What hinders the development of small businesses: the view of the Murmansk Oblast entrepreneurs

In recent years there has been a slowdown in the growth rate of Russia’s sector of small and medium entrepreneurship; this issue once again brings to the fore the search for new ways and mechanisms in the management of its subjects. A necessary condition for such a search consists in focusing on the problems that hinder the development of this sector and that can be revealed exclusively in the formation of valuable and accurate information – the collective views of its representatives. In this regard, the information base for the analysis was found in the results of several studies initiated by the all-Russian public organization “OPORA Rossii” (Moscow), its regional branch in Murmansk and the Northern Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the results were obtained in the course of the questionnaire survey, which was conducted among entrepreneurs with the purpose of revealing their assessment of the terms of doing business. The generalization of the research results and information obtained by the author in cooperation with representatives of small business and workers of the Prosecutor’s Office has identified the main problems, their causes and consequences of their impact on the activity of the Murmansk Oblast business sector. In the opinion of a significant part of businessmen, such factor as business climate plays a decisive role in the creation and development of the sector in the region. Despite the complexity of the situation, entrepreneurs do not lose hope of solving their problems and see the solution to the problem in efficient work of the regional and municipal authorities. The author’s conclusions may become a reference point for further reforms in the sphere of management of small enterprises in the Murmansk Oblas