Monitoring of internal and external factors of strategic development of the Solovetsky archipelago: working out a “factor’s network”

Monitoring of internal and external factors of the environmental management of the Solovetsky Archipelago is necessary due to increased demand in long--‐term strategies for the development of unique islands in the White Sea, located in the Arkhangelsk region. Competitive conditions of modern market economy have high requirements for strategic management, as well as the marketing approach for the management of territories.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the current models of monitoring of factors internal and external environmental administration of the Solovetsky Islands in the context of increased importance of strategic marketing management and to present approaches for so--‐called “network factor” of the territory.

The research is focused on the mechanisms suitable for monitoring the internal and external factors of the environmental management of the territory of the Solovetsky archipelago.

The object of this research is the unique area of the Arkhangelsk region — Solovetsky Island.

In July 2013 the Government of the Arkhangelsk region developed and approved a legal act called

The development strategy of the Solovetsky Archipelago — a unique object of spiritual, historical, cultural and natural heritage as a separate component of socio--‐economic development of the

Arkhangelsk region up to 2030”, which identifies the main problems of the Solovetsky Archipelago, represents the results of its SWOT--‐analysis, formulates strategic goals and objectives; contains a long--‐term forecast of its economic development and prospects of socio--‐economic development.

The Strategy defines the mission of the Solovetsky Archipelago, as follows: “The Solovetsky archipelago is a national and world spiritual, cultural and natural heritage, the spiritual center of

Orthodox Russia, which provides the formation and perception of traditional values with developed hospitality industry, created on the basis of a modern infrastructure, environmental balance and respect for the historical and cultural heritage of the population, pilgrims and tourists”. The mission of the Solovetsky Archipelago is reflected in: 1) the preservation of the triune — the spiritual, cultural and natural heritage of the Solovetsky Archipelago; 2) use of the triune potential of the

Solovetsky heritage for spiritual, moral and cultural influence on a society (Russian and international); 3) the creation of decent conditions for work, life and social life of the people of the Solovetsky Islands 1. In my opinion, Solovetsky Islands could also become a scientific, educational, tourist, economic and etc an attractor and a development catalyst of the Arkhangelsk region.

Key factors of the Solovetsky Archipelago development

In the modern management theory the starting point of administrative influence is setting goals, which involves, first of all, a comprehensive analysis of internal and external environmental management in a particular case and the territory. Some well--‐known techniques could be used: SWOT--‐analysis, SNW--‐analysis, PEST--‐analysis and others, combined with the surveys. Thus, the author of the article has studied the local environment of the Solovetsky Archipelago during the summer tourist season 2012–2013 with the help of observation techniques and survey, which showed a high level of social tension, distrust and pessimism connected with possible positive changes in the local life. In this regard, the management of the territory of the Solovetsky Islands requires a marketing approach aimed at fulfilling the needs and demands of the local population (infrastructure, information, social, cultural, and others.) Application of the marketing approach will help to meet the needs of other participants of the development process, both internal and external ones.

Modern science develops such an approach as marketing of territory or territorial marketing, which involves the development of the mission, objectives and marketing strategy based on the monitoring internal and external environmental management of the territory. These monitoring systems are needed to achieve the goals and to implement strategies in order to make necessary adjustments, as well as to create a feedback mechanism able to ensure the effective functioning of planning and control systems.

Recently a Russian researcher and a manager of the Guild of Marketers A.P. Pankrukhin has defined marketing of territories as follows: “It is a research, a specific project management and a practical work with the customer value areas that are relevant to citizens, tourists, businessmen, investors — all those who could help the development of territories” [1]. The researchers noted that “with respect to their target audiences, the MT (MT — marketing of territories. — Author’s note) in Russia is experiencing a clear preference to the investors and almost exclusively towards the exterior” [1]. And not enough attention is paid to the internal factors of the territory. Also, the researchers indicated the following problem: “It is too little attention paid to the problems of the living costs in a particular area. It is not limited to such famous figures as the gross domestic product per capita, labor costs and the consumer basket, the cost of housing and the provision of social benefits. The term “pricing” in the marketing of the territories is undeveloped clearly: both in its theory and practice” [1]. In the context of the present publication, we note that the development of a monitoring the attractiveness of the area, requires the analysis of the quality of life subsystem.

All environmental control factors of the Solovetsky Archipelago could be divided into two groups — internal and external factors.

Table 1

Common development factors of the Solovetsky Archipelago

External factors

• a)    Political and legal factors (law, budget and tax policy, authorities’ relations).

• b)    Economic factors general economic situation and its indicators).

• c)    Social factors (living rates of the population).

• d)    Technological factors (technologies used in ecological, financial, educational and tourist spheres).

• e)    Territorial competition factor (relations with existing or possible partners, position in the external environment).

Internal factors

• a)    Social and demographic issues (demographic situation and human resources).

• b)    Location and ecological factors.

• c)    Management of the Solovetsky Archipelago.

• d)    Historical and cultural heritage.

• e)    Infrastructure (housing service, transport, tourism and etc.).

• f)    Welfare.

• g)    Investments and attractiveness for tourism.

• h)    Small business development.

• i)    Brand of the territory.

It is important to note that the most significant area for analysis of the internal and external environmental factors of the territory is not only their identification and quality, which is usually done in practice, limited to the first stage, but also the ranking, comparison with the identification of coherence and contradictions and quantification of factors. Leading control bodies of the Solovetsky archipelago, interested in various types of activities in this area and, hopefully, in its comprehensive development, and could be divided into internal and external actors, respectively.

The internal factors of the Solovetsky archipelago include permanent population of the

Solovetsky settlement, their living standards, employment and other socio--‐economic characteristics; village administration and management; the regulatory role of the Government of the Arkhangelsk region and the Agency of Solovetsky archipelago development; the diverse activities of the Solovetsky monastery, Solovetsky Museum--‐Reserve, Solovetsky Maritime Museum and other “city--‐forming” organizations on the islands; commercial activity, hotel services and etc.

We should also take into account the importance of the Solovetsky forestry, housing services, JSC

ArhoblEnergo” — its Solovetsky branch, social, cultural and other organizations that play a key role in the daily life and development of Solovetsky Islands. All listed companies create a complex network of interacting factors of the Solovetsky archipelago internal environment where the partnership is vital.

According to the author, one of the most important internal factors is local population. The internal environment management is a fairly closed and narrowly limited local environment; it is the limited ability to attract qualified professionals as well as individuals because the amount of professionals on the islands is small. So, the main resource of the territory of the Solovetsky

Islands is recognized as local residents. Solving the major problems of labor activity, training of specialists, as well as improving the culture of the local population should be a priority in the development strategy of the Solovetsky archipelago.

Vicar of the Spaso--‐Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Monastery Archimandrite Porfiry, who is also the director of the Solovetsky State Historical and Architectural Museum--‐Reserve V.V. Shutov, noted in an interview for “Patriarhiya.ru”: “the recovery dynamic of the monastery should be accompanied by the creation of the modern town with developed engineering and social infrastructure, beautiful and convenient village to stay. In connection with these large--‐scale programs there is a demand for labor, highly skilled and highly paid. The opportunity of the local people is to take the open jobs positions to preserve the ancient architecture, to protect the unique nature of the island, serve the guests, pilgrims and tourists from all over the world”[2].

Thus, the implementation of the Solovetsky archipelago development strategy is expected to active use of the local potential.

In previously published research papers the author emphasized that in Solovetsky islands “should make the transition to a long--‐term development of new principles — the principles of partnership and cooperation”; “Contradictions of different Solovetsky powers” are necessary to be smoothed by creation and functioning of the single administration and establishment of a partnership system of all interested organizations” [3]. Authorities responsible for decision--‐making at the local and federal levels, as well as other bodies responsible for the control of the area should be aware that a key partner in solving problems and achieving the sustainable development is the local population. The local residents’ potential is necessary to implement the development programs.

External factors of the Solovetsky Archipelago development include the impact of federal executive authorities and the Moscow Patriarchate; the activities of scientific, educational and public organizations interested in the study and development of Solovetsky islands; operation of commercial organizations and non--‐residents engaged in services for pilgrims and tourists. Necessary limitations associated with a special status and value of the Solovetsky Islands, however, in our opinion, should provide favorable conditions for the development of entrepreneurship there, attracting investments, providing research that could meet the needs of both internal (e.g. local residents) and external (e.g. pilgrims, tourists and scholars) consumers and service providers of the Solovetsky Islands.

To monitor internal and external environmental factors of the territory, except for the above--‐mentioned methods of the SWOT--‐analysis, SNW--‐analysis and PEST--‐analysis, we applied the expertise. Expert methods allow obtaining the estimates of the problem based on the views of a group of experts. Joint expert opinion is more accurate than the individual opinion of each of the experts. This method could be recommended for quality assessments of ranging the environmental factors of territories combined with the analysis of these factors. Associate Professor T.P. Koroleva in the article “Methods of the factor analysis of the self--‐development of a municipality”, notes: “in addition to the traditional set of factors in the practical analysis of the external environment experts should consider external influences specific to the establishment of a particular municipality” [4]. The researcher lists the internal and external factors of development of municipalities, resulting in concrete form — a table that will help the experts to point out that “more accurately assess the significance and impact of environmental factors is possible only if you familiarize yourself with the information and statistical data on the analyzed factors” [4]. Thus, the analytical monitoring activities of internal and external factors of the environmental management of the Solovetsky archipelago seems to be primary and most important and ensures the efficiency of the strategic management of the territory.

A part of the marketing approach to strategic management of the Solovetsky archipelago is to highlight the main consumers (primarily external) of the unique spiritual, historical, cultural and natural heritage of Solovetsky Islands (Table 2).

In the structure of external customers we are able to divide 4 groups:

• 1.    Tourists — visitors of the Solovetsky Islands with recreational and study objectives. Currently, the share of tourists in the structure of visitors of Solovetsky Archipelago prevails. Thus, according to an official report of the Solovetsky Museum--‐Reserve, in 2013 excursions were granted to 19,726 Russian and foreign citizens ². In 2014 Excursion Bureau of the Solovetsky Museum--‐Reserve provided 21 416 people (incl. 1 500 foreigners) with its services or 79,123 visitors (total amount of sold tickets); 8.6% more than in 2013 ³.

• 2.    “Special tourists” — visitors interested in active learning and development of the territory: researchers, scientists, students, post--‐graduates, participants of conferences and symposiums and representatives of government and business. So, Solovetsky Islands are regularly visited by research staff, graduate and undergraduate students of the Northern (Arctic) Federal University and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations; the Islands host the PINRO research base. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Islands in 2001. Senior representatives of various ministries and departments of the Russian Federation come to visit the Islands regularly. It should be noted that the cultural--‐historical and natural potential of the Islands is huge and constantly needs qualified experts to conduct a variety of research and work in the Archipelago. So, the Islands require financial, legal and information support specialists and experienced research groups.

• 3.    “Seasonal workers” visit the Solovetsky Islands in the summer for 1--‐6 months: guides, archaeologists, restorers, students, waiters, maids, chefs and others. During the summer season Solovetsky Archipelago is visited by 25,000--‐30,000 tourists; local residents cannot meet the demand for skilled workers and therefore need additional staff to serve guests.

• 4.    “Pilgrims” — Solovetsky Islands are visited by a great number of religious purposes. The Solovetsky monastery is a spiritual center of Russia and serves as one of the main Orthodox religious organizations of the Russian Orthodox Church called “Savior Transfiguration Solovetsky Monastery Stauropegial”. Now we are observing the increase in the share of

pilgrims among the visitors of the Solovetsky Islands, which is probably associated with the religious revival and Orthodox traditions in our country [5].

Table 2

Segmentation of consumers of the Solovetsky Archipelago and their monitoring

Segment of consumers	Recommendation on consumers monitoring
All segments	It is necessary to monitor the external and internal factors affecting the development of the Solovetsky Archipelago with the use of certain models and technologies. So, there is a need in a Center for Environmental Factors Monitoring. Actual and relevant information would help to correct the development of the territory, distribute resources and contribute to the local management (planning, establishment, motivation and control).
	The Excursion Bureau of the Solovetsky Museum--‐ Reserve should have surveys for tourist all the year round. It is also recommended to monitor the Internet sources, social networks
1. Tourists	and mass media, and to study the experience of other regions of the RF and foreign countries. It is necessary to use the museum’s web page and social networks more actively, especially when getting the feedback from the visitors. Expert surveys would be helpful when getting the concrete information on development of tourism on the Islands.
2. “Special tourists”	To study the “special tourist” we need to interact with educational and scientific institutions of the region and with the governmental bodies and social service agencies. Key points here are the expert evaluations. Present area of study needs a lot of time, money and management resources.
3. “Seasonal workers”	Monitoring of seasonal labor activities could be done with the use of observation methods, surveys and complex technologies like “mystery shopper” or “360–attestation”. Major objectives here are increasing the motivation of seasonal employees and their professional level and harmonization of relationship with the other segments on the same territory.
4. Pilgrims	Due to the constant increase of the number of pilgrims coming to the Solovetsky Islands, the services should be changed for them: more effective planning and comfort are required. So, it is recommended for the Pilgrim Center of the Monastery to do surveys for pilgrims and experts.

We should note that monitoring of segments requires both quantitative and qualitative information about conditions and development, so the methods of observation and survey combined with expert evaluation procedures are recommended.

Thus, the key to the management of the Solovetsky Archipelago is monitoring and comparison of internal and external environmental factors for setting the “right” goals and to develop an adequate strategy. Also, the monitoring plays an important role in working out the development strategy, analysis of the critical deviations and their correction if necessary.

In my opinion, adequate environmental internal and external factors are (Pic. 1):

• 1)    to make a comprehensive monitoring of the impact with the ranking of internal and external environmental factors;

• 2)    to compare the internal and external environmental factors; to build a “ factor network” (the concept is discussed further. — Author’s note.); describe the nature, direction and strength of the interaction between the factors;

• 3)    to use the concept of partnership, taking into account the interests of different actors responsible for the control over the territory (internal and external), the mission of the Solovetsky Archipelago, and formulate strategic, tactical and operational development of the territory;

• 4)    to formulate a strategy for the development of the territory, able to achieve all the goals;

• 5)    to develop a strategic plan for development of the Solovetsky archipelago, as well as targeted programs for specific areas requiring special attention (infrastructure, research, education and information activities, etc.);

• 6)    to establish a regulatory mechanism for monitoring the development strategy , plan and relevant programs;

• 7)    in the course of evaluating the effectiveness of the strategy and control information it is necessary to make the monitoring system for the planning and adjustment of goals and strategies, providing it with the relevant feedback.

A key element of the strategic management system of the territory, in our opinion, is a monitoring subsystem, aimed at reliable evaluation and comparison of internal and external factors of the development — “factor network” — is fundamental for strategies. The “factor network”4 of the development represents — a comparison of internal and external factors of development of the territory, which involves the qualitative and quantitative assessment of their mutual influence with the mandatory display of visual identity and mutual impacts of the factors, resulting in the correlations between them. This could be represented as a matrix or the formula; its form is determined by the goals and objectives of the study. “Factor network” shows current and potential correlation factors. In our opinion, the main disadvantage during the SWOT--‐analysis is the lack of justification for the mutual influence of factors, as well as the absence of quantitative expert assessment of these factors, and therefore may be a gap between the developed strategy and the real state of affairs, which negatively affect the continued strategic management of the territory. Constructing the “factor networks” of the territory could help to avoid this situation.

Picture 1. Strategic management system of the territory

Conclusion

The problems and current models of monitoring of internal and external environmental factors of the Solovetsky Islands were discussed in the context of increased importance of strategic marketing management of the territory.

The “network factor approach was the key issue for understanding the specialty of the territory. Developed model “monitoring — network factor — strategy” (Pic. 1) being a subject to the proper application would be able to improve the efficiency of management by increasing the complexity and consistency of various factors, to reduce the randomness of multi--‐directional forces and to get positive synergistic effect.

Creation of a system for monitoring the internal and external environmental factors is necessary for the effective strategic management of the Solovetsky Archipelago. A special environment monitoring center of the Solovetsky Archipelago could be an effective tool. Such a center could deals with ongoing analytical work to assess the strength and character of the mutual influence of different factors, in order to proactive management aimed at reducing negative impacts, and strategic use of positive influence to ensure the sustainable and harmonious development of the Solovetsky Archipelago.