Managing small business competitiveness under martial law: an ecosystem approach in the context of sustainable development of agrarian business ecosystems

Abstract

Introduction. Under martial law, the competitiveness of small businesses takes on a new meaning, as enterprises' ability to maintain market positions depends not only on price advantages but also on resilience, adaptability, access to resources, and integration into broader business ecosystems. This issue is particularly relevant for the agricultural sector, where the performance of small enterprises is closely linked to logistics, financing, human resources, digital solutions, local communities, and institutional support. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to substantiate an ecosystem-based approach to managing the competitiveness of small businesses under martial law and to determine its significance for ensuring the sustainable development of agrarian business ecosystems. Materials and methods. The study was conducted using systemic, structural-functional, and comparative analysis, as well as methods of generalization, abstraction, and synthesis of scientific approaches to competitiveness, enterprise resilience, dynamic capabilities, and business ecosystems. The study's information base includes contemporary academic literature, official analytical materials, regulatory acts, and business survey results that reflect the conditions of small business operations during martial law. Results. The article determines that the competitiveness of small businesses under martial law is a multidimensional characteristic that combines the ability of an enterprise to maintain operational continuity, adapt its business model, preserve access to resources, and form the potential for further development. It is substantiated that, in a wartime economy, the competitive position of small enterprises is influenced not only by productivity, innovation, and pricing policy, but also by the continuity of logistics and energy supply, access to finance, labor availability, digital maturity, the quality of the institutional environment, and the level of involvement in value-creating networks. Particular attention is paid to agrarian business ecosystems, within which small enterprises interact with producers, processors, logistics operators, financial institutions, advisory services, digital platforms, and local communities. The article proposes a conceptual model for assessing the competitiveness of small businesses, which includes the following components: resilience, digitalization, financial capacity, human capital, logistics and energy continuity, institutional quality, and ecosystem embeddedness. This approach allows a small enterprise to be considered not as an isolated entity but as an element of an interdependent system capable of generating economic, social, and environmental value. Further research in this area. Further development of the ecosystem-based approach to managing small business competitiveness should focus on improving the methodology of integral assessment, clarifying the weighting coefficients of individual components, and adapting the model to different types of agrarian business ecosystems. The practical value of the study lies in identifying management priorities for small enterprises and support priorities for the state, local communities, and development partners, particularly in relation to affordable finance, digital transformation, human capital retention, cooperation within value chains, and strengthening the resilience of agrarian business during wartime and post-war recovery.