Economic planning at agricultural enterprises: Ukrainian experience of increasing the availability of data in the context of food security

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the research is a comparative assessment of the state of data availability for planning the economic activity of agricultural enterprises, as well as the development of a model for increasing data availability based on the established correlation between socio-economic factors of internal and external influence of agricultural enterprises and readiness to disclose information when receiving consulting services. Methodology / approach. The study is based on the results of a survey of agricultural enterprises’ (farms’) managers, collected based on a random sampling, the volume of which satisfies the requirements of representativeness. The results of the research made it possible to conduct a correlation analysis of the dependence model for increasing data availability based on the established correlation between socio-economic factors of internal and external influence of agricultural enterprises and readiness to disclose information when receiving consulting services. The obtained results of the analysis made it possible to confirm the research hypotheses and obtain answers to several research questions. Results. The study reveals several dependencies and trends in the formation of openness and availability of data at agricultural enterprises (farms) for the implementation of economic activity planning by third-party consultants/experts. A strong direct connection was established between the unwillingness of enterprises to share management accounting data with third-party experts precisely because of the lack of practice of collecting such data, and not because of privacy concerns or negative past experiences. It was established that at enterprises characterized by a low level of openness to the dissemination of management accounting data, planning work is conducted directly by managers without qualified support of experts or planning is not conducted at all. The results suggest a number of solutions to ensure better access to the data needed for effective planning. Originality / scientific novelty. The study concerns the problems of data availability at agricultural enterprises (farms) for the implementation of planning of economic activities by external consultants/experts and uses the method of correlation analysis to establish relationships between variables of the model. The data collection paradigm of agricultural enterprises for planning their activities has been developed. For the first time, the relationship between a number of socio-economic factors and the openness of agricultural enterprises and farms to management consulting was established. Practical value / implications. The study formulates a number of proposals for improving the data availability at agricultural enterprises (farms) for the implementation of economic activity planning by third-party consultants/experts, which can be used by regional and state development agencies; state and private scientific institutions; governmental and non-governmental organizations; product manufacturers; legislators, etc., when developing support programs for agricultural producers to motivate them to use more effective planning tools, as well as when determining areas of activity for the regional advisory centers, taking into account the priority tasks in the sphere of planning data collection and analysis at agricultural enterprises and farms. Further studies of the data availability for planning the economic activity of agricultural enterprises are possible on the basis of the current study.