Developing a Composite Socio-Economic Resilience Index for Enterprises: Assessing the Role of Human Capital Indicators under Crisis Conditions

Abstract

In times of crisis, the level of economic activity of companies and the ability to maintain social sustainability in terms of retaining human resources significantly decrease. The purpose of the research was to develop a composite index of socio-economic resilience of enterprises, taking into account indicators of human capital development. The methodology is based on a statistical analysis of indicators of socio-economic resilience of companies in EU member states in 2018–2023. The index method was used to calculate the socio-economic resilience index of enterprises in EU member states in 2018–2023. The results demonstrate a reduction in the level of ability to productively manage resources and retain human resources by enterprises in EU member states during and after the crisis. The closure of businesses during the 2020 economic downturn led to a reduction in employment in industry, construction, and the service sector. The social resilience of enterprises in the EU decreased in 2021–2023 in terms of labor productivity, the ability to retain personnel, and the provision of social benefits. As a result of the decrease in the social resilience in 2021–2023, the level of economic resilience of enterprises decreased in terms of value added per employee and value added in net income of European companies. The calculated composite index of socio-economic resilience of enterprises in the EU indicates a decrease in the ability to conduct productive activities from an average level in the pre-crisis and crisis periods of 2018–2021 to a low level in the post-crisis period of 2022–2023.

Keywords: socio-economic resilience, enterprise resilience, composite index, human capital indicators, resilience measurement, economic performance.