The ability to attract and retain the talents is an important factor in the competitiveness of countries, as it is confirmed in our study. At the level of small and medium-sized enterprises, hiring and retaining skilled workers is one of the most difficult tasks of HR management, especially in transition economies with a high intensity of “leaching out” the skilled workers due to labour migration. Our research in Ukraine, which is a prime example of such countries, conducted via the cluster analysis allows us to conclude that the problems of hiring and retaining skilled workers have some connection with profitability: there is almost always a problem with filling vacancies with people of all educational levels in unprofitable enterprises, which is not typical of profitable businesses. The main problems with filling vacancies according to employers’ estimations are: 1) market factors – shortage of employees with the required skills; 2) internal problems of ensuring the attractiveness of jobs (material – pay, and intangible – career prospects, flexible working hours, legal employment); 3) internal factors of inefficient HR management, including recruiting; 4) psycho-physiological factors of job satisfaction. However, there are no close links between the factors of hiring effectiveness and retention of skilled workers with the economic success of the organization in the form of the growth of assets, revenues and stuff. This leads to the conclusion that the practices of human resources management in small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine are largely built chaotic, without analyzing the impact on the efficiency of the use of other resources and without providing links with the overall economic efficiency of enterprises.

The study aimed to determine the factors of social capital (SC) of enterprises that can have a significant impact on achieving sustainable competitiveness. In this regard, the study tested the SEM-analysis method for evaluating hypotheses regarding the influence of factors of relational, cognitive and structural social capital of enterprises on financial and non-financial indicators of competitiveness. Empirical data for the study were obtained on the basis of a sociological survey conducted by the authors of managers and owners of enterprises in Ukraine from December 2020 to March 2021. The obtained results and modelled relationships of factors confirmed the significant influence of factors of social capital of enterprises on competitiveness. At the same time, the results revealed the most essential influence of efforts to develop strategic partnerships with suppliers (as part of structural SC), efforts to form a positive image of the enterprise and satisfaction with horizontal relationships (as part of relational SC), general satisfaction with the psychological climate in the team, the establishment of corporate culture as well as own efforts to support and develop corporate culture (among the factors of cognitive SC).

Grain production is the backbone of Ukraine's agricultural sector, playing a key role in ensuring food security, building export potential and developing agricultural land. Thanks to favourable natural and climatic conditions and fertile soils, Ukraine has traditionally been one of the world's leading grain producers and exporters. However, this sector of the economy remains highly risky due to significant fluctuations in crop yields and purchase prices. This study aims to explore different approaches to assessing the risk of grain production associated with interannual yield fluctuations. Wheat was chosen as the crop under study. Given the significant increase in wheat yields in recent years, the deviation of yields from a linear trend was used for statistical analysis rather than yield values. Two approaches to risk assessment have been developed: a comparative approach, which allows comparing the degree of risk of grain production in two regions, and a quantitative approach, which allows estimating the probability of fixed grain losses in a given region. These approaches can be used as an analytical tool for planning agricultural production, especially in the face of growing climate risks. The results of the study are of practical importance for agricultural managers, economists and government agencies interested in increasing the stability and predictability of grain production. The proposed approaches to quantitative risk assessment allow not only to determine the degree of possible losses, but also to formulate effective strategies to reduce the negative impact of adverse factors

Здійснено інтелектуальний аналіз даних попиту на освітні послуги (вища освіта) на прикладі НУВГП за період з 2018 по 2023 роки на основі поданих заяв абітурієнтами-громадянами України, для яких рік видачі документу про ПЗСО співпадає з роком вступу, тобто тих, хто здійснював свій професійний вибір вперше. Вирішення задач інтелектуального аналізу освітніх даних здійснювалось з використанням RStudio. Визначено, що динаміка попиту на освітні послуги, яку можна оцінити такими показниками, як кількість поданих заяв, пріоритет заяви, конкурсний бал, обрана спеціальність та форма навчання, ідентифікатори унікальності абітурієнтів, тощо є нестаціонарною та неергодичною. Результати проведеного кластерного аналізу дозволили виявити відмінності в обраних абітурієнтами стратегіях під час вступних кампаній. Очікується, що отримані результати сприятимуть подальшому покращенню якісної підготовки кваліфікованих фахівців, яка здійснюється в НУВГП, для розбудови України.