Robotization as a Factor of Russian Firms’ Adaptation to Non-Economic Shocks

Robotization and automation of various industries is one of the main technological trends of the past decade. However, the contribution of robotization to firms' success in the COVID-19 crisis has been far from fully explored to date. In addition, there is a lack of empirical studies on the impact of robotics on companies’ operation under the shock of the sanctions of 2022. The article is devoted to the analysis of factors and effects of robotization of Russian manufacturing companies in the context of recent shocks. Three hypotheses are put forward to be empirically tested: (1) in the pandemic and post-pandemic period, robotization was more characteristic of large businesses than of small and medium-sized firms; (2) firms that used robots overcame the crisis more successfully; (3) robotized firms performed better under the 2022 sanctions. The research approach consists of the empirical analysis (through regression modeling) of data from a survey of 1,900 Russian manufacturing companies’ CEOs conducted in the second half of 2022. The authors found a positive relationship between robot adoption after 2019 and the business size. It is shown that in the COVID-19 crisis robotization was an important factor in preserving employment. The authors also found a significant positive relation between the success of companies in passing the COVID-19 and sanctions shocks and their use of imported equipment. The study provides new insights into the factors of Russian firms’ robotization in the pandemic and post-pandemic period, as well as the specifics of their adaptation to shocks in 2020 and 2022. From a practical point of view, the most important results are the evidence obtained on the widening digital divide between SMEs and large firms, as well as on the contribution of the use of imported capital goods to the resiliency of Russian firms.