Baltic Journal of Economic Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019

Corresponding author:
1 National University “Odessa Law Academy”, Ukraine.
2 National University “Odessa Law Academy”, Ukraine.
E-mail: kibik@ukr.net

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2019-5-2-73-79

ECONOMIC AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRECONDITIONS
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGENCY RELATIONS

IN A CRISIS PERIOD
Sergey Kivalov1, Olha Kibik2

Abstract. The purpose of the article is the research of economic-legal and organizational principles of problem
solution of economic agents’ functioning and implementation of activities within the system of anti-crisis measures
in order to ensure the effective functioning of the country’s economic system. Crisis phenomena change the living
tendencies of any economic agent. The purpose of each economic agent is to create sufficient capacity for functioning
and development in favourable and especially in crisis conditions. In order to ensure the effective development of a
business entity as an economic agent, the main condition is the maximization of its value by increasing the investment
attractiveness and level of competitiveness in the domestic and foreign markets. Formation of this condition is a
prerequisite for survival in a crisis situation and development ensuring in favourable circumstances. The elements
of anti-crisis management should be correctly integrated into the general policy of the management system of
economic agents at the microeconomic and macroeconomic level. The subject of the study is the functioning of
economic agents in a crisis. Research methodology. The study is based on the use of general scientific and special-
scientific methods of scientific knowledge. The dialectical method allowed investigating the definition of agency
relations. The method of system analysis was used to study the principles and economic and legal preconditions of
the functioning of the anti-crisis management systems. The system-structural method helped to study basic pre-
crisis measures to develop crisis-response potential of maritime agency service. Practical implications. The article
considers the mechanism of economic and legal provision of anti-crisis management drawing on the example
of maritime agents. The most significant components of the transaction costs of the principal are determined.
Value/originality. The role of maritime agents’ associations has been identified. The necessity and preconditions for
accelerating the adaptation of the world experience of the functioning of self-regulated organizations in the field of
the maritime agency, in order to improve the state of the majority of economic entities, is proved. The development
of cluster forms of the organization of interaction of different participants in maritime activity was determined as
a positive trend. The promising area for further research is the formation of a model of responsible relationships
between economic agents of different levels in order to achieve optimal results of realization of individual and
social economic interests at key stages of the life cycle of the economic systems functioning.

Key words: agent, agency relations, maritime agent, anti-crisis management.

JEL Classification: M19, К30, D23, R49

1. Introduction
The crisis is the functioning stage of the vast majority of

modern economic systems of different levels. Currently,
the crisis is the development phase of any complex
system. The World Bank has worsened the forecast of the
world economic growth in 2019 from 3.0% to 2.9% due
to the increased risks of adverse factors. In the future,
it can only reach a level of 2.8% (Worldbank, 2019).
Such indicators simultaneously are consequences and
prerequisites for reducing the investment activity of
economic agents of different levels. Accordingly, many

world experts predict a global economic crisis, which
will definitely affect the performance indicators of the
majority of countries. Crisis phenomena of a global level
are particularly threatening for developing countries in
the context of internal conflicts of the political, economic,
and social nature. Ukraine is one of such countries, where
the World Bank predicted GDP growth by 2.9%.

Characteristics of crisis phenomena are conditioned
by the state of the economic system itself and the
influence of the environmental factors. Taking into
account the peculiarities of origin, existence, and

Baltic Journal of Economic Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019
overcoming of crisis phenomena is a prerequisite for the
survival and further development of economic agents.

At this time, there are different approaches to
determining the essence of agents, the peculiarities
of their functioning, the status of organizational and
legal provision of agency activities, the role of agents in
economic activity.

Economic agents, on the one hand, consider
participants in economic processes that independently
accept and implement economic decisions in the
processes of production, distribution, exchange, and
consumption. Accordingly, the main economic agents
are households, business entities, and the state. The role
and economic power of each agent are determined by
the factors of production, which belong to him.

On the other hand, the agent is an entity that carries
out economic activities in accordance with the rules
determined by the principal. Agency relations develop
in various spheres of life of modern society. There is
an opinion that public administration is a system of
agency relations between society and public authorities.
Today the activities of business management agents,
called institutional management agents, become more
active. The problem of improving agency relations in
corporate governance becomes relevant to corporate
relations development. The development of modern
macroeconomic systems is impossible without the
presence of the developed network of agents, who have
various functions and carry out various activities, in
particular, business processes. International maritime
transport is a sphere of modern economic activity, which
is important for the development of world economic
relations. The maritime industry has overcome
a significant number of crises of various scales, timelines,
consequences, etc. In addition, the majority of maritime
businesses undergo a difficult period at this time.
Nevertheless, over a long period, there is an increase
in volumes of sea transportation. Maritime transport
is a complex mechanism, an important component of
which is the activity of maritime agents.

The development of spheres and scales of agency
relations and activation of agency activities are definitely
positive trends. However, amid the economic crisis, the
level of development of agency relations and agency
activities can have a positive and negative impact on the
functioning of economic systems of different levels.

The basics of crisis management were the object of
scientists’ research in the field of public administration,
economics, law, etc.

On that particular crisis periods, the problem of
agency relations is one on the rise among the scientists.
So the first serious attempt of scientists to investigate
the influence of the state of agency relations on the
development of economic systems was made in crisis
times of 1928. Events of the Great Depression period
stimulated the development of the theory of agency
relations. So the scientists A. Berle and G. Means defined

the role of agency relations in ensuring the efficiency of
the corporations’ functioning (Berle, Means, 1932).

O. Golovchenko, I. Malyi, L. Yemelianenko,
I. Radionova, V. Shariy made a significant contribution
to the study of crisis phenomena. However, it should
be noted that crisis management aspects are separately
investigated for enterprises, region or industry.

Most crises are caused by conflict situations.
The operation of economic agents and agency activities
is not an exception.

The theoretical basis of the conflicts of principals and
agents is highlighted in the researches of such foreign
scholars as M. Jensen, W. Meckling, M. Yermovsky,
C. Chach.

The works of the such Ukrainian scientists as
O. Kotlubay (Kotlubay, 2008), N. Primachova
(Primachova, 2014), V. Zhikhareva (Zhikhareva,
2012), and others are devoted to the study of the
process of formation anti-crisis management system
on sea transport for strengthening the potential of
development of enterprises of the maritime complex.

Scientists from other countries P. Alderton (Alderton,
1998), Costas Th. Grammenos (Grammenos, 2002),
P. Kieran (Kieran, 2003), S. Kumar, J. Hoffman (Kumar,
2002), M. Stopford (Stopford, 1988) also paid attention
to the development anti-crisis management potential.

A special place in the system of agency activities for
maritime states is the maritime agency service whose
problems were studied by S. Bonyar, V. Vygovsky,
O. Kotlubay, A. Kudyukin, L. Nikolayeva, P. Petrov.

Despite the presence of numerous scientific works,
the problems of economic, legal, and organizational
maintenance of effective functioning of agents in crisis
conditions, which should be studied within the framework
of the theory of agency relations, remain unsolved.

The purpose of the article is the research of problem-
solving principles of business entities as economic agents
functioning and implementation of activities within the
system of anti-crisis measures in order to ensure the
effective functioning of the country’s economic system.

2. Presentation of the main material
The development has a cyclical nature, which causes

periodic advent of the crisis. Nowadays the list of crises
is significant. Thus, in theory, social crises are divided
into economic, political, religious-spiritual, monetary,
financial, demographic, environmental, managerial, etc.
However, in practice, such crises mainly arise, which have
signs of different types of crises, which makes them even
more threatening for the future existence of the entity.
Crises need to be foreseen. Not only crisis causes but also
their various consequences are important. Experience
has shown that getting out of the crisis is associated with
negative and sometimes positive effects. On the basis of
the absence or ineffective anti-crisis management, the
transition of the agent’s economic system to the state of

Baltic Journal of Economic Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019
the new crisis is likely, which may be even more profound
and prolonged. Crises can cause a chain reaction.
The above is especially relevant for the modern stage of
the dynamic development of economic agents.

All economic agents aim at rationality but the
possibilities of its implementation are quite limited by
various factors. Therefore, in order to ensure effective
functioning and sustainable development, each
economic entity has to use anti-crisis management tools.

Anti-crisis management as a concept is actively used
in recent decades. In our time, anti-crisis management
is a necessary component of governance in general. The
purpose of crisis management is to increase the level of
efficiency of the potential usage of an economic agent
under the condition of rhythmic functioning due to
timely avoidance, prevention, and elimination of risks.

The development and implementation of the measures
to prevent and to get out from crisis for economic
agents, in particular system one, should be based on the
national and global socio-economic systems and legal
laws functioning.

An obstacle to overcome crisis phenomena for the
economic agent is the lack of an effective development
policy or if there is any – economic and legal
preconditions for its effective implementation. Failure to
match the interests of economic agents is a prerequisite
for the emergence of conflict situations that increase
the negative impact on the performance of individual
agents and higher-level economic systems.

The economic agents of different levels should form
the anti-crisis management systems in consideration of
the following principles (Carlin, 2001), among which
we consider the main such as the following:
- the principle of legality (anti-crisis management should
be carried out in accordance with current legislation);
- the principle of shared objectives (all measures of anti-
crisis management are implemented in order to achieve
the goal, which should be clearly defined by the time of
achievement, quantitative and qualitative results);
- the principle of depth (the implementation of anti-crisis
management measures is aimed at eliminating external
symptoms of the crisis, identifying and, if possible,
neutralizing the factors that predetermined the crisis);
- the principle of effectiveness (sufficient level of
effectiveness of anti-crisis management can be ensured
on the basis of optimal use of the potential of all elements
of the anti-crisis management system, taking into account
the condition of constraints and, accordingly, optimizing
the costs of financial, material, time, and other resources);
- the principle of authority and responsibility (anti-crisis
management should be carried out by persons who have
the appropriate rights and must be responsible for their
actions and their consequences);
- the principle of conformity (the system of anti-crisis
management should be developed taking into account the
specific conditions, features of functioning, and desired
prospects for the development of an economic agent).

Within the conditions of the crisis, it is necessary to
increase attention to the problems of agency relations
improvement. There is a steady increase in the number
of economic agents that interact with other agents of
different levels and spheres of actions. In accordance
with the theory of agency relations, the agent is in
a relationship of subordination with the principal.
Agents operate actively in the areas of foreign economic
activity, maritime business, tourism, advertising, banking,
insurance, investing, etc. By legal reasons, contractual and
non-negotiable agency activities are distinguished. By the
degree of compulsory implementation of agency activities,
it can be mandatory and optional. By the legal status of the
agent, universal and specialized activities are distinguished.
There are professional and unprofessional agents based
on the principles of implementation. Under the licensing
obligation, agency activity may be such that it requires
a license or not. The current trend is an active reduction
of agency activities that require the necessity of licensing.

Let’s consider the issue of economic and legal provision
of anti-crisis management drawing on the example of
the work of maritime agents, whose range of activities
is significant at this time and continue to grow despite
the obstacles. Entities providing maritime agency
services are active participants in foreign trade activities
engaged in the export of services and provide currency
revenues to the state budget. At the same time, these
companies create preconditions for the development
of the potential of export-oriented national business
structures, as the significant proportion of export goods
is transported by the sea, that is, exported from seaports.

Maritime agent’s service is a commercial agency.
The complex of ship agency services provided by the
maritime agent to the shipowners, cargo owners, and
consignees is the most common in seaports.

The activities of a maritime agent are often compared
to judicial practice. In the process of maritime carriage,
there is a conflict of interests of the shipowner, charterer,
cargo owner, stevedoring company, port administration,
and other involved participants.

A port agent represents and protects the interests of his
principal, that is, he performs functions similar to lawyer
functions. The maritime agent deal with formalities and
actions related to the vessel’s arrival, stay, and departure,
assists the ship’s captain in establishing contacts with
the administration of the seaport and the captain’s
seaport service, the owner of the maritime terminal,
enterprises, institutions, organizations providing
specialized services, ports operators, local authorities,
in the supply and vessel service organizing in the port,
draw up customs documents and cargo documents,
etc. (Grammenos, 2002). According to the estimates
of the international nonprofit organization FONASBA,
which is an association of ship brokers and agents, up to
150 individual operations are required to allow the vessel
to enter the port, to carry out cargo operations, to depart
and to continue with the next port, many of which

Baltic Journal of Economic Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019
must be completed within a limited time (FONASBA).
Additional time of presence of the vessel in the port of
call related to the observance of the requirements of
national legislation, the organization of transportation,
etc., causes a significant increase in vessel costs and
failure to comply with the shipping time. There are no
two identical ports in the world, which causes differences
in the ships’ service. Thus, the skilled work of maritime
agents is a prerequisite for the effective operation of
the shipowners, port operators, and a wide range of
end consumers of transport enterprises. The maritime
agent carries out its activities in accordance with the
usual practice of maritime agency. In accordance with
the customs and practice of the maritime international
agency, the conclusion of maritime agency agreements
is mainly carried out by telex messaging of the maritime
agent by the shipowner to or via e-mail. In such
notification, only the characteristics of the vessel, which
are necessary for the payment of channel, pilotage, port,
and other mandatory fees, are given. The mentioned
form of the contract conclusion of maritime agency does
not contradict the norms of the current legislation of the
majority of the countries, in particular, Ukraine. That is, it
is possible to conclude economic contracts in a simplified
way by exchanging electronic letters, faxograms, etc.
The contract is considered to be concluded upon the
condition of reaching an agreement on the essential terms
of the contract. The essential conditions of the agency
agreement, in accordance with the current legislation of
most states, is the scope, nature, and procedure for the
agent to perform intermediary services, the rights and
obligations of the parties, the conditions and amount of
remuneration to the commercial agent, the validity of
the contract, sanctions in case of violation of the terms
of the contract, others necessary conditions specified by
the parties (Lokotey, 2017).

The existence of the contract is not a guarantee of the
absence of relations problems between the maritime
agent and the principal. First of all, agents try to maximize
the results of the implementation of their own interests,
sometimes giving way to the interests of the client.
Such agent’s behaviour is possible provided that there
are problems in the legal environment, in particular, in
the sphere of regulation of competitive relations, the
formation of information resources, organization of
financial flows, etc. If there is an information advantage,
the agent may be tempted to adjust his behaviour to
increase his own profit. As an expert, the international
organization FONASBA has developed a set of
standards that help to protect the interests of principals
(Fonasba). Compliance with standards is a prerequisite
for the optimal realization of economic interests and the
maritime agents themselves.

In the view of scientists and experts (Bonyar, 2016;
Kibik, 2018), the main factors that slightly slow down
the development of maritime agents markets in the
developing countries, in particular in Ukraine, are:

- the amount and length of coastal control procedures
that compels shipowners and maritime agents to use
corruption-based dispute settlement schemes with
numerous representatives of the authorities;
- problems of non-compliance by maritime agents with
the norms of professional ethics. In accordance with the
UNCTAD Minimum Standards (adopted in 1988), the
responsibility of maritime agents is to carry out their
activities in good faith, which implies fairness, impartiality,
and due diligence on the part of the maritime agent in
order to exclude fraudulent practices (UNCTAD, 1988).
However, each principal and each agent have their own
economic interest. Therefore, not all maritime agents
working in the world seaports adhere to the provisions of
the Code of Professional Conduct. Despite the increase in
the intensity of the competition, there are many examples
of various methods of misleading their principals used by
maritime agents, which adversely affects the state of the
principals and, subsequently, the agents themselves;
- arrangement of “special” conditions of cooperation
between the port administration and the maritime
agent, in which the agent takes priority over the main
interests of the port administration, which adversely
affects the performance of duties towards the principal;
- the existence of local monopolies and arrangements
between private owners of maritime terminals and
business entities providing services to the maritime agency.
Such violations of the principles of market activity do not
comply with the provisions of the competition law;
- peculiarities of the activities of maritime agents on
terms of deferred financing, which increases the degree
of financial risks, especially in the context of limited
own financial resources, high cost and complexity of
obtaining the resources involved in crisis phenomena.

A network of agency companies in the maritime
business has been established in Ukraine. Foreign
companies such as ZIM, SEALAND, CMA CGM,
MAYERSK, Chinese “COSCO”, NIEDDELLOID,
LLOYD TRIESTINO, EVERGREEN, CMN, etc. took
up leading positions in the Ukrainian ports in different
times. In addition, such companies as BSGSA “Inflot”,
SMT “Yuzhny Ltd.”, Atis Ltd., Skif Shipping LLC,
Odemara LLC, Pacific Metropolitan Ltd., Polaris Ltd,
Interbroker LLC, LLC “REM Shipping”, Diamant Ltd.,
Novik Ltd., and others operate in the market.

Recently, most of the national companies have
considerably worsened their performance. Some of the
maritime agents may be described as being in a crisis
state. Some companies generally left the market without
realizing a timely set of anti-crisis measures.

Agents associations that assess and control
the companies’ professional level and provide
a representation of the interests of agency companies
at the international level are of particular importance
for the prevention of crisis phenomena through the
protection of interests. In Ukraine, in the field of ship’s
agency service, these functions are performed by the

Baltic Journal of Economic Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019
Association of Maritime Agencies of Ukraine. At the
international level, the organization FONASBA plays an
important role. According to world practice, an effective
means for the prevention and resolution of crisis
phenomena is the vigorous activity of a self-regulated
organization. In the world practice, the state delegates its
functions to self-regulating professional organizations
in order to improve the market situation, overcome
corruption, reduce the costs of public administration,
etc. Ukraine has made the first steps in this direction. In
order to improve the status of the majority of business
entities, the process of world-wide experience of self-
regulated organizations adapting, in particular, in the
field of ship’s agency service, should be accelerated.

The current trend is the development of cluster forms
of organizing the interaction of different participants
in business activities. In the world practice of maritime
business, there has been observed the maritime clusters
development at the basis of the ports, whose active
agents are agency companies.

Rational behaviour of economic entities means that
their purpose is to obtain the maximum end-result that
can be achieved on the basis that they receive maximum
income at a minimal cost. The maritime agent is not
an exception who calculates his own remuneration
and notes it on a disbursing account that the principal
(shipowner) pays within a noticeable period. It is
common practice that under favourable conditions,
the remuneration of the maritime agent significantly
exceeds its costs associated with the provision of
maritime agency services. The fee for the agent’s loyalty
to the principal is included in this interest. In crisis
times, loyalty fees can sometimes go down significantly,
which can lead to conflict situations.

The agent’s expenses of the principal arise as a result of
the principal’s transfer to the agent of financial resources
to obtain certain products. The principal also bears other
costs, in particular, to control the activities of the agent.
Due to certain actions of the agent to achieve the goals,
the principal can suffer losses ( Jensen, Meckling, 1976).

In the present context, the provision of agency services
involves the formation of principal transaction costs,
the overestimation of which may cause the formation of
crisis phenomena. In general, the amount of transaction
costs can be calculated using the formula:
R R R R R R R R Rtr orm ob m l cdm contr self other= + + + + + + +−inf inf lim ,

where Rinform – information costs, which are
determined by the need of information search, very
poor volumes, and the level of information quality.
As a result of the increased role and increase in the
information resources cost, an increase in the amount
of this component of transaction costs has recently
been observed. Under the condition of the increasing
level of dynamism, the complexity of economic activity
and, accordingly, the expansion of the relations between
agents with principals, other agents, and economic

agents, the level of information restriction for agents
is reduced. Economic agents need more volumes of
relevant information. Information is, on the one hand,
more technically perfect, on the other hand, information
is a more expensive resource. However, saving on
costs associated with the acquisition or production
of information resources is ineffective. In the sphere
of ship’s agency service, information costs represent
a significant proportion of production costs for the
agent and the principal in the form of transaction costs;

Rob – the costs of opportunistic behaviour of one or
both (all) economic agents that violate the agreements,
rules, norms in their own interests to the detriment of
other economic agents;

Rm – measuring characteristics costs that the agents
produce;

Rinfl – influence costs, which involve the cost of
resources due to attempts to influence the decision
(behaviour) of other economic agents;

Rcdm – costs of collective decision-making. The current
stage is characterized by the expansion of the spheres
of the adoption of coordinated (collective, team)
decisions. However, the development and adoption of
such solutions require additional resources costs and
sometimes losses;

Rcontrасt – contract costs associated with the need for
contract preparation, legal support, negotiation, etc.;

Rcontrol – costs of the agent’s behaviour control during
the contract performance and the results of contract
performance;

Rself–lim – self-limited costs, related to the need to fulfil
obligations and accordingly, temporary disregard of
their own interests;

Rother – other costs.
The majority of the abovementioned components of the

total cost can be calculated approximately, in particular,
using the expert judgment method. Most accurately
you can determine the third component, which is the
payment size for the product, which is produced by the
agent and accordingly implemented to the principal.

The maritime agent acts on behalf of the shipowner
and undertakes, on the basis of an order for payment,
actions on his behalf, but at the expense of the shipowner.
In the majority of the developed and developing countries,
remuneration rates for a maritime agent for the agent’s
service of the ships calling at national ports are established
by agreement between the parties. From the beginning
of June 2014, the practice of individual determination
of a fee depending on the size and type of the vessel, the
port of call; the purpose with which the vessel enters the
port (for the transshipment of goods not related to cargo
and (or) passenger operations, transit), availability of
additional services, etc. (Table 1) (Lokotey, 2017).

The usage of such pricing approach meets the
current conditions of economic activity of the agent
and the principal. Given the adoption of effective price
decisions from both sides, this approach contributes to

Baltic Journal of Economic Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019

the optimal realization of the economic interests of the
principal and the agent.

Table data indicate that there are significant differences
in the level of rates. In some positions, rates vary
hundreds of times, due to the peculiarities of agency
activities in specific ports, each of which is unique.
Differences in the rates’ level are also indicative for the
world practice of ship’s agency service. The relative share
of agency costs in the goods transportation cost comes to
approximately 0.1%. The percentage of the cost of paying
agency services in the contract for the supply of goods
is approximately equal to 0.04%. Despite such a relative
share of the agency costs, the agent’s work can determine
the critical state of vessel service in the port, significant
problems in organizing the next stage of transportation,
respectively, the final, in particular, financial, the results of
transportation of goods to the end consumer.

Working in a complex and regulated maritime sector,
maritime agents have to continually evolve; first and
foremost, it is about the upgrading of company employees.
In order to provide a high level of service to the clients,
agents must comply with the provisions of the existing legal
acts, in particular conventions, comply with numerous
complex and detailed instructions, rules applicable to the
activities of the maritime complex enterprises. The legal
framework of the operation of entities of the maritime
business activities is dynamic. Lack of familiarity,
incomprehensibility and, accordingly, non-compliance
with the provisions of the current documents may lead to
delays, claims, financial sanctions, fines, etc.

On the other hand, the principals may also be mistaken.
Agents should not be responsible for such mistakes.
FONASBA actively supports the implementation of the
principle “as agents only” (only as an agent) used in English
law and other jurisdictions to protect maritime agents
from errors or omissions of their principals. By signing
contracts with the words “as agents only,” the agent under
all conditions of the contract acts only as a representative
of the principal, reducing the risks of conflict situations
and the occurrence of crisis phenomena.

Among the factors that cause the crisis in the external
environment of economic agents of the micro level, in

particular, the agency companies, it should be noted the
negative socio-economic situation in the country, the
ineffectiveness of tax and legislative systems, reducing
the market capacity, reducing demand and increasing the
intensity of competition, the instability of the currency
market, etc. Analysing the possible crisis phenomena of
Ukrainian business entities, we can say that today they are
mostly the manifestations of external negative influence.

Among the factors that determine the peculiarities of
the current stage of the Ukrainian ship’s service agencies
development, the main ones are:
- the imperfection of the anti-crisis concept of agency
activity and the legislative framework of the state anti-
crisis management in this sphere;
- increase of competition intensity in the markets of
transport products, works, and services;
- variety of forms of ownership;
- the complexity of organizational management structures;
- the imperfection of the system of indirect state
regulation enterprises methods that are in private
ownership, etc.

Anti-crisis management of the sea complex operation
of the majority of the states is carried out at the state,
regional, and sectoral levels on the basis of direct
and indirect methods. At the level of state-owned
enterprises, anti-crisis management implies the usage of
direct and indirect methods by the state. As for private-
owned enterprises, the state may use indirect methods
of anti-crisis management.

Anti-crisis management measures of the economic
agents’ activities at the state level can be in the form of
development and implementation of legislative acts,
the definition of targeted financial and social policies,
promotion of small business, support and stimulation
of innovation activity, ensuring the country’s
competitiveness in the world market, etc. All these
measures are important for maritime agents.

For the companies involved in the ship’s agency service, it
is expedient to implement a set of basic pre-crisis measures
to develop crisis-response potential (Kibik, 2013):
- qualitative analysis of transport services markets,
in particular, agents one;

Table 1
The range of agency fee rates in the seaports of Ukraine

Agency services
Agency fee

US dollars /vessel call
minimum level maximum level

Ship’s agency service entering the port for the purpose of carrying out the operations with liquid cargoes 22 4181
Ship’s agency service entering the port for the purpose of carrying out the operations with bulk cargo 25 3726
Ship’s agency service entering the port for the purpose of carrying out the operations with general,
forest, and mixed cargoes

57 7736

Ship’s agency service entering the port for the purpose not related to the carriage of goods and (or)
passenger operations

8 1422

Agency service for passenger ships and private yachts 128 2289
Additional agency services Percentage of the provided service

Source: compiled by the authors based on the data of Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Lokotey, 2017

Baltic Journal of Economic Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, 2019
- improvement of organizational and management
structure;
- increasing the competitiveness of services, elements of
resource potential, especially personnel, the company as
a whole;
- analysis and optimization of financial results and
indicators;
- solvency provision;
- improvement of price policy, etc.

3. Conclusions and future research
Crisis phenomena change the living tendencies of any

economic agent. The purpose of each economic agent is to
create sufficient capacity for functioning and development
in favourable and especially in crisis conditions. In order to
ensure the effective development of a business entity as an
economic agent, the main condition is the maximization
of its value by increasing the investment attractiveness
and level of competitiveness in the domestic and foreign
markets. Formation of this condition is a prerequisite for
survival in a crisis situation and development ensuring
in favourable circumstances. The elements of anti-crisis

management should be correctly integrated into the
general policy of the management system of economic
agents at the microeconomic and macroeconomic level.

An agent in any field of activity undertakes to command
principal financial resources effectively and honestly. In
practice, the agent’s behaviour due to different reasons
may differ from the one that is most effective from the
principal position. Differences can take different forms. In
the world practice, depending on the sphere where agency
activities are carried out, there are laws, legal norms,
traditions, customs, observance and consideration of
which are intended to reduce the negative effects of such
a phenomenon as the “limited rationality” of the agent.

As the result of agency services provided, the principal
meets the transaction costs, the size of which can
significantly affect the financial and economic state of
the principal, which may be a prerequisite for the crisis
phenomena emergence. The promising area for further
research is the formation of a model of responsible
relationships between economic agents of different
levels in order to achieve optimal results of realization of
individual and social economic interests at key stages of
the life cycle of the economic systems functioning.

References:
Alderton, P. (1998). Sea Transport: Operation and Economics. London: Tomas Reed, 226 p.
Berle, A. and Means, G. (1932). The Modern Corporation and Private Property, Macmillan, N.Y.
Bonyar, S. (2016). Integration prospects of agency industry in Ukraine in the European economic area. Scientific
Journal of Kherson State University, 21(1), 68–71.
Carlin, W. and Soskice, D. (2006). Macroeconomics: imperfections, institutions, and policies. Oxford University
Press.
Darkening Prospects: Global Economy to Slow to 2.9 percent in 2019 as Trade, Investment Weaken (2019).
[Online], available at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press–release/2019/01/08/darkening–prospects–
global–economy–to–slow–to–29–percent–in–2019–as–trade–investment–weaken
Drazen, A. (2001). Political Economy in Macroeconomics. Cambridge; Massachusetts.
Grammenos, Costas Th. (2002). Handbook of Maritime Economics and Business. London, Hong Kong: LLP.
Jensen, M. and Meckling, W. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency costs and Ownership
Structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3, 305–360.
Kibik, O. and Kotlubay, V. (2013). Prerequisites for the development of crisis management in the economic system
of Ukraine. Research Papers of National University “Odessa Law Academy”, 13, 213–219.
Kibik, O., Khaiminova I., Kotlubay V., Redina I. and Belous E. (2018). Development potential of Ukrainian
maritime enterprises. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4.3), 461–466.
Kieran, P. (2003). World trends in Shipping and Port reforms. CPCS, Transcom.
Kumar, S. and Hoffman, J. (2002). Globalization: The Maritime Nexus. Loeb-Sullivan School, Maint Maritime
Academy, Castine.
Kotlubay, A. (2008). Ukrainian merchant shipping problems and development prospects. Odessa.
Lokotey, Т. (2017). Sea shipping agency operations: legal regulation, tax accounting and tax accounting.
[Online], available at: https://jurliga.ligazakon.net/analitycs/167198_operats–z–agentuvannya–morskikh–
suden–pravove–regulyuvannya–bukhgalterskiy–ta–podatkoviy–oblk
Port Procedure. (2019). [Online], available at: https://www.fonasba.com/fonasba-initiatives/fonasba-port-
procedure-survey
Primachova, N. (2014). Anti-crisis management on sea transport. Odessa.
Quality-standard. (2019). [Online], available at: https://www.fonasba.com/fonasba-initiatives/fonasba-quality-standard
Stopford, M. (1988). Maritime economics. London: Harper Collins Academic.
UNCTAD (1988). Minimum Standards for Shipping Agents, Distr. GENERAL UNCTAD/ST/SHIP/13
7 September 1988. [Online], available at: https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/unctadstship13_ru.pdf
Zhyhareva, V., Kotlubay, A. and Kibik, O. (2012). Economics of Maritime Transport. Burun Knyga, Harkov.