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RESEARCH CENTER FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS of NAS of Ukraine (KHARKIV, UKRAINE)

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Liburkina L. M.

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The Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of Small Business Research as a Factor of Regional Development in the Modern Market Economy
Fedotova Y. V., Ivanov V. M.

Fedotova, Yuliia V., and Ivanov, Vitalii M. (2026) “The Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of Small Business Research as a Factor of Regional Development in the Modern Market Economy.” Business Inform 6:206–215.
https://doi.org/10.32983/2222-4459-2026-6-206-215

Section: Regional Economy

Article is written in Ukrainian
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UDC 334.012.64:332.1

Abstract:
The relevance of the problem is determined by the fact that, under the conditions of russia's full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, small business has undergone substantial transformations caused by the destruction of production, energy, and transport infrastructure, migration processes, the contraction of domestic demand, and limited access to financial resources, which necessitates a rethinking of the theoretical and methodological approaches to studying its role as a factor of regional development. The aim of the article is to deepen the theoretical and methodological foundations for studying small businesses as a factor in regional development and to generalize empirical trends in their functioning under martial law, taking into account regional differentiation. The methods of theoretical generalization and systemic analysis were used to clarify the essence of the concepts of «small business» and «small entrepreneurship», together with methods of statistical and comparative analysis to assess macroeconomic dynamics, SME lending indicators, and regional disparities in the functioning of the entrepreneurial sector. The essential characteristics of small business, its advantages and disadvantages as a form of economic activity, the factors driving its development amid external environmental variability, as well as the dynamics of key macroeconomic indicators in Ukraine and the world for 2024–2026 were examined. The results of the study revealed that the main barriers to the development of small businesses in Ukraine are the lack of financial resources, a shortage of qualified personnel, and the instability of legal and regulatory frameworks, the intensity of which differs significantly across regions. It was found that enterprises in the eastern and southern regions incur, on average, 1.5 times greater financial losses compared to those in the western regions, are characterized by a lower level of foreign economic activity and a higher share of prolonged business suspension, whereas the western and northern regions demonstrate greater resilience and optimism regarding turnover growth and employment. It has been proved that the functions of small businesses at the regional level are unevenly realized, depending on the internal resource potential of a given territory and the scale of the impact of hostilities, thereby substantiating the need for a differentiated approach to State support. Practical recommendations have been proposed to enhance the targeting of preferential lending and donor assistance programs to address regional disparities, and promising directions for further research have been identified.

Keywords: small business; regional development; market economy; regional disparities; small and medium-sized enterprises; martial law; State support for business.

Fig.: 2. Bibl.: 15.

Fedotova Yuliia V. – Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Associate Professor, Deputy Director, Educational and Scientific Institute of International Education and Humanities, O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv (17 Chornohlazivska Str., Kharkіv, 61002, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]
Ivanov Vitalii M. – Postgraduate Student, Department of Economics and Marketing, O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv (17 Chornohlazivska Str., Kharkіv, 61002, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]

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