Potential for business participation in the development of social infrastructure (based on public opinion assessments)

Introduction: authorities pay a considerable attention to the search for tools to increase the efficiency of the infrastructural profile development in Russian territories. The insufficiency of local budgets, the infrastructure fund deterioration and other problems force both the authorities and the population to turn to practices of cooperation with the business community. Objectives: to analyze the potential opportunities and exist restrictions on the participation of business representatives in the processes of territories social infrastructure development. Methods: a questionnaire survey of local communities’ representatives (N=844). Results: the study showed the existence of a contradiction in the population’s assessments between the low importance of business as a subject of territorial development and the inflated demand for the resource contribution of entrepreneurs to the social infrastructure modernization. Public opinion is dominated by the idea of social responsibility priority in business to the detriment of the economic feasibility of financial investments made by entrepreneurs. In particular, the respondents’ answers illustrate the narrowed range of business participation in infrastructure development: sponsorship and charity. Only a third of residents demonstrated interest in increasing the share of private social infrastructure facilities. Among rural residents and the population of small towns in the Russian Federation, the consumer demand for entrepreneurs to finance infrastructure development is more dominant. Conclusions: the results of the study showed the high potential for business participation in the development of territorial infrastructure, due to the high public demand for these practices. However, given the dominance of population paternalistic expectations, insufficient interest in the services of private infrastructure facilities and a generally low level of public trust, the potential for attracting business to the development of territorial infrastructure is significantly limited.