Valeriia Shcherbak

The integrated business structures performance is underpinned by a wide range of external and internal factors that from a business unit perspective may have positive or negative implications for brand building. Moreover, in the context of business integration, the interaction among individual business units is of paramount importance that dramatically affects the performance of the entire business structure. The research objective is to provide a methodological framework for branding development through the calculation of integrated complementary and synergistic effects indicators, based on their compliance with the criteria of congruence and compatibility within architectonic elements of integrated business structures. The methodological toolkit design to estimate the integrated indices for complementary and synergistic effects involves the following stages: building a set of partial indicators for assessing complementary and synergetic effects, developing an algorithm to calculate an integrated index for complementary effect from internal and external brand interactions within integrated business structures (IBS), developing an algorithm to calculate an integrated index for a synergetic effect from brand integration within a business structure, individual business unit brand classification by different complementary and synergistic effects manifestations.
The proposed methodological approach contributes to facilitating brand integration in mergers and acquisitions, as well as enhancing the allocation effectiveness of portfolio roles of integrated business structure brands in product offering in the integration framework.

The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the operating environment for banks around the world. Determining the drivers of digitalization of banking services based on the principles of corporate social responsibility of banks makes it possible to find a way out of the crisis. The objective of the study is to develop a model for clustering banks in terms of the level of digitalization on the principles of corporate social responsibility.
In this study, a twofold model has been proposed: the first part includes the calculation of the level of digitalization of banking, and the second part includes mathematical simulation of the clustering of bank digitalization level. This study reveals new possible solutions to the digitalization of banking in the face of new threats. In particular, factor analysis identifies the main factors, cluster analysis ranks banks into three categories (A, B, C) of service digitalization, and a dendrogram identifies digitalization drivers. The model was tested on 22 banks. Eight per cent of the banks are rated A “Very good” and B “Good”. 92% have Level C “Satisfactory”. The results of the study prove that the model should be validated. It should be confirmed that the application of the developed methodology for increasing the digitalization of banking services will increase customer loyalty by 15%, improve sustainability by reducing risk by 10%, and make banks attractive for investment by 15-20%.

The russian aggression against Ukraine underscores the need to reassess regional strategies for digitalization and inclusivity. The study aims to identify strategies for enhancing these areas during wartime. Taxonomy and cluster and factor analysis methods have shown that regions with a higher level of digitalization have lower levels of poverty and unemployment. Specifically, regions in the top quartile of the digitalization index reported, on average, 12% lower unemployment rates compared to those in the bottom quartile. The analysis identifies distinct regional groupings: areas such as Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk are partially occupied and exhibiting low digitalization and inclusivity, in contrast with Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad that show moderate progress. Rural regions face a significant digital divide, with only 60% of rural households having stable internet access compared to 90% in urban areas. Factor analysis confirms that wartime conditions have accelerated digital transformation, evidenced by a 42% increase in Diia app usage from 2021 to 2023 and a rise in internet penetration from 62% in 2019 to 78% in 2023. Additionally, IT sector export revenues grew by 20% in 2022, and technology startups doubled between 2019 and 2023. The study proposes a strategic framework for regional adaptation: intensive digitalization and inclusivity for Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions; digitalization for Mykolaiv region; inclusivity for Kirovohrad and Zakarpattia regions; and balanced adaptation for Chernivtsi and Khmelnytskyi regions. Recommended measures include modernizing digital infrastructure, expanding educational opportunities, supporting startups, and aligning digital and social initiatives to foster regional resilience and development.

The study aims to examine the impact of international trade on the sustainability of regional ecosystems in Ukraine, particularly amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The paper applies econometric modeling, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and geographic information systems (GIS) for spatial analysis. Sustainability indicators include environmental resilience indicators (carbon emissions, water quality), economic stability metrics (GDP per capita, investment in green technologies), and social sustainability factors (employment rate, access to education and healthcare). Results indicate that a 1% increase in exports enhances sustainability indicators by 0.9%, while a 1% rise in imports or demographic density reduces these indices by 0.94% and 0.75%, respectively. Cluster analysis identifies five groups of regions with varying ecological resilience, revealing critical vulnerabilities in southern and eastern Ukraine where resilience indices are below 0.5. War actions exacerbate these issues, causing infrastructure destruction, soil and water degradation, and pollutant emissions ranging from 152.5 to 16,311.4 thousand tons. Recommendations include scaling up environmental protection investments by 20% (from the current 5,965–165,228 thousand UAH) and integrating sustainability standards into international trade policies to harmonize economic activities with environmental management in crisis and post-war recovery contexts.

Corporate social responsibility issues are becoming increasingly important in the banking sector. It refers to the responsibility of banks for their business activities subject to conceivable implications for society and the environment. Currently, the modern banking system in Ukraine is in the process of shaping its own model and integrating corporate social responsibility into all business processes. Thus, it is argued that objective comprehensive assessment of corporate social responsibility of Ukrainian banks is an essential prerequisite to enhance their performance, along with building a good rapport with clients and encouraging trust in society. From the above perspective, this article suggests an approach to assess corporate social responsibility at banks which entails implementing consistent stages in evaluating the development degree of the three corporate social responsibility components: social, environmental and economic. The assessment framework substantiates a set of indicators for measuring the degree of corporate social responsibility at banks by estimating the ratio of the GRI related aspects in the financial statements of banks, and identifying the possibility to implement the main provisions of the Social Accountability International 8,000 standard and the GRI G4 (Global Reporting Initiative). The proposed approach to measuring corporate social responsibility in banking through the instruments of a three-dimensional matrix and to positioning the banks by the areas of their corporate social responsibility has been tested by processing an array of 82 non-financial reports of 31 banks over the 2016–2018 period.