In the first months of Russia’s war on Ukraine, a decentralised, bottom-up and largely ad-hoc humanitarian response developed, which soon turned into an effective civic ecosystem aiding in the war effort and a forward-thinking recovery process. Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz, Karolina Czerska-Shaw and Inara Zeynalova explain how businesses and entrepreneurs operating in the transnational space between Ukraine and Poland are reshaping how business is conducted amid global turbulence.
The transnational space between Poland and Ukraine has become a crucial setting for pioneering new business practices, relationships and solidarities on the frontlines of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Our study finds that these developments are central to the ongoing widespread civic mobilisation in the area, which includes humanitarian assistance, reconstruction efforts and military support. Entrepreneurs and businesses have been both novel and indispensable contributors. This emerging civic ecosystem is unified by a shared goal of Ukrainian sovereignty and marked by a network of diverse social actors, among them NGOs, international organisations, civilian volunteers, cultural institutions, religious organisations and scouting associations.
Partially Ukrainian-run businesses operating in Poland have provided mass humanitarian aid in the form of financial support, donations of products and services, coordination of assistance and participation in relief activities. These businesses have acted alongside traditional civil society actors, the state and international humanitarian organisations. The effectiveness of their efforts hinged on their using their know-how to take on vital roles in supporting humanitarian operations.
Since then, businesses and enterprises have been directing substantial financial and material assistance into Ukraine by supporting civil society organisations, municipal departments, military units and other businesses operating at the frontlines.
Personal networks
Throughout the first year of the invasion, however, businesses operating in Poland pivoted their focus from humanitarian to development aid and various recovery initiatives. This includes helping the physical reconstruction of Ukraine, employing more Ukrainian workers domestically and abroad, and training Ukrainian employees and officials. This shift had been accompanied by a commitment to peace efforts, understood by our respondents as the provision of military support.
All study respondents reported providing some form of informational assistance or equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces. While most businesses cannot officially disclose their military aid contributions, there is undeniable support for the army coming from business networks. This direct provision of developmental and military assistance often relies on personal networks, aimed at targeted delivery. This necessitates a precise understanding of the required assistance and the intended recipients to avoid waste and combat corruption, ensuring that support remains effective and accountable.
This personalised delivery is partly due to abuses of power within institutionalised or formal channels seen in Ukraine. Nonetheless, supporters of Ukraine emphasise the importance of cultivating personal connections in business and aid efforts, indicating that such informality is crucial for building trust and circumventing corruption. This approach also highlights the cultural nuances of doing business and conducting philanthropic activities within the post-communist space. As one interviewee noted, “The first thing I learned in Ukraine is that you won’t achieve anything by just writing emails… They need to see you, hear you speak, and understand how you behave.”
Corporate social responsibility
Our study also found that transnational corporations are increasingly integrating long-term planning in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, embedding aid efforts into their operations, ethos and corporate identity. Several large-scale companies, including Nokia, IKEA, Shell and others, have shifted from traditional strategic business management to leveraging their CSR departments for humanitarian support of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, as well as for their Ukrainian employees.
Corporation workers are pushing the boundaries of typical CSR strategies, in a capacity that is yet to be seen in other zones of conflict. In 2022, this support encompassed sponsoring the relocation of employees and their families to Poland or, in some cases, just their families (since men are not permitted to leave Ukraine). Employee volunteerism, sponsored by these companies, played a crucial role during the initial phases of the war, aiding local NGOs in maintaining reception centres and material goods drop-off points.
As the war continues, an interpersonal and informal dynamic is driving CSR departments to continue their humanitarian and developmental support efforts. This dynamic is powered by the direct involvement of Ukrainian and Polish employees in the support effort. Our research shows these CSR programs often rely on individuals within corporations who become the motors behind the mobilisation due to personal connections and affinity to the cause of Ukraine’s sovereignty. This trend is visible particularly when comparing with big business’ lacklustre support in other areas of conflict.
In contrast, other companies, from investment firms to smaller for-profit businesses with socially oriented goals, show less inclination to continue deliberate support initiatives. They often opt for social entrepreneurship or impact investment – although almost never using these terms – particularly by investing in Ukraine’s workforce and revenue and including refugees in operational decisions. Additionally, they focus on the integration of vulnerable populations, development of deprived areas and work with social services.
Social entrepreneurial management models have a unique organisational structure; there is an emphasis on horizontal, collaborative work and the inclusion of those who are on the receiving side of social objectives. There has been an explosion of these types of organisations targeting humanitarian and recovery efforts from Poland, employing or being run by the end-users, mainly Ukrainian women refugees in Poland. One such example includes a profit-based restaurant in Kraków, Ciepło, managed and staffed by Ukrainian women with refugee experience. The restaurant also powers the NGO ‘Zero Camps’, a hostel for Ukrainian refugees. These efforts positively contribute to civic goals in Ukraine, often without a formal commitment to social justice or social impact.
Lessons from the frontlines
Over the past two years, cooperation and mobilisation of business and enterprise between Poland and Ukraine have fostered strong networks and trust, aimed at achieving civic goals. This intense collaboration has yielded valuable practices and highlighted challenges that future stakeholders can learn from.
- First, the mobilisation of humanitarian help has been decentralised or fragmented, impacting civil society and business practices alike. Businesses have adopted bottom-up, post-Fordist mobilisation approaches.
- Second, trust is crucial in wartime, and informal, bottom-up networks have facilitated the fast and efficient transfer of goods and services, often bypassing perceived corruption in formal institutions.
- Third, conducting business in post-communist regions often relies on informal, personal relationships and direct communication methods, which are essential to understand before entering these markets.
- Lastly, there have been exemplary instances of synergy between Polish and Ukrainian business actors entailing not only transnational supply chains but genuine business operations across borders amid conflict. Since 2022, Poland has become key for Ukrainian businesses and entrepreneurship in the European Union. Forced Ukrainian migrants who settled there are overwhelmingly highly educated and motivated to work, and they give back to their country. These businesses can be potential global leaders in formulating resilient contingency practices amid increasing geo-political turbulence.
Conclusions
Our research shows that businesses and entrepreneurs at the forefront of Russia’s war on Ukraine have significantly reshaped the mobilisation and delivery of humanitarian aid. This shift not only led to the fragmentation of traditional aid but also introduced innovative methods for distributing aid and implementing developmental assistance. Businesses are increasingly engaging independently in initiatives hitherto almost always led by state or international bodies, including rebuilding infrastructure and supporting Ukraine’s defence measures.
Entrepreneurs and businesses operating between Poland and Ukraine have become deeply embedded in complex networks and partnerships, fostering distinct business practices tailored to these unique circumstances. This integration underscores the adaptive and collaborative nature of business in a geopolitical crisis. These activities extend beyond conventional corporate social responsibility or charity, becoming ingrained in the fabric of everyday business operations and driving social entrepreneurship with civic objectives.
Our study helps to understand the evolving role of business actors in a landscape traditionally dominated by state, international organisations and civil society, illustrating how they contribute to civic goals and redefine business practices on the frontlines of conflict.
- This blog post is based on the “Business & Entrepreneurs: Transnational Networks and Civic Goals on the Frontlines of the Russo-Ukraine War” report and study published by PeaceRep’s Ukraine programme.
- The post represents the views of the author(s), not the position of LSE Business Review or the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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