Neural networks in the research of innovation activity of small businesses in the subjects of the Russian Federation as one of the incentives for economic growth of the country

According to the national goal “Technological Leadership” of the Russian Federation, neural network modeling of the current state of socio-economic activity of small businesses in the subjects of the country from the perspective of innovative development and digital transformation was carried out. Entrepreneurial activity, one of the types of which is small business, refers to one of the initiative forms of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation and ensuring its technological sovereignty and technological leadership. Small business activates the development of innovative solutions, contributing to strengthening the economic security of the country. The paper considers and examines the data of the Federal State Statistics Service for 2023. Cluster analysis is performed using a new promising methodological approach — neural networks, which make up one of the significant components of artificial intelligence. The clustering of data was carried out on the basis of self-organizing artificial neural networks using information technologies according to 7 indicators certifying the innovative component and digital transformation in the activities of small businesses in the subjects of Russia. The following regions of the Russian Federation are not involved in the study: Donetsk People’s Republic, Luhansk People’s Republic, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions due to the lack of selected indicators on the website of the Federal State Statistics Service. The ranking of the subjects of the Russian Federation in five clusters was obtained. The composition and characteristics of each cluster are presented. The conducted research using neural network technologies made it possible to determine the features of innovative development and the state of digital transformation of small businesses in the subjects of the country. The results of the study contain a practical orientation and can be taken into account in the strategic planning of small business development in the context of increasing coordination of strategies for its innovation activities and strategies of the state, related to the dominant internal factors of the socio-economic potential of the Russian Federation in order to strengthen the technological leadership of the Russian Federation.