Purpose. The paper aims at finding out how significantly stakeholders are consulted and involved by preparers, Ukrainian publicly-listed agricultural companies, while compiling sustainability reporting (SR) and by assurance providers, during assurance processes of SR. The paper’s main research question may be formulated as follows ‘How deeply stakeholders are involved at Ukrainian agricultural companies in the preparation of their sustainability reporting and assurance?’ Methodology / approach. The study utilizes widely used techniques in this field content analysis of sustainability reports based on suggested coding rules which in turn grounded in the leading literature. Authors use a multidimensional coding system (with a maximum score of 12 points) which consists of three elements and offers an aggregate assessment of the information disclosure of the involvement of stakeholders in sustainability reporting. Also authors base on frameworks for classification of the stakeholders’ engagement level into three levels (information, response and involvement strategies). The paper’s sample although tiny, only five years/company observations, is comprehensive since it includes all Ukrainian agricultural companies presented in GRI SDD database one of the largest databases of its kind. To analyze only the latest relevant experience, authors have limited the report type to the latest GRI modification – GRI Standards. As a result of five steps in the sample formation process, it is equal to 3 companies that produced 5 reports in the period between 2017 and 2019 years. Results. While the used coding structure allowed for a maximum of 12 points, the analysed reports were able to reach only half of this as one report earned 7, one – 6 and the rest was marked with 5 points. From the three companies from our sample frontrunner is Astarta Holding. Astarta Holding excels in materiality relevance (4 points) and is the only company assured its sustainability report. Authors find that the engagement strategy of the companies being analyzed mostly consists of action intended to inform (level 1) as well as consult and support stakeholders (level 2), whilst deep involvement strategy (level 3) is being almost neglected. In regards to focus, we find that the most cited stakeholders in engagement actions are on level 1 employees, consumers and suppliers. Consumers also alongside authorities and local communities are the most cited stakeholders on the level of response strategy, whereas the authorities are the single stakeholders' group being honoured to be treated on the highest third level. The authors’ general impression is that for the most part legitimacy theory is the best theory to explain the behaviour of compilers of reports from the sample because mostly management uses rhetorical tools to cover its activities, while the reporting itself lacks specifics about negative externalities. For authors, it looks like an exercise in self-legitimization. It appears that the companies studied has not yet fully performed the transfer from ‘stakeholder management’ to ‘stakeholder engagement’. It is the authors’ understanding that all this has roots in the very perverted perception of sustainability reporting as a continuation of financial reporting although it is not. In financial reporting, materiality is defined internally as a percentage of some indicators in the balance sheet and/or statement of financial performance, in sustainable reporting, materiality is not only important in the assurance, but it is a cornerstone in the preparation of SR itself. Originality / scientific novelty. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first that extends the analysis the stakeholders’ engagement in the sustainability reporting to the Ukrainian agricultural companies, thus shedding some light on that unexplored (underexplored) practice. Practical value / implications. First, sustainability reporting practices in Ukraine is in its infancy, and therefore any shortcomings identified will be a guide to action to adjust these approaches in the future. Secondly, our analysis can also be seen as the dissemination of best practices. The companies we have chosen are pioneers in this matter, so they can at the same time be considered as role models for others, but taking into account the experience gained by them. Besides, in addition to companies, our findings can be useful for regulators and public authorities alike in terms of adjusting the approach to regulating this area.

The paper explores how companies from Central and Eastern Europe adopt assurance practices to provide accountability for sustainability. Drawing on modified coding rules from prior research, a conventional content analysis of 36 assurance statements companies from nine countries was conducted. The results imply differences in the content of reports, processes, and implementation of the standards. Exclusively large and multinational enterprises from the energy sectors domiciled in Poland and Hungary are a typical portrait of a company from the study’s sample, striving to issue and assure sustainability reporting. Of the nine countries represented in the study, sustainability assurance statements of companies from Poland, Hungary, and Romania tend to excel in terms of quality. The vast majority of assurance providers belong to the Big Four, who use ISAE3000 as opposed to AA1100AS. Yet, irrespective of the assurance provider type, stakeholders are neglected. It is argued that just transferring the experience of financial auditing to the field of sustainability, which, by and large, has taken place, is not an option. Authors state that following this route, we are heading in the wrong direction, and in technical terms, the wider proliferation of AA1100AS and its principles, with greater emphasis on reasonable assurance as opposed to the limited and enhanced role of stakeholders, are vital to get back on track. The paper contributes to the emerging literature on accountability standards and stresses the need to enhance sustainability-related assurance.

The aim of the study is to reveal the logistical component of sustainable development of regions in the context of decentralization reform in Ukraine. The role of logistics in ensuring the balanced development of regions and united territorial communities to gain their competitive advantages is shown. The dynamics of the Logistics Efficiency Index (LEI) of Ukraine in comparison with some other countries and the dynamics of the components of LPI in Ukraine for the period 2007-2018 are analysed. A number of problems that cause a low level of logistics in Ukraine have been identified and ways to improve the logistics activities of the regions have been proposed. A system for managing the logistics activities of the united territorial communities has been developed, which is the starting point for the organization of the social development management system. The system is a multi-component structure that combines objects, tasks, management methods and techniques, evaluation indicators and indicators. It should cover enterprises of production and non-production spheres, infrastructure facilities, organizations and institutions, interconnected in the decision-making process on the directions and ways of using elements of resource flow in the region and aimed at through optimization of flow processes based on estimating and minimizing logistics costs.

The full-scale military aggression against Ukraine has become a significant challenge for the hotel and restaurant business as well: some business entities have been forced to completely stop their activities or repurpose them, which, in the first turn, has affected personnel management. The staff that remain are forced to bear double and sometimes triple the burden of obligations, which, however, is not compensated by a corresponding increase in wages. In this aspect, it is important to establish effective mechanisms for supporting employees, designed to provide them with not only material, but also psychological help, provide friendly support in difficult situations, etc. Considering this, one of the key challenges of the new reality is the issue of effective human resource management under the conditions of martial law and active hostilities, which has actualized the need to search for theoretical and practical aspects of its overcoming. The purpose of the research is to characterize the key challenges of martial law from the point of view of personnel management in the hotel and restaurant business and to determine the main opportunities and directions of their application. Methods. The study analyzes the activities of business entities in the hospitality industry, based on the data of official statistics and survey results of leading analytical companies. Systematization and classification methods are applied to group key challenges and opportunities in the field of human resource management of hotel and restaurant business entities in accordance with the criterion of territorial location. The results. An analysis of the key performance indicators of the hospitality industry in Ukraine and domestic business as a whole during the period of martial law is carried out. Key challenges for business in the field of personnel management caused by full-scale military aggression are characterized. Key challenges and opportunities of personnel management of business entities of the hospitality industry according to the criterion of territorial location are systematized. Specific challenges and opportunities of personnel management in the hotel and restaurant business in war conditions are described

The full-scale military aggression against Ukraine has formed a completely new socio-economic reality of the functioning of all the sectors of the national economy. The new operating conditions have become a significant challenge for the hotel and restaurant business as well: some business entities were forced to completely stop their activity or repurpose it. Considering that, the issues of forming key strategic orientations and approaches in the hotel and restaurant business with the aim of preserving it and forming the potential of post-war development are gaining special relevance today. The purpose of the research is to characterize the key challenges of the hotel and restaurant business in wartime and to substantiate possible strategies for their survival.Methods. The study analyzes the activities of business entities in the hospitality industry, based on the data of the official statistics and the results of surveys by international analytical companies. An adapted method of ABC analysis is applied in order to rank the challenges of the hospitality industry under martial law conditions.The findings of the research. An analysis of the main indicators of the hospitality industry in Ukraine until 2022 is carried out. The composition and structure of the key challenges to the functioning of business in the conditions of martial law are studied. The identified factors are ranked and classified into three groups: general, specialized, and individual importance. The specific challenges of the hospitality industry under martial law are outlined and possible strategies for overcoming them are defined

The research views staff behavior as a complex mechanism of motivators through the lens of rationality, which obeys the principles of the transitivity axiom and the law of declining marginal utility in times of crisis, including the quarantine COVID-19 pandemic, budget constraints. The factors which affect the behavior of hotel and restaurant staff form a field for understanding behavioral responses. The interests and motives that regulate the behavior of the staff, in this case, reflect the map of utility, which allows modeling the usefulness of employment in an enterprise. It is substantiated that the behavior of the staff should be correlated with the influence of leadership and agile management methods (Scrum, Kanban). The Agile determinants in the pandemic client-oriented management of the hotel and restaurant business provide an algorithmic explanation for the application of the approaches in practice. Flexible management methods allow you to create organizational values for staff, which allows you to build value dependencies within cross-functional team management. The result is the consideration of motivational types of staff and methods for choosing the right Agile approach. It also suggested ways to reformat the hotel and restaurant business in the pandemic and change the professional roles of workers to survive and create conditions for rapid rehabilitation and recovery in the post-quarantine period.

The tourism industry is one of the sectors of the global economy most affected by the pandemic. At the same time, in 2022, having not yet fully recovered from the impact of quarantine restrictions, it was forced to face a completely new challenge for itself - large-scale military operations on a large part of the European territories. It was Ukraine and its tourism sector that suffered the most from the war, and since the prospects for the end of the war are very uncertain, the issue of preserving the country’s tourism potential, finding ways to speed up its recovery and post-war development of the tourism sector of Ukraine are gaining particular relevance. To substantiate the prospects and challenges for the tourism potential of Ukraine in the post-war period and to determine the key directions of actions of the state and business for its preservation, effective use and expansion during the war period. The methodological basis of the study was made up of general scientific and special methods of economic theory, in particular, methods of theoretical generalization and comparative analysis and synthesis for the purpose of researching all processes and phenomena of the tourism sector of Ukraine in interdependence and interconnection. In the course of the study, statistical materials of the European Union and Ukraine were applied on the functioning of the tourism sector of the economy and processed using the methods of statistical analysis: comparison, grouping, calculation of average values and proportions, as well as analytical data and assessments of specialized state agencies of Ukraine were used. A comparison of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of the tourism sector of Ukraine and individual EU countries and the shares of tourism trade turnover in their GDP is made, which has revealed to note the low level of use of Ukraine’s own tourism potential in the pre-war period. The key strengths and weaknesses of the tourism sector of Ukraine according to the version of the World Economic Forum have been studied and the prospects and consequences for them as a result of the war have been substantiated. A number of strategic courses of action for the state and business are proposed, based on the main possible prospects for the duration of active hostilities.

Abstract. To identify the most significant demotivators of personnel at enterprises, to develop measures aimed at neutralizing demotivators at enterprises, increase the integrated rate of staff activation, increase the efficiency of enterprise management.  In the process of writing the work were used such research methods: general and special. From the general science were used the following methods: deduction (in constructing the structure of levers of influence on the formation of the mechanism of evaluation, motivation, and stimulation of enterprise personnel), induction, abstract logic and synthesis, analysis (in analyzing the dynamics of the integrated indicator of staff activation). From the special methods: factor analysis (in the study of corrective measures to reduce demotivators and increase the integrated rate of staff activation in the enterprise), calculation and design and comparison method, tabular and graphical, economic and statistical, correlation analysis, forecasting methods and other methods of economics and management processes and phenomena. The paper investigates the problems that may arise in the evaluation, motivation, and stimulation of staff identified demotivators of staff work. Four stages of the staff activation system were also considered. The coefficients at the expense of which the level of the actual state of group indicators of personnel activation at the enterprise is calculated are determined. A list of recommended corrective measures to increase the integrated indicator and reduce the level of demotivator impact on enterprises. It is established that the general purpose of the mechanism of evaluation, motivation and stimulation of personnel should be the result of coincidence of goals and interests of employees with the goals and interests of the enterprise, increase staff productivity, encourage employees to take initiative in solving both personal and enterprise problems atmosphere among subordinates, meeting the basic needs of staff, preventing overwork. The proposed methodology can be used as a methodological basis for solving problems of strategic management of the enterprise and its personnel. Keywords: staff motivation, labor demotivators, motivation assessment mechanism, staff activation, adjusting measures to reduce demotivators, integrated group indicators, labor activity. JEL Classification M12, Z13 Formulas: 4; fig.: 1; tabl.: 4; bibl.: 20.