THE LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES IN THE ZHYTOMYR REGION

• Main Authors: O. Nykolyuk, P. Pyvovar, L. Zherybor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Zhytomyr National Agroecological University 2019-12-01
• Series: Наукові горизонти
• Subjects: agricultural enterprise; flexibility; crisis; enterprise size; integral coefficient
• Online Access: http://journal.znau.edu.ua/horizons/article/view/326/324

A high level of flexibility is an essential condition for the long and efficient functioning of agricultural enterprises in an uncertain environment. Flexibility is the ability of business entities to predict and timely and adequately respond to external challenges. The aim of the study is to assess and analyze the level of flexibility of agricultural enterprises in the Zhytomyr region, for which it is necessary to develop a methodology for quantifying the level of flexibility of agricultural enterprises, implement it on the example of manufacturers in the Zhytomyr region, assess the relationship between the level of flexibility and size of an agricultural enterprise, and group agricultural enterprises and regions in terms of their flexibility. The study proposed a methodological approach to assessing the level of flexibility of agricultural enterprises, providing for the assessment of operational, structural and strategic flexibility. The methodology is based on measuring the ability of manufacturers to quickly restructure their business activities during financial and economic crises. It is proved that a relatively high level of operational flexibility coefficient and insufficient levels of structural and strategic flexibility coefficients characterize the majority of enterprises in the Zhytomyr region. It was established that the levels of flexibility in agricultural enterprises of various sizes do not significantly differ from each other. A cluster analysis of the regions of the Zhytomyr region in terms of the flexibility of agricultural producers was carried out. It has been proven that more than 50 % of enterprises are characterized by low levels of all flexibility factors, and about 43 % – by low structural and strategic flexibility coefficients and a high level of structural flexibility. In the following studies, attention should be focused on the search for mechanisms to strengthen the flexibility of agricultural enterprises based on statistical modeling methods.