International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

The paper comments on Bulgaria’s penultimate position in the Global Innovation Index 2024. This position provoked the authors’ scientific interest in analysing the innovation environment in the country. The results of the analysis are considered according to individual indicators of the innovation environment, with the emphasis on the difficulties and problems facing the development of innovations. Innovations are a strategic factor for the development and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises. On the basis of our own research with managers of industrial enterprises, conclusions about the opportunities and challenges for the development of innovations are formulated.

Тechnological innovations and change in highly regulated sectors such as the energy sector depend on decisions made by political actors in what is called a ‘joint decision system’. Such systems comprise divergently constituted actors, varying from electoral bodies to expert committees to industry representatives. The problem with decisions made in joint decisions system is that they depend more often than not on the unilateral agreement between all the participant is the decisions. The presence of veto players in areas of divergent interests creates a ‘joint decision trap’: situation where suboptimal decisions are taken. This explains why even in areas such as energy efficiency where preferences among decision makers do not vary so much as in other areas, the EU regulation, creating incentives for technological change develops rather slow.
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The article studies the prerequisites for the introduction of process innovations at ZMM Nova Zagora JSC. The main principles of an original approach for decreasing the degree of discrete manufacturing by introducing an innovative technological process for mechanical machining of tooth gears are expounded. The results of its introduction in the gear grinding workshop are presented.