Theoretical and methodological aspects of assessing innovation activity at the meso-level

It is substantiated that the variety of theoretical and methodological approaches used to assess innovation activity at the meso-level is due to different interpretations of its essence as a complex characteristic of the intensity of innovation activity. The article presents the analysis for the methodological tools used for assessment, reflects integral indicators, and reveals their characteristics. As a result of the theoretical analysis, systematization, and generalization, it was revealed that the methods proposed in the scientific literature and tested in practice differ significantly in terms of the list of quantitative and qualitative indicators, the degree of their aggregation, and the methods of assessment. In addition, in most cases, they reflect individual aspects of innovation activity. In this regard, their use does not allow for a comprehensive comparative assessment of innovation activity. It is concluded that the use of the resource-based approach allows for a greater reflection of the scale and intensity of innovation activity as the most important characteristics of innovation activity, while the use of the results-based approach makes it possible to measure and evaluate the findings and efficiency of innovation activity as the main goal of innovation activity. The presented study findings can be used by specialists to select methodological tools for assessing innovation activity at the meso-level.

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