Shandova Nataliia, Doctor of Economics, Professor, The Head of the Department of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Economic security, Kherson National Technical University, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine

ORCID: 0000-0002-6278-1143
e-mail: shandova.nataliya@kntu.edu.ua

Sydoruk Pavlo, Gaduate student of the third (educational and scientific) level of higher education, Kherson National Technical University, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine

ORCID: 0009-0002-7503-1453
e-mail: sydoruk.pavlo@kntu.net.ua

Weak Signals as a Tool for Early Diagnosis of Threats to Enterprise Economic Security

Abstract. Introduction. The article examines the conceptual foundations for developing a mechanism to manage an enterprise’s economic security based on the identification and interpretation of weak signals as a tool for the early diagnosis of threats to the financial, resource-operational, and strategic sustainability of business entities. The relevance of the study is driven by the growing level of uncertainty and information asymmetry in the modern business environment, which complicates the timely detection of crisis tendencies by traditional analytical tools that rely primarily on retrospective financial reporting and formal performance indicators.

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to provide a theoretical justification for the use of weak signals as an informational basis for the early identification of potential threats to enterprise economic security and to refine approaches to their classification in view of the contemporary conditions of business operation in Ukraine.

Results. The research findings substantiate the expediency of treating weak signals as a specific information resource that expands the analytical toolkit of economic security by enabling a shift from reactive protection measures to preventive management. The article proposes the author’s definition of a weak signal of an economic threat and develops a structured classification according to six economically relevant criteria, which ensures the systematic integration of signal analysis into risk monitoring processes and the forecasting of potential disturbances in the economic equilibrium of enterprises. It is shown that the proposed approach makes it possible to combine the qualitative interpretation of informational impulses with an economic assessment of their potential impact on cash flows, resource provision, and the competitive position of firms.

Conclusions. The obtained results may be applied in the activities of economic security units and analytical departments of enterprises, as well as in the development of methodological recommendations for implementing early risk-warning systems within the framework of post-war recovery and the structural modernization of Ukrainian business.

Keywords: economic security of enterprise, weak signals, early threat detection, preventive management, financial resilience, threat life cycle, window of opportunities.

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