No 3 (2025)

The research subject is behavioral characteristics of employees prone to opportunistic behavior in the corporate environment. The research goal is the identification of behavioral characteristics of employees prone to opportunistic behavior and to develop practical recommendations for its diagnosis and prevention at both the personnel selection stage and during the work process. In achieving this goal, the following tasks were addressed: 1. An analysis of personality typology and behavioral patterns characteristic of employees prone to opportunistic behavior was conducted. 2. Models and theoretical approaches to explaining corporate fraud (fraud triangle, MICE model, fraud diamond, etc.) were summarized. 3. Key behavioral indicators of deviant behavior were systematized in the context of pre- and post-contractual interactions. 4. Recommendations for identifying employees with a high level of ethical risk and reducing the likelihood of internal violations were formulated, including psychodiagnostic, organizational-cultural, and control-analytical measures. The research methodology includes analysis and synthesis of domestic and foreign scientific literature in the fields of organizational behavior, applied psychology, and corporate security; comparative analysis of fraud risk models. The scientific novelty lies in the integration of behavioral and organizational-structural approaches to interpreting opportunistic behavior, as well as in the proposal of a comprehensive risk assessment and monitoring system for employees in the dynamics of labor relations. The article substantiates the need for a differentiated approach to diagnosing deviant behavior at the pre-contractual and post-contractual stages. Examples of possible incidents of intra-firm opportunism are discussed, including cases of data leaks and abuses in the IT sphere, which confirm the significance of developing preventive and adaptive control mechanisms. Many organizations struggle to manage the risk of opportunism from employees as it is often an uncomfortable topic for discussion and exposure to the public eye. Therefore, identifying workers prone to opportunism is an important step in investigating opportunistic behavior, as the speed and manner of detecting opportunism can significantly influence the scale of opportunism and can affect the company’s employees: they will know that fraud will eventually be detected and will lead to certain sanctions. This will help reduce the frequency of wrongful actions in the future.

The fiscal response of SMEs is a key indicator for evaluating the effectiveness of government support and assessing its impact on a region's economic development. Defined as the ratio between the volume of budget investments in the SME sector and the resulting tax revenues, this metric allows for an assessment of the direct efficiency of public expenditures. Importantly, it quantifies how many rubles of tax revenue are generated per ruble of budget investment. Analysis of fiscal response helps identify the relationship between financial support volumes and growth in tax revenues, facilitating more informed allocation of budget resources and optimization of government support measures. The study employs comparative analysis and synthesis of existing approaches to evaluating SME support effectiveness, develops a coefficient for assessing expenditure efficiency, and conducts empirical analysis through collection and examination of budgetary and tax reporting data to evaluate the structure of government support and its impact on fiscal response. A comparative analysis method is also used to match support volumes with tax revenues. The research proposes a quantitative metric—the "SME Fiscal Response Coefficient"—as a tool for evaluating support effectiveness, with calculations based on data from Perm Krai for the period 2019–2024. Evaluating fiscal response requires a comprehensive approach that considers multiple factors influencing SME tax revenues, including expenditures on SME support programs and initiatives, tax expenditures resulting from incentives, and costs associated with maintaining support infrastructure. The study uses tax revenues from SMEs as the primary outcome measure of government support effectiveness. Investigating fiscal response not only assesses the efficiency of existing support measures but also identifies potential improvements, optimizes the structure of government assistance, and develops more effective mechanisms to stimulate SME development. These efforts contribute to increased tax revenues and sustainable economic growth in the region. The methodology and findings provide policymakers with actionable insights for refining SME support programs and maximizing their economic impact.

Ensuring financial stability as a category opposed to the bankruptcy of commercial enterprises is an important area of financial management. Shocks and risks from a sanctions-based economy have caused problems related to the decline and loss of financial stability, requiring the development of financial management approaches to mitigate risks. The goal is to develop approaches to ensure the financial stability of commercial enterprises based on the representation of its three-component content: financial stability, financial flexibility, and internal reserves. Objectives of the research are : to formulate the content of the three-component financial stability of commercial enterprises; to present indicators for diagnosing the components that constitute financial stability; to perform a diagnosis of financial stability, financial flexibility, and the presence of internal reserves ensuring financial stability in small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the production of mineral fertilizers and nitrogen compounds in the Volga Federal District. The subject of the research is the constituent components of financial stability, risks from a sanctions-based economy that affect them, and the directions of financial risk management applied to mitigate risks. The methods used in this research are general scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, and classification. Additionally, analytical methods were employed to carry out diagnostic procedures assessing financial stability, financial flexibility, and internal financial reserves. The scientific novelty of the research lies in revealing the content of the components of financial stability and justifying the directions of financial risk management to ensure the financial stability of commercial enterprises. Research results: the content of financial stability is presented as a determinant of the effectiveness of current activities, investment attractiveness, and solvency of commercial enterprises, as well as an author's definition of financial stability is formulated. The content of financial stability is revealed as a unity of three components: financial stability, financial adaptability, and internal financial reserves of commercial enterprises. Problems and directions of financial risk management to ensure the indicated components of financial stability under sanctions-based economic conditions are formulated. Indicators for diagnosing financial stability, financial flexibility, and metrics that characterize the presence of internal reserves ensuring financial stability are outlined, and a diagnostic assessment of these components of financial stability has been conducted based on materials from small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the production of mineral fertilizers and nitrogen compounds in the Volga Federal District.

The subject of this study is conflict management in educational organizations, taking into account the influence of social and financial factors. Conflicts are considered not only as a socio-psychological phenomenon but also as a managerial issue with clear economic consequences that affect the sustainability of the educational environment. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of institutional practices, including mediation services and the ombudsman system, as well as the specifics of resource allocation and incentive mechanisms. It is emphasized that the presence of formalized mechanisms of conflict resolution contributes to reducing tension and lowering transaction costs. The study reveals the relationship between the quality of communication, the level of organizational culture, and the performance of educational institutions. The role of transparent managerial decisions and fairness in resource distribution is examined as factors that determine the nature of conflict situations. Such an approach makes it possible to move away from a narrowly pedagogical perspective and view conflicts as a complex phenomenon. The research methods include analysis and synthesis of scientific sources, comparative analysis of conflict management approaches, systematization of identified factors, and case studies of practices in Russian and international educational organizations. This methodological toolkit allowed for the integration of sociological, managerial, and financial perspectives and the consideration of conflicts as a multi-level phenomenon. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the systematization of social and financial factors of conflict management and in substantiating their interrelation with the sustainability of educational organizations. The practical significance is expressed in the recommendations for creating institutional mechanisms of conflict resolution, improving the transparency of resource allocation, and integrating indicators of conflict management quality into the performance evaluation of managers. The findings demonstrate that conflicts can be viewed not only as a threat but also as a source of organizational development if managed constructively. The proposed measures contribute to reducing direct and indirect costs, increasing trust among participants in the educational process, and strengthening the reputation of educational institutions. Thus, the study provides the foundation for a comprehensive conflict management strategy that integrates social and financial dimensions.