SCIENTIFIC AND THEORETICAL ESSENCE OF THE ECONOMIC SECURITY OF AN ENTERPRISE

Abstract

The article provides comprehensive theoretical and methodological substantiation of the scientific and theoretical essence of an enterprise's economic security. It develops the conceptual foundations for the functioning of the organizational and economic mechanism for its provision under high market volatility. Based on an ontological analysis of the evolution of scientific schools, micro-level security is positioned as a complex dynamic state that combines the features of stability, self-regulation, and the capacity for active adaptation. Within the framework of systemic and structural decomposition, the key functional components of security – financial, intellectual-personnel, technical-technological, informational-cybernetic, physical, political-legal, and environmental – are detailed and systematized, with the target orientation defined and a system of key evaluation indicators validated for each component. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the application of a stakeholder-oriented approach to the classification of destructive factors, which allowed for moving beyond the traditional endogenous-exogenous dichotomy and for typifying specific forms of threat manifestation among key interested parties (owners, management, personnel, suppliers, clients, competitors, and creditors). It is proved that passive adaptation is ineffective, and the priority of an active adaptation strategy through proactive risk management is substantiated. The organizational and economic mechanism for ensuring security is formalized, structuring the analytical-diagnostic and instrumental blocks, and offering four strategic alternatives based on the environment's threat level. The decision-making process is reinforced by the author's mathematical model for minimizing total risk under tight budget constraints. The practical significance of the results lies in the possibility of shifting the corporate protection system toward objective risk management, thereby preserving business competitiveness amid global digital transformations and macroeconomic instability.