DETERMINANTS OF DEMAND FOR ECONOMIC EXPERTISE AMONG BUSINESS ENTITIES IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Purpose. To substantiate a typology of the determinants of demand for economic expertise based on the customer's motive and to determine the ratio of the identified groups in Ukrainian conditions. Methods. The study applies structural and functional analysis of official departmental statistics of forensic expert activity for 2020–2025, calculation of shares and rates of change by segment and by personnel indicators, comparative analysis of the regulations governing the assessment of war damage, and theoretical modelling of customer behaviour based on the concepts of credence goods and derived demand. Results. Four products of economic expertise are distinguished by the procedural status of their result, price and turnaround, and it is shown that merging them into a single market conceals different buyer behaviour. The total volume of examinations carried out by research institutions of forensic expertise fell from 138,042 in 2021 to 54,878 in 2025, that is by 60.2 %, whereas the segment of studies outside criminal proceedings contracted by only 56.6 % and its share rose from 12.6 % in 2020 to 17.8 % in 2025. The share of certified experts not employed by state specialised institutions increased from 8.2 % to 10.3 %. The economic field is supported by 110 methodologies out of 1,421, that is less than 8 % of the list. A typology of determinants divided into compulsory, defensive and proactive is proposed. Conclusions. The demand of business entities rests on a compulsory-defensive core, and the recorded contraction of volumes describes a structural rearrangement of the market rather than a fading need. The constraints on demand are largely non-price: despite the tariff for an expert hour almost doubling over three years, the decisive barriers remain waiting time, uncertainty of the outcome and the risk of obtaining an opinion favouring the opponent. War damage documentation procedures form a stable line of orders and gradually expand the proactive layer of demand.