Analysis of the Impact of Personal Qualities of Top Management of Russian Companies on the Strategy of Adaptation to the Culture of Cancellation

The aim of the paper is to discover the relationship between the personal qualities of top management of Russian companies and the effectiveness of the strategy of adaptation to the culture of change. The object of the study is the personal qualities and financial statements of Russian public companies from different sectors. The subject of the study is the influence of personality traits of the top management team on the company's adaptation strategy to the crisis of 2022. In our research we used theoretical, econometric and case type of analysis. According to the results of the research it was found out that the level of education of the CEO has a positive impact on the effectiveness of the company's adaptation to the cancellation culture, the hypothesis that the presence of a member of the ESG committee on the board of directors has a positive impact on the effectiveness of the company's adaptation to the cancellation culture was confirmed. When analyzing the adaptation strategies of Russian companies, the authors came to the conclusion that one of the key factors of successful adaptation of companies to sanctions is the human capital of managers. At the same time, the combination of "reduction" and "investment" strategies showed the highest efficiency, which was confirmed on the example of real companies by using the adaptation efficiency assessment index developed in the paper. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the personal characteristics of top management are analyzed, not limited to CEOs, to reveal the relationship between their qualities and strategies for adapting to the culture of change. The results are based on cases of Russian companies, allowing theoretical and practical assessment of the impact of human capital on crisis management. The use of data, including information for 2023, guarantees the relevance of the study. The developed index of adaptation effectiveness strengthens the novelty of the work by offering an objective tool for assessing adaptation strategies. The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that it covers companies in different sectors of the Russian economy, allowing us to draw conclusions about the influence of personal qualities of top management on the strategy of adaptation to the cancel culture not for one particular industry, but for the entire economy as a whole. The authors prepared recommendations for the Russian business community on the formation of a team of top managers and the choice of adaptation strategies. The implementation of these recommendations will contribute to improving the resilience of Russian companies to other crises and increase the efficiency of the business community as a whole. Key words: personality traits, top management, change culture, adaptation strategy, efficiency index.