Мonitoring the sustainability of small and medium business in the regions of Ukraine based on the resource approach

Abstract

The features of small and medium business in Ukraine require an integrated approach to sustainability management, which includes taking into account the positions of key stakeholders and their resource contribution to business activities. The main guideline in sustainability provision is the detection and scanning of social requirements, as well as adequate and timely response to the stakeholders’ requests. The purpose of the research is to monitor the level of imbalance of resource exchange between small and medium business and its key stakeholders in the regions of Ukraine. The following methods were used in the research: focus groups survey, statistical generalization, correlation-regression analysis, linear modeling, and graphical method. Based on the results of modeling the resource interaction of small and medium business with the main stakeholders, the vectors of the "ideal" and "real" resource exchange structure were constructed. The difference in the structures of these vectors reflects the imbalance of the existing resource exchange in the system, which can be expressed by the ratio of imbalance. The smaller the value of this ratio, the more balanced is resource exchange. It is proved that small businesses have an increased need for strong personal relationships with the local community and authorities. It is important for companies to identify the importance of stakeholders according to their resource contribution. To form a strategy of sustainability it is necessary to understand which of the stakeholders’ groups make the greatest contribution to the imbalance between the "ideal" and "real" resource exchange structure. The study shows that social responsibility is important not only for the internal policy of the business entity, but also when interacting with external environment, with stakeholders, both private and government, business partners. Only a responsibility for own and partner activities at each stage of communication can guarantee further synergy of results. Regional features of social development processes require appropriate measures of administrative regulation aimed at creating appropriate conditions for stimulating the social activity of small and medium businesses. The main direction of development of the modern regional development strategy is the priority of public needs.