THE STUDY OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ACCORDING TO THE ACTIVITIES' INDICATORS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises are an important component of the economic system of most countries, providing employment and income to a significant proportion of the population, economic and social transformation. At the same time, they are not so dependent on foreign markets, currency fluctuations, flexibly adapt to changing market conditions. Small and medium-sized businesses also play an important role in the domestic economy. They form a significant part of local budget revenues, ensuring the creation of new jobs; solving the problem of overcoming unemployment; provide support and development of the middle class in society; rapid adaptation to market changes, new circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down businesses of various sizes and types in various ways. Small and medium-sized enterprises operating in various sectors of the economy suffered the most. This study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of small and medium-sized enterprises and the change in regional structure in terms of their activities' indicators. We applied a research methodology with a critical review of the available publications for this sector of the economy. To solve the identified problem, we used the k-means clustering method, which is an iterative procedure for finding groupings of objects in the initial indicators’' space. As a result of the calculations, the regions of Ukraine were distributed among four clusters. We described each cluster. Studies have shown that in 2020 there were no significant changes in the cluster structure of regions. This leads to the conclusion that the impact of the pandemic is equally evident in all regions. We also analyzed the measures of the government of the country, aimed at supporting the activities of small and medium enterprises, reducing losses and risks of closure from restrictive measures.