THE ROLE OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN SHAPING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MODELS OF ENTERPRISES

Abstract

The contemporary global economic environment, coupled with escalating social and environmental challenges, imposes non-negotiable demands on enterprises across all sectors, compelling a fundamental shift toward sustainable operating models. This crucial transition is driven by the urgent necessity to address global climate change, mitigate resource depletion, and meet growing societal expectations concerning ethical conduct. Consequently, establishing a robust and enduring sustainable development strategy is no longer merely optional but has become a decisive factor for maintaining long-term competitive advantage and market legitimacy. The complexity of this organizational shift, which demands a systemic overhaul of organizational logic-encompassing operational processes, core business models, corporate culture, and stakeholder interaction-presents profound managerial challenges that traditional approaches fail to address effectively. The core problem this study explores is the critical absence of an integrated, holistic management framework for orchestrating the sustained organizational change required for deep sustainable transformation, particularly within the challenging context of transitional economies. Sustainable development mandates a simultaneous and interconnected overhaul across the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of an enterprise. This comprehensive process inevitably generates significant internal resistance, demands substantial long-term resource allocation, and creates detrimental managerial inertia. The research investigates the theoretical necessity of applying structured, proactive, and coherent change management methodologies to strategically bridge the persistent gap between sustainability goals and their effective, practical implementation at the enterprise level. The paper focuses on critically examining the multi-faceted role of change management as a pivotal mechanism for driving successful sustainable transitions. It analyzes the strategic and operational prerequisites for such a profound transformation, discussing the essential internal levers-including strategic visioning, systematic knowledge acquisition, digital technology adoption, and organizational culture re-engineering-that must be coherently engaged to ensure systemic success. Furthermore, a substantial part of the analysis is dedicated to identifying and classifying the primary institutional and operational barriers that routinely impede Ukrainian enterprises from successfully adopting and fully institutionalizing sustainable practices. These obstacles are broadly related to limitations in accessing modernization funding, widespread technological obsolescence, inadequate specialized competencies, and structural instability within the regulatory environment. The overall objective is to critically analyze the necessary managerial intervention points and strategic mechanisms essential for making sustainable transformation a viable and enduring reality for modern enterprises.