Institutional status of industrial railway transport enterprises and its impact on operational performance indicators and investment activity

Aim. To examine the influence of the institutional status of industrial railway transport enterprises on operational performance indicators and investment activity.

Objectives. To systematize the institutional models of industrial transport organization; to assess differences in operational performance indicators, asset structure, investment activity, and liquidity between independent and captive industrial railway transport enterprises.

Methods. The study is based on the tenets of transaction cost theory. The empirical basis consists of ten industrial railway transport enterprises (five independent and five captive). Statistical hypothesis testing was performed using Student’s t­test for independent samples with unequal variances.

Results. The study revealed statistically significant differences between independent and captive industrial railway transport enterprises in key operational and investment activity indicators. Independent enterprises demonstrate significantly higher operating profitability, indicating their focus on achieving their own financial results in a competitive environment. Captive enterprises are characterized by higher capital intensity and a larger share of fixed assets in their asset structure, typically implementing a direct ownership model within the investment program of the parent holding. The current liquidity ratio of independent companies significantly exceeds that of captive enterprises, indicating fundamentally different approaches to working capital management.

Conclusion. The results confirm the hypothesis that institutional status has a system-­forming influence on the economic performance of industrial railway transport enterprises. Independent companies, oriented toward the competitive environment of the transport services market, demonstrate significantly higher profitability indicators with moderate capital intensity. Captive companies, which function as the internal transport infrastructure of an industrial holding, are characterized by a higher share of fixed assets and greater investment activity. The identified differences have implications for the formation of a unified transport policy and the regulation of activities on non­public railway tracks.

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