Theoretical and methodological foundations and tools for forming communications and relationships between enterprises and stakeholders

The subject of the study. The paper substantiates the relevance of a systematic approach to managing enterprise communications with stakeholders under conditions of institutional transformation and the digitalisation of the economy. It demonstrates that the limited institutionalisation of stakeholder interaction in Ukrainian practice creates a need to strengthen the theoretical and methodological foundations of stakeholder–oriented management. The object of the study is the processes of forming communications and relationships between enterprises and interested parties, while the subject comprises tools and procedures for stakeholder identification, classification, prioritisation, and engagement.Research methods. The purpose of the paper is to develop theoretical and methodological provisions and practical recommendations for shaping communication instruments and building effective stakeholder relationships.The methodological framework relies on systems and process approaches, stakeholder theory, and matrix–based modelling; the study employs analysis and synthesis, comparison and generalisation, a logical–structural approach, and elements of expert judgement. Results of work. The enterprise is interpreted as an open socio–economic system whose performance is determined by multidirectional interactions among internal and external influence groups. The concept of «stakeholders» is refined as a set of actors with a legitimate interest in the enterprise and/or the capacity to affect its economic outcomes; the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of stakeholder relations are systematised as key contours of stakeholder expectations.Conclusions. The paper elaborates stakeholder classification by relation to the enterprise (internal/external) and by strength of influence (primary/secondary), and justifies the use of matrix tools as instruments for analytical visualisation and managerial decision support–above all, the influence–interest matrix for the initial determination of stakeholder priority.