Transformation of Ecosystems’ Role in the Context of Current Conditions of Digital Economy Development in Russia

Abstract

The article analyses the stages of the ecosystem concept evolution, which determined the change in approaches to the definition of
the concept, to the study of the Russian regulatory framework for ecosystem models, to identifying the possibilities of
the technological infrastructure of ecosystems for the creating and promoting advanced digital technologies, as well as their
integration into the implementation of the national project «Digital Economy of the Russian Federation». In the course of
the study, the following results were obtained. Firstly, the evolution of the ecological concept of ecosystems, which determined
the interactions between living organisms and environmental factors, is defined by the complexity of the business environment
and the metaphorical transfer of the biosphere element properties to the relationship between business organizations.
The digital revolution at the turn of the 20–21 centuries supplemented the concept with digital nature, defining the complex
essence of the modern system. Secondly, the improvement of legal regulation of ecosystems is represented by a consensus of federal
authorities and the business community. Accordingly, a balanced legislation is being formed that combines support for competition
and stimulation of innovative technologies development within the framework of ecosystem models. Thirdly, the technological
infrastructure of ecosystems, against the background of unfavorable external conditions that negatively affect the joint evolution of
organizations of various sectors of the economy, is transformed into a local innovation system. Network cooperation of participants in the innovation process provides support for the development and scaling of advanced digital solutions, including end-to-end
digital technologies. Fourthly, the mechanism for promoting the technologies developed by the ecosystem seems to be an effective
tool for solving the problem of insufficient business interest in the implementation of the national project “Digital Economy of
the Russian Federation”, which has worsened because of the Western countries’ sanction policy. Based on the results obtained,
it can be concluded that the ecosystem is becoming a key element of the innovation process in the modern conditions of
the domestic digital economy development.