Anton Kvitka

The article considers changes in organizational structure (in the context of a shift in favor of small business), the main factors and long-term prospects of these changes. Enhancing the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in many countries of the world is described. The concept of SMEs, as well as the range of indicators measuring organizational structure, is defined. Modern trends that indicate the increasing role of small and medium-sized enterprises are shown. On the basis of dynamics of economic indicators in Europe and the United States, the increasing role of small and medium enterprises is investigated. It is shown that the increase in the share of the service sector is the result of market saturation. The influence of the service sector on the shifts in the organizational structure in the period of global economic changes, as well as the influence on the increasing share of more flexible and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises in total employment and income, is argued. Increased competition in the process of saturation of the market is shown as one of the factors of the development of personal needs that promote individual entrepreneurs, inventors and innovators, for whom a complex and rigid structure of large organizations is the factor which limits the growth and interferes with their becoming the engines of scientific and technological progress. It is proved that in conditions when large corporations find themselves unable to identify a new micro niche quickly, small and medium enterprises are becoming the most convenient form for the realization and promotion of innovation. The transition from the dominance of large corporations to the dominance of SMEs in the process of substitution of technological modes is investigated. The increasing role of small and medium firms in the context of long-term trends of economic development is considered.

The use of available digital tools, the entrepreneur’s personal human capital, and the formation and filling of niche markets are seen as the main factors of enterprises’ prosperity. Thus, the study aims to identify the impact of business research on the dynamics of operational and commercial efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The online survey and regression analysis methods based on the data obtained were used. The study revealed that SMEs constantly need to perform data analysis, but despite the need for business intelligence, enterprises rarely use Big Data (cloud technologies). Most small businesses that conduct business research use digital tools, which poses acute problems of staff development and building an effective model for outsourcing research agents. Currently, the economic efficiency of business research is not clearly visible, which is due to the influence of strong external factors, as well as a low level of innovation and research activity of economic agents.