Chechetova-Terashvili T. Theoretical aspects of elaborating a strategy for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine

The thesis deals with the substantiation of a new theoretical and methodological approach to elaborating a strategy for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine. The work proposes a concept of elaborating a strategy for the development of SMEs in Ukraine, which is based on the following provisions: 1 – the country’s economic development depends on the level of government regulation and business support; 2 – in the country there observed a fiasco in the activity of business, which is caused by deficiencies in its government regulation and support; 3 – the development of SMEs in the country is characterized by stagnation and their relatively insignificant role in the economy; 4 – the inefficiency of the functioning of SMEs in the country is due to its noncompliance with the “golden rule” of economics; 5 – the country is characterized by a high level of regulation of SMEs and a relatively low level of its state support; 6 – causal relationships of the influence of state regulation of and support for the development and functioning of SMEs in the country have mostly a moderate or extreme inconsistent character; 7 – the priority directions of the strategic development of SMEs in the country are defined by the problems of their functioning and government regulation and support; 8 – the instruments of state influence on SMEs in the country are determined depending on the stage of the life cycle of the entities. Methodological guidelines for diagnosing the problems of development and efficiency of SMEs in Ukraine using a structural and logical model that includes a system of matrices and a model based on the “golden rule” of economics are worked out. There proposed a methodical approach to assessing the level of development of SMEs in the Ukrainian economy with the use of the integral indicator, complex and particular ones as well as the components of “development trends” and “significance in the economy”. In the work, there developed a methodological approach to assessing the effectiveness of the functioning of SMEs in the economy of Ukraine using the integral indicator and particular ones, which characterizes the turnover of funds of business entities. There proposed a system of indicators for assessing the level of SME deregulation in Ukraine, which includes the integral indicator, complex and partial ones and consists of the following components: the registration system; the permitting system and licensing; the system of foreign economic regulation and the system of state supervision, and taxation. There elaborated a system of indicators to assess the level of state support for SMEs in Ukraine with the use of integral and partial indicators, which consists of the following components: protection of minority investors; enforcement of contracts; getting loans. In the thesis, there substantiated the priority directions and scenarios for the strategic development of SMEs in Ukraine based on the assessment and diagnosis of the development and functioning of SMEs and its state regulation and support. A classification of instruments of state influence on SMEs in Ukraine by spheres and forms is proposed, and instruments for solving SME problems by stages of the life cycle of business entities are defined. Keywords: development strategy, small and medium-sized enterprises, deregulation, support, functioning efficiency, cognitive map, scenarios, instruments.