results show that compared with not carrying out cooperative R&D between enterprises, carrying out cooperative R&D among enterprises can significantly improve the technological innovation performance of enterprises; only when the intensity of cooperative R&D between enterprises is at a relatively low level, increasing cooperative R&D between enterprises can significantly improve the technological innovation performance of enterprises, and when the intensity of cooperative R&D is too high, it will not effectively improve the technological innovation performance of enterprises.

In recent years, in the pre-pandemic period, offline marketplaces are popular, and in the post-pandemic period, online marketplaces are becoming more popular. During the quarantine restriction, many enterprises began to adapt to online sales. The enterprise that was able to adapt remained active in the economy, and enterprises that were unable to adapt went bankrupt. Within the framework of this issue, the aim of the research article was to analyze the specifics of the interaction of Kazakhstani women entrepreneurs in online shopping. In the course of the study, in addition to scientific methods, the interviewing method was used. The interview was attended by 29 businesswomen from Almaty city. The business areas of women engaged in entrepreneurship included such areas as the trade in adult clothing, the sale of fabrics, fashion salons, and the sale of Korean cosmetics. The purpose of the interview is to identify the reasons, and features of the work of Kazakhstani women on online marketplaces and identify the advantages and disadvantages of trading on offline marketplaces. The results of the interview can be used to achieve efficiency in organizing the work of the online marketplace. In addition, knowing the views of women, the potential of women in the regions of the state can be used to formulate policies aimed at developing the economy. That is, with the help of online work of women, it is necessary to influence the unemployment rate in the regions, and increase the source of income and other quality of life.