Lean Startup to Increase the Competitiveness of Russian Universities: Scientific and Theoretical Aspects

A lean (economical) startup as a new object of research for introducing lean management as a specific management concept in Russian universities, based on a system of standards in the field of lean manufacturing, is considered as an opportunity to increase the competitiveness of universities. The object of the research is lean management in higher education institutions as a source of increasing their competitiveness while the subject is a lean startup as a component of lean management in universities, where the beneficiaries are “external” and “internal” participants in the educational process; reflecting the competitive advantages of the university in the fields of innovative entrepreneurship, social sphere. The research aim is to update the development of lean management in higher education institutions; to clarify the participants of the lean management market in Russian universities. The methods include general scientific methods, analysis of the website of the Association of Lean Universities. The research information base covers the works in the Scientific Electronic Library, Google Scholar. As a result, the evolution of the development of lean management in universities, in the Russian educational space, is clarified based on the analysis of the works of researchers in the field of “Publication activity” from 2020 to the present; the concepts of lean management in universities and lean startup in the broad and narrow senses of the word are clarified. It is noted that the fundamental difference between lean management in universities in a narrow and broad senses is the presence of the university ecosystem, the network nature of all its participants’ interaction. The formed definition has methodological significance for the entire higher education system, including the need to adjust lean management standards taking into account the essence of education; the need to form standards for creating a new product based on lean management standards, according to the requirements of a specific area of the industrial partner (industry, services, healthcare, creative industries).

1. Antonova I.I. (2013) Berezhlivoye proizvodstvo: sistemnyy podkhod k ego vnedreniyu na predpriyatiyakh Respubliki Tatarstan [Lean production: A systematic approach to its implementation at enterprises of the Republic of Tatarstan]. Kazan: Poznaniye.

2. Belyaev N.S., Chudnova O.A. (2021) Improvement of the Enterprise through the Implementation of an Innovative Project Management Mechanism Based on Lean Startup. Aktual’nyye nauchnyye issledovaniya v sovremennom mire. No. 1–4(69). P. 79–86.

3. Fedorova E.A., Nevar V.S., Kazakova N.A. (2017) Obosnovaniye razvitiya sovremennogo biznesa na osnove modeli «berezhlivogo startapa» [Justification of modern business development based on the lean startup model]. Finansovyye strategii i modeli ekonomicheskogo rosta Rossii: problemy i resheniya. Moskow: Izdatel’stvo “Auditor”. P. 116–125.

4. Fedoseeva ZA. (2023) Implementation of Lean Technologies in the Conditions of the Educational System of the Region. Innovatsionnoye razvitiye professional’nogo obrazovaniya. No. 3(39). P. 114–121.

5. Gumerova G.I., Shaimieva E.Sh. (2024) Creative Industries in the Data Economy: The Essence of Perspective. Ekonomika Severo-Zapada: problemy i perspektivy razvitiya. No. 3(78). P. 60–72. DOI: 10.52897/2411-4588-2024-3-60-72

6. Kaylan K.B., Russel S.M., Justice C.N., Sheena M.K., Hirshfield L.E., Heiman H.L., Curry R.H. (2021) Applying the Lean Startup Method to Structure Project-Based, Student-Driven Curricular Enhancements. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. Vol. 34. Is. 4. P. 434–443. DOI: 10.1080/10401334.2021.1928501

7. Khan S., Dimache A., Gorman D., Gachon C. (2024) Lean in Higher Educational Institutes: A Literature Review. Studies in Educational Management. Vol. 15. P. 1–19. DOI: 10.32038/sem.2024.15.01

8. Leonova M.B., Subbotin S.A., Penzin O.V., Karpov O.E. (2023) Specifics of Digital Solutions Acceleration in a Medical Organization. Vrach i informatsionnyye tekhnologii. No. 1. P. 50–61. DOI: 10.25881/18110193_2023_1_50

9. Nadreeva L.L., Moiseev R.E., Zverev A.V. (2015) Formation of Lean Thinking Based on the Use of Active Learning Methods. Sovremennyye problemy nauki i obrazovaniya. No. 5. Available at: https://elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_32664444_39636666.pdf

10. Nekhoda E.V., Roshchina I.V., Pan Li (2023) Evolution of Forms of Joint Activity: From Fordism to the Ecosystem of Cooperation. Ekonomika truda. Vol. 10. No. 9. P. 1331–1352. DOI: 10.18334/et.10.9.118984

11. Pyatkova O.N., Lobova S.V. (2024) Review of Approaches to Creating a Value Proposition in Startups. Professorskiy zhurnal. Seriya: ekonomicheskiye nauki. No. 2(2). P. 23–32. DOI: 10.18572/3034-2341-2024-2-2-23-32

12. Salnikova Ju.A. (2023) Tracking Technology in Supporting Startup projects: Key Roles and Their Functions. Nauchnyye zapiski NGUEU. No. 2. P. 13–17.

13. Scuotto V., Alfiero S., Cuomo M.T. Monge F. (2024) Knowledge Management and Technological Innovation in Family SMEs Context. Journal of Knowledge Management. Vol. 28 Is. 3. P. 789–798. DOI: 10.1108/JKM-04-2023-0281

14. Shabalin M.V., Reshetnikova I.S., Nemkov A.G., Kulikova I.B. (2023) Using MVP in the Development of a Software Product for an Infectious Disease Monitoring Information System. Menedzher zdravookhraneniya. No. 12. P. 51–59. DOI: 10.21045/1811-0185-2023-12-51-59

15. Solodikhina А., Solodikhina М. (2021) The Techno-Startup Course of the School of Entrepreneurship as an Introduction to Innovation. Sovremennaya konkurentsiya. No. 2(82). P. 132–143. DOI: 10.37791/2687-0657-2021-15-2-132-143

16. Surovitskaya G.V. (2023) Models for the Implementation of Innovation Policy of Universities. Modeli, sistemy, seti v ekonomike, tekhnike, prirode i obshchestve. No. 2. P. 77–86. DOI: 10.21685/2227-8486-2023-2-5