Introduction. Service quality and variety is currently the key success factor in retail trade. Retail service assessment can improve customer experience. The SERVQUAL method makes it possible to evaluate the service quality and solve the detected problems in customer service, thus securing the brand loyalty. Study objects and methods. The present research was based on a customer service survey conducted among 500 customers of the Lenta hypermarket in Kemerovo (Russia) in 2018. The results of the questionnaire underwent a SERVQUAL analysis. The obtained data on the customers’ needs and the degree of their satisfaction with the hypermarket customer service made it possible to develop recommendations for the retail chain. Results and discussion. The respondents answered three groups of questions: expectations, experience, and importance. The assortment of goods proved to be the most important factor, and there were no complaints in this respect regarding the Lenta retail chain. The attended time was rated second. Its assessment demonstrated a gap between the expectations and the experience (Q = –1.3). Retail space service also proved important; however, this aspect of service quality demonstrated the greatest gap between expectations and experience. Conclusion. The three-part SERVQUAL questionnaire helped to reveal the problems in the organization of the shopping service. The subsequent improvement will be important for consumers and the retail chain.

The effective innovation activity in the region depends on the state and development of its innovative potential. The authors used theoretical, statistical, comparative, and analytical methods to describe the concept of innovative potential, evaluate its current state in the Kemerovo Region, and identify the promising areas for its development. The article introduces a comparative analysis of innovative and entrepreneurial activity in the Kemerovo Region in 2016–2020. The methodology developed by the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University made it possible to compare the indicators of innovative development in different regions of the Siberian Federal District. The analysis included the dynamics of the factors in order to calculate the indicators of innovative development and rank the regions. In terms of innovation activity, the Kemerovo Region appeared to be inferior to such leading regions of the Siberian Federal District as Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, and Krasnoyarsk. However, the region has good potential opportunities for innovative development. The authors recommend several promising directions that could develop the innovative potential of the region, create competitive advantages, attract additional investment, develop its digitalization potential, and increase its participation in the federal innovative, scientific, and technical policy, as well as to make it attractive for young people.

The current development of the digital economy determines the relevance of digital marketing as an innovative technology of service promotion. The research features a set of marketing tools used by NST company to promote services. The  research objective was to develop recommendations for the implementation of digital marketing technology in the company. The study used methods of economic and comparative analysis. The authors analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional marketing tools used by NST and proposed tools of digital marketing, such as website development, SEO-optimization, contextual advertising, and the project of a new business card with a QR-code. A combined use of various digital marketing tools gives a much greater effect, thus attracting more customers and improving the efficiency of the company. The recommendations can be successfully used by other organizations wishing to promote their production and services in the modern market.

Human capital is the most important development factor of an innovative economy. Managers at all levels are beginning to recognize the importance of human qualities and skills, as well as the need for their development. The present research diagnozed the state of human capital of the Kemerovo Experimental Mechanical Repair Plant. The paper outlines the theoretical and methodological foundations of human capital, introduces some prospects for its development, analyzes staffing and HR processes, assesses the current system of motivation and remuneration, measures the cost of the human capital, and evaluates all its elements, namely education, culture, and health. A sociological questionnaire made it possible to assess the satisfaction from labor conditions and management, as well as the level of motivation. The authors offer some improvement measures for the development of the human capital within the enterprise in question.