TRANSFORMATION OF THE CONCEPT OF ENTERPRISE COMPETITIVENESS IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN CHALLENGES

The paper examines the transformation of approaches to understanding the nature, specifics and determinants of competitiveness of business entities under modern challenges. The increase in the number of market participants and the volume of transactions, globalization and integration processes in the economic environment, and the ongoing crisis in the global economy are making it increasingly difficult to build sustainable competitive advantages and ensure a sufficient level of competitiveness of enterprises. The author analyzes the theoretical approaches to understanding the nature of enterprise competitiveness represented in relevant research publications, as well as the basic principles of assessing and managing enterprise competitiveness. The conventional and innovative factors that contribute to the development of competitiveness of a business entity and provide a deeper understanding of the essential characteristics of enterprise competitiveness are identified. The principles of effective management of enterprise competitiveness and approaches to the development of effective strategies for achieving and maintaining competitive advantages of a market actor under current challenges are investigated. An improved definition of enterprise competitiveness as a complex characteristic, which determines the comparative advantage of an economic entity over other market actors and reflects its ability to withstand competition, has been proposed. The components of enterprise competitiveness are analyzed, including: sales volumes, profitability, the market share of the enterprise in the relevant products, capital equipment, labor productivity and staff qualifications, innovations, and the volume of investments. The paper shows that the issue of competitiveness becomes particularly relevant when all market actors are in equal conditions, have equal access to financial resources, equal opportunities for product sales, and operate in the same tax environment. The ability of Ukrainian enterprises to demonstrate strong competitive advantage in international markets with effective government support, even under existing security challenges, is substantiated.