НЕДОБРОСОВІСНА КОНКУРЕНЦІЯ ЯК ГІБРИДНИЙ ФІНАНСОВИЙ КОНФЛІКТ

Abstract

Effective fight against unfair competition is one of the priorities of state policy and development strategy of each business unit. At the same time, in today's difficult economic environment, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses face numerous hybrid financial conflicts, including unfair competition. In this context, the article substantiates the need to find new ways to combat this destructive phenomenon. The author considers the approaches of scientists to understanding the essence of unfair competition and the peculiarities of its legislative regulation. An analysis of the impact of unfair competition on the financial and economic activities of business entities in Ukraine. The article notes that with a fairly broad interpretation of the essence of the concept of «unfair competition» is not always possible to correctly classify certain methods of competition. Blurred boundaries between healthy and unfair competition are a prerequisite for hybrid financial conflicts. The author identifies key manifestations of unfair competition, in particular: economic espionage, influence on consumers by manipulating information, counterfeiting competitors, bribery and blackmail, corruption, financial fraud. Technologies of interaction of unfair competitors with employees of the victim enterprise in order to obtain its confidential financial information are described. These are various negotiations, which often take place through bribery or with elements of psychological pressure, in particular, intimidation, blackmail. In addition, it is determined that in the implementation of unfair competitive activities are actively used technologies of interaction with government agencies and due to corruption mechanisms gain a competitive advantage. Technologies of interaction with the media are also revealed, the purpose of which is to form a favorable public opinion for competitors about the activities of the victim enterprise and to compromise the management of the business entity and products or services offered by it on the market. The article examines the most common types of unfair actions that are carried out in order to achieve undue advantages in competition. In order to counteract unfair actions by competitors, the need to balance the financial interests of market participants is justified, in particular, emphasis is placed on the need for competitive intelligence to raise awareness of potential threats from competitors and protect the internal environment from economic espionage.