SUCCESS FACTORS AND BARRIERS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL STRUCTURES TRANSFORMATION IN A TURBULENT ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Introduction. Under conditions of full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine (from February 2022), entrepreneurial structures were exposed to extreme multi-dimensional turbulence: simultaneous physical destruction, mass population displacement, supply-chain fragmentation, currency restrictions, and critical infrastructure attacks. GDP contracted by 29.1% in 2022 [1], and two-thirds of MSMEs fully or partially suspended operations in the initial months [2]. Nevertheless, the business sector demonstrated remarkable adaptive capacity: by end-2023, 84–85% of SMEs had at least partially resumed activities, rising to approximately 93% by 2025 [3]. This contrast between shock magnitude and recovery speed poses the key research question: what factors drive transformation success, and what barriers impede it?

Purpose. The article aims to systematically analyse the factors of successful transformation of entrepreneurial structures and the key barriers constraining it, under turbulent conditions, using Ukraine's wartime economy of 2022–2025 as the empirical setting.

Materials and methods. The study employs a mixed-methods approach. The quantitative base comprises: surveys of over 2,000 Ukrainian MSMEs (UNDP/CER, 2022–2023) [2]; EBRD data for Ukraine 2022–2023 [4]; NBU macroeconomic statistics [1]; State Statistics Service data [5]; Ministry of Economy programme analytics [6]. The qualitative dimension draws on systematised case evidence and expert assessments from CSIS [7; 8], VoxUkraine [3], OECD [9], Atlantic Council [10], and Berne Union [11]. The analytical framework involves three stages: descriptive statistics of transformation dynamics; factor analysis of success/failure determinants; and classification of barriers across four dimensions (infrastructure, financial, human capital, uncertainty).

Results. Transformation success is found to be systematically determined by the interaction of four internal factors (financial resilience, digital readiness, management flexibility, workforce stability) and three external factors (government support accessibility, international institutional assistance, sectoral characteristics). Barriers operate in compound rather than additive fashion. An original Transformation Readiness Diagnostic Matrix is proposed, integrating internal capability levels with external barrier intensity into nine transformation zones with corresponding strategic priorities.

Prospects. Future research should focus on the long-term transformation trajectories under post-war reconstruction conditions and on whether adaptive capabilities developed during crisis convert into sustainable competitive advantages in a stabilising environment. Cross-national comparative analysis of entrepreneurial structures in other conflict-affected economies would further test and refine the proposed theoretical constructs.