STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES AMIDST THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The article examines the theoretical and practical aspects of strategic competitiveness management in industrial enterprises, focusing on adapting business models to contemporary customer expectations. It systematises how positive and negative customer expectations shape an enterprise's competitive advantages across key elements of the marketing mix. The rapid rise in pro-inflationary sentiment among households, reaching a critical 14.2% in September 2026, serves as a powerful macroeconomic determinant. It heightens market sensitivity to overall product costs and demands greater financial and logistical flexibility from enterprises. An analysis of consumer sentiment dynamics in Ukraine between 2022 and 2025 reveals the domestic market’s gradual adaptation to crisis conditions through the development of stable, measured purchasing patterns. A key structural shift during this period has been the rapid expansion of e-commerce alongside an increase in the average transaction value. In response, industrial enterprises must quickly implement multichannel sales models, automate production lines to control costs, and adapt logistics and packaging to meet online retail standards. Projections for 2026 point to the dominance of rational, pragmatic demand and a high degree of consumer frugality; most citizens are focusing on essential goods, maintaining energy independence, and improving critical living conditions. Under these circumstances, impulse purchases and the premium segment are losing ground, leaving manufacturers with only narrow niches for product differentiation. Given that demand depends heavily on the security situation in specific regions, industrial enterprises are shifting their focus from aggressive new-product marketing to internal operational efficiency to stay competitive. Long-term market resilience will come only from industrial enterprises that can combine flexible, small-batch production with strict control over the final price of their core products while also demonstrating an overt, socially patriotic stance, which is critically important in contemporary Ukrainian society.