COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF EFFICIENCY AND UTILIZATION COMPLETENESS OF RESOURCE POTENTIAL IN TRADING ENTERPRISES: METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

The aim of the article is to develop new methodological approaches for conducting a comparative analysis of the efficiency and utilization completeness of the resource potential in trading enterprises for the strategic management purposes. The article clarifies the essence of the concept of "resource potential" and systematizes the main methodological approaches to its analysis. The empirical research is based on the financial statements of six largest companies engaged in the cargo vehicles trade for the period of 2020-2022. As a result of the study, a new methodological approach to conducting a comparative competitive analysis of the efficiency and completeness of the use of the resource potential of trading companies is proposed. The proposed methodology allows not only to analyze the efficiency of resource utilization but also evaluating the completeness of resource utilization by comparing the actual value of profit value with the theoretically possible benchmark value for the available resource level, taking into account the average asset utilization efficiency for a given set of competing enterprises. The benchmark profit value is recommended to be determined based on the development regression model that characterizes the dependence of pre-tax profit on the size of assets. Similar models can also be used for the purposes of forecasting analysis, as they enable examining the behaviour of individual performance indicators depending on changes in the selected factor. To perform a comprehensive assessment of the efficiency and utilization completeness of resource potential of trading enterprises, an integrated indicator is proposed, based on which the competitive positions of the researched companies are ranked. Practical application of the author's methodological approach allows benchmarking, conducting a comparative evaluation of the company's performance with the results of competitors, identifying competitive advantages or weaknesses of its activities related to insufficiently complete utilization of its resource potential, promotes an effective search for additional internal reserves to improve performance, and can be used to develop operational strategies aimed at improving compa-nies’ competitiveness.