The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on business-state interaction: The business view

The paper reviews the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business climate and the activities of Russian union of industrials and entrepreneurs member companies. On the basis of a survey of 480 companies (both Russian and foreign operating in Russia) the changes in the interaction between business and government, regulation, as well as the risks and opportunities faced by companies in the crisis caused by the spread of a new coronavirus infection are analyzed. High demand from business for systemic, including administrative, support measures rather than financial measures was identified during the pandemic. The specifics of the problems of small businesses were analyzed. The cases of transformation of the best corporate practices into legislative innovations are considered, in particular, using labor legislation as a reference. The paper presents the changes in the approach of particular authorities to providing support and communication with the business community, including both negative and positive practices. It also analyzes the trends of digitalization of interaction between business and state, including the risks of insufficient transition to an electronic interaction format. The problems faced by companies while obtaining support, such as excessive requirements and conditions for providing support, complex reporting system and narrow scope of support recipients, are discussed in the paper.