For citation:
Potaptseva, E. V., & Bryantseva, O. S. (2025). Qualified Customer Model as New Phenomenon of Russian Industrial Policy. AlterEconomics, 22(4), 683–703. https://doi.org/10.31063/AlterEconomics/2025.22-4.7
Abstract:
This article examines the role of the Qualified Ordering Entity (QOE) in Russia’s national technological leadership projects (NTLPs) and examines how structured technological demand can be developed in an economy seeking to strengthen its scientific and industrial capabilities. The study is especially relevant in light of Russia’s development model, which focuses on domestic high-tech solutions and closer links between research, engineering, and industrial production. The aim of the study is to assess how effectively the QOE institution is designed and whether it can facilitate the advancement of technologies from laboratory research to industrial application. The study analyzes the regulatory framework, project governance structures, and data from existing national projects, using a combination of normative-institutional and empirical analysis. This approach highlights how the technological project system operates in practice and where institutional gaps emerge. The findings reveal significant variation across projects in the number of QOEs and implementing organizations, levels of funding, scope of technological tasks, and depth of cooperation networks. These disparities reflect the absence of a unified planning framework and clear accountability rules. The study also identifies broader issues, including uncertainty in long-term demand mechanisms, ambiguity in QOE functions, and limited participation of private industry, all of which risk formalizing the QOE model without achieving its intended impact. The article proposes measures to strengthen the QOE institution: harmonizing regulatory definitions, introducing transparent evaluation and monitoring tools, improving project execution discipline, and expanding industrial participation. The study will appeal to readers interested in industrial policy, project management, and technology development.
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