Composite Index and Dynamic Assessment of Enterprise Competitiveness: A Comparative Study of Chemical and Textile Industries in Uzbekistan

Evaluating enterprise competitiveness in transition economies necessitates a balanced multi-criteria approach that accounts for industry-specific dynamics. This research proposes a standardized, reproducible methodology for assessing integral competitiveness using a panel of normalized financial and economic metrics. The model employs a block-weighted additive aggregation scheme across five core pillars: profitability, cost efficiency, liquidity, financial stability, and business activity. The methodology was empirically tested on two major industrial enterprises in Uzbekistan—AO “Farg’onaAzot” (chemical industry) and AO “Narimtex” (textile industry)—over a biennial panel spanning 2020 to 2024. The empirical findings reveal that while both enterprises experienced a parallel decline in overall competitiveness (with integral indices dropping from ~64 to ~32 points), their underlying competitive structures are fundamentally divergent. AO “Farg’onaAzot” derives its core strength from scale-driven profitability, whereas AO “Narimtex” maintains higher capital mobility and liquidity. The proposed framework demonstrates high analytical stability and serves as a strategic decision-support tool for industrial policy and corporate governance.