The Role Of Institutional Factors In The Interaction Of Ukraine'S Oil And Gas Sector Enterprises With External Stakeholders

The article examines the influence of institutional factors on the interaction between oil and gas sector enterprises and their external stakeholders. An analysis of domestic scholars' works on the principles and methodological approaches to identifying external stakeholders and determining their economic interests has been conducted. It has been established that oil and gas complex enterprises possess significant distinctive characteristics in terms of stakeholder relations, driven primarily by the role of oil and gas in the contemporary model of the global economy. The purpose of the article is to assess the impact of institutional factors on the relationship between oil and gas sector enterprises and external stakeholders in Ukraine. To achieve the purpose of the article, the following methods of scientific knowledge were used: the system method (to determine the characteristics of the institutional environment), the axiomatic method (to identify external stakeholders), methods of analysis and synthesis (to assess the impact of the institutional environment on the relationship between oil and gas sector enterprises and external stakeholders). It is emphasized that under current conditions, the oil and gas complex occupies a special place in the structure of Ukraine's national economy. A range of factors, including those of a resource nature, determine its role in the country's economic development. A severe and prolonged energy resource deficit — a defining characteristic of Ukraine's economy — transforms the oil and gas complex into a powerful driver of economic development and substantially broadens the circle of its external stakeholders. The dynamics of the oil and gas sector depend largely on the state of the institutional environment, which in Ukraine is characterized by significant imbalances and underdeveloped components. For many years, the state has failed to establish effective rules of the game in the domestic oil and gas market. As a result, institutional factors are largely determinative in the process of identifying external stakeholders and accounting for their interests in the operations of Ukraine's oil and gas enterprises. Quite frequently, the activities of oil and gas sector enterprises are shaped by non-economic factors, which constitute an additional source of negative pressure on their relationships with external stakeholders. It is stressed that Ukrainian oil and gas businesses must ground their corporate strategies, among other things, in mechanisms for effective engagement with external stakeholders. In this context, it is recommended that oil and gas complex enterprises adopt a project-based approach to stakeholder relationship management. This will enable them to account for the state and dynamics of the institutional environment in their interactions with external stakeholders.