CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS A STRATEGIC FACTOR IN SHAPING ECONOMIC SECURITY UNDER CONDITIONS OF SYSTEMIC UNCERTAINTY

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a strategic factor in shaping the economic security of enterprises under systemic uncertainty caused by war, the pandemic, and global economic crises. The paper substantiates that CSR under modern conditions ceases to be an optional area of company activity and is transformed into a key resource for enhancing resilience, the ability to withstand crises, and maintain public trust. The article outlines the scientific problem of the lack of integrated models that combine socially oriented business initiatives with the economic security of enterprises and national security in general. The aim of the study is to substantiate the impact of CSR on the personnel, operational, and financial-reputational resilience of enterprises, as well as to test an indicator-integral approach for measuring this impact. The methodological framework is based on systemic and structural-functional analysis, the indicator approach, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine weight coefficients, an event study («before/after») to assess crisis effects, as well as content analysis of non-financial reports of leading Ukrainian companies. The empirical basis consists of a sample of four Ukrainian enterprises, which made it possible to trace the dynamics of indicators in the pre-war, wartime, and post-war periods. On this basis, an integrated index of CSR security added value was developed and tested, aggregating personnel, operational, and financial-reputational metrics. The results showed that companies with a high level of CSR programs (Metinvest, DTEK, Nova Post, Kyivstar) achieved significantly higher index values, indicating their greater ability to retain staff, reduce business recovery time, and maintain investor confidence. In contrast, companies with a limited level of CSR remained at a low index level, which indicates their increased vulnerability to external shocks. The practical significance of the findings lies in the possibility of applying the methodology by enterprises to assess their resilience and adjust risk management strategies. The conclusions obtained may also be useful for government authorities in the process of developing policies to stimulate CSR in the context of post-war recovery and Ukraine’s European integration.