Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity Article Formation of an Export-Oriented Agricultural Economy and Regional Open Innovations Victor L. Shabanov 1 , Marianna Ya Vasilchenko 2 , Elena A. Derunova 2,* and Andrey P. Potapov 2 1 Sociological Faculty, Saratov State University, 410012 Saratov, Russia; [email protected] 2 Laboratory for Innovative Development of The Production Potential of The Agro-Industrial Complex, Institute of Agrarian Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 410012 Saratov, Russia; [email protected] (M.Y.V.); [email protected] (A.P.P.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: The aim of the work is to find relevant indicators for assessing the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross output of the industry, and agricultural exports using tools for modeling the impact of innovation and investment development on increasing production and export potential in the context of the formation of an export-oriented agricultural economy. The modeling methodology and the proposed estimating and forecasting tools for diagnosing and monitoring the state of sectoral and regional innovative agricultural systems are used to analyze the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross output of the industry, and agricultural exports based on the construction of the classification of Russian regions by factors that aggregate these features to diagnose incongruence problems and to improve institutional management in regional innovative export-oriented agrosystems. Based on the results of the factor analysis application, an underestimated role of indicators of investment in agriculture, the intensity and efficiency of agricultural production, were established. Based on the results of the cluster analysis, the established five groups of regions were identified, with significant differences in the level of investment in agriculture, the volume of production of the main types of agricultural Citation: Shabanov, V.L.; products, and the export and exported food. The research results are of practical value for use Vasilchenko, M.Ya.; Derunova, E.A.; in improving institutional management when planning reforms and transformations of regional Potapov, A.P. Formation of an innovative agrosystems. Export-Oriented Agricultural Economy and Regional Open Keywords: innovation and investment development; cluster analysis; principal components method; Innovations. J. Open Innov. Technol. regional agricultural systems; government support Mark. Complex. 2021, 7, 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7010032 Received: 10 December 2020 1. Introduction Accepted: 11 January 2021 Published: 14 January 2021 In modern conditions, the development of innovative and investment activities in agriculture is a driver for ensuring food security and increasing the export potential of the Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu- agro-industrial complex of countries. The problem of the formation of an export-oriented tral with regard to jurisdictional clai- regional agrarian economy in both the leading agrarian-oriented countries and Russia ms in published maps and institutio- is inextricably linked with an increase in the efficiency of the introduction of innovative nal affiliations. technologies and high-tech products in agricultural production. Foreign researchers mark the development of new technologies and methods of cultivation of agricultural crops as one of the priorities of sustainable agriculture [1]. The transfer of agriculture to a new technological basis is reflected in the use of Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Li- censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. software methods to create optimal projects in agriculture [2]. This article is an open access article At the same time, a high degree of differentiation of Russian regions in terms of distributed under the terms and con- geographic location, natural and climatic conditions, and level of resource provision acts ditions of the Creative Commons At- as a significant restriction on the formation of new export positions, prejudging the need to tribution (CC BY) license (https:// develop a differentiated state policy for each type of region and substantiate key strategies creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ for managing innovation and investment activities in order to strengthen the multiplier 4.0/). effect of investment not only for production, but also for export. J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2021, 7, 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7010032 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/joitmc J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2021, 7, 32 2 of 27 The territorial and sectoral aspect of agricultural production in the development and implementation of innovations actualizes the problem of analyzing the quality of innova- tion and investment development, finding tools for diagnosing, and quantitatively measur- ing regional innovation and investment activity. The formation of an export-oriented policy in the agricultural sector in the territorial context requires an in-depth understanding of the factors affecting the rate of innovative growth of agriculture in the regions. The academic contribution of this study is in the use of cluster modeling methodology and tools to analyze the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross industrial output, and agricultural exports. In this study, we develop tools for diagnosing incongruence problems and improving institutional management in regional innovative export-oriented agrosystems. The aim of the work is to find relevant indicators for assessing the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross output of the industry, and agricultural exports using tools for modeling the impact of innovation and investment development on increasing production and export potential in the context of the formation of an export- oriented agricultural economy. The study tested the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1 (H1). The imperfection of the assessment and forecasting development toolkit does not allow for effective management of innovation processes in regional agricultural systems. Hypothesis 2 (H2). The underestimated impact of investments on production and exports slows down the level of innovative activity in agriculture. The work sets and solves the following logically related tasks: ­ Generalization of theoretical and methodological approaches to study the essence of innovation and investment activities in regional agricultural systems in the formation of an export-oriented agricultural sector of the economy. ­ Content analysis of scientific publications on the use of hierarchical regional classifi- cation in the study of problems of the functioning of regional agricultural systems. ­ Systematization of factors of production, investment, and export potential of the agro- industrial complex of Russia when conducting a hierarchical regional classification. ­ Revealing the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross output of the industry, and export of agricultural products based on the classification of Russian regions by factors that aggregate these characteristics and characterize production, investment, and export potential. ­ Substantiation of the main directions for improving innovation and investment ac- tivities by groups of regions of the selected clusters, contributing to an increase in the efficiency of agricultural production and the creation of an export-oriented agricultural sector of the economy. ­ Substantiation of theoretical and methodological approaches to model the impact of innovation and investment development on the formation of an export-oriented agricultural sector of the economy. The modeling methodology and the proposed assessment and forecasting tools for di- agnosing and monitoring the state of sectoral and regional innovative agricultural systems are used to analyze the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross output of the industry, and agricultural exports based on the classification of Russian regions by factors that aggregate these signs and the development of recommendations for increasing the innovation and investment activity of regional agricultural systems in the context of the formation of an export-oriented economy. The novelty of the approach lies in the possibility of applying a differentiated approach to the development of tools and strategies of state regulation in accordance with the typology of regions based on the results of the cluster analysis and the development of measures to improve the development of the regional system of the agricultural economy. J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2021, 7, 32 3 of 27 The results can be taken into account in the formation of the innovation and investment policy of the export-oriented agricultural economy. The results indicate the possibility of using the developed assessment and forecasting tools for diagnosing and monitoring the state of sectoral and regional innovative agricultural systems and their balanced sustainable development. The research results are of practical value in the development of mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of innovation and investment activities for the formation of an export-oriented agricultural sector of the economy. This work is organized as follows. ­ The purpose, main research questions, and novelty of the approach are in the first section. ­ The literature review and theoretical background of the study are discussed in the second section. ­ The third section presents the methodology