ADAPTIVE CAPACITY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN UKRAINE: FACTORS OF FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS

Abstract

Technological changes, digitalization, transformation of consumer demand, changes in the competitive environment, restrictions on access to financial, material and human resources are creating new conditions for conducting business activities. At the same time, the frequency and intensity of external shocks are increasing, the consequences of which disrupt established economic relations and actualize the need for enterprises to find new ways of organizing activities, resource provision and interaction with the market. The article examines the adaptive capacity of entrepreneurship and the factors shaping its formation and development under extreme conditions. The aim of the study is to assess the factors determining the adaptive capacity of entrepreneurship in Ukraine and to substantiate the directions for its development amid prolonged instability and security challenges. The study analyzes changes in the economic environment in which enterprises operated during 2015-2026, the dynamics and characteristics of their innovation activity, the structure of innovation financing, the technological intensity of industrial production, human resource availability, institutional conditions, and enterprises’ internal responses to growing uncertainty. The findings indicate that entrepreneurship in Ukraine demonstrates signs of partial adaptation to extreme conditions; however, its transformation into long-term resilience is constrained by economic instability, insufficient quality of innovation activity, narrowing sources of innovation financing, labor shortages, deficiencies in the institutional and regulatory environment, and shortening strategic planning horizons. The study reveals that the growing share of innovation-active enterprises has been accompanied by declining innovation expenditures and a high dependence on enterprises’ own funds as a source of financing. Despite some positive shifts in the technological structure of industry, low- and mediumtechnology industries continue to account for a significant share of production, constraining the structural renewal of the entrepreneurial sector. The factors shaping adaptive capacity are systematized into five interrelated components: economic conditions, innovation activity, human capital, public policy, and enterprises’ internal responses. It is substantiated that strengthening the adaptive capacity of entrepreneurship under extreme conditions requires the development of dynamic capabilities, greater innovation activity, preservation and development of human capital, diversification of resource provision and stronger interaction between businesses and national and local support institutions.