Large enterprises of Ukraine, sustainable development and social responsibility: transparency in times of crisis

Abstract

After the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, the crisis conditions have produced challenges in the work of large enterprises and reduced attention to social responsibility. This work aims to identify bottlenecks in the communicative activity of large enterprises on social responsibility. Based on a literature review, we have established a theoretical link between social responsibility, efficiency and transparency. We formulated hypotheses about the connection between enterprise leadership and transparency of social responsibility. To discover the transparency of big business in a crisis, we used the original simple method, which helps us assess the availability and adequacy of information on social responsibility. Using it, we analysed the websites of leading Ukrainian companies in the post-crisis period. According to the study results, we partially confirmed the hypothesis of a higher level of transparency provided by enterprises that are revenue leaders. The obtained results can be helpful for public authorities to develop a national strategy of sustainable development and managers to improve the representation of achievements in the field of social responsibility.