Methodology for constructing and verifying the index of economic sustainability of an agricultural enterprise in conditions of instability, taking into account export-import factors

Abstract

This study is relevant because of the increasing turbulence of the external environment, in which climatic anomalies, geopolitical risks, and price volatility create demand for suitable tools to diagnose the condition of agricultural enterprises. The study aims to develop a methodology for calculating an integral index of the economic sustainability of an agricultural enterprise. Unlike static assessments of an achieved level, the proposed approach accounts for the system’s dynamic capacity to maintain a trajectory of expanded reproduction. The methodological framework combines the neoclassical approach to efficiency assessment with the evolutionary-institutional paradigm, which views an enterprise as an open socio-ecological-economic system. The proposed model was verified using a representative sample of agricultural organizations in Krasnodar Krai for 2020–2024. The results include an author-developed method for calculating subindices for four key components: production and technological robustness, financial and investment autonomy, social and personnel stability, and ecological and adaptive plasticity. The aggregated index was shown to be sensitive to sectoral specialization and organizational and legal form, which allows it to be used for benchmarking and selective government support. The practical significance of the study lies in the applicability of the proposed tools to sustainability monitoring, early diagnosis of crisis phenomena, and substantiation of strategic decisions at the micro level. The article was prepared as part of research funded from the state budget under the Financial University’s government assignment.