Entrepreneurial potential as a theoretical subject in American sociology
Paper presents the sociological model of entrepreneurship as a social phenomenon, which is developed based on the combination of the two main theoretical study streams of the phenomenon – on the demand and on the supply. This approach treats entrepreneurship as a certain potential opportunity, which is latent and under certain conditions can be introduced in practice. The article illuminates the main conceptual approaches to the study of entrepreneurial potential (EP) in contemporary sociological science. The synthetic economic-sociological model of potential entrepreneurship research as one of the most promising from the analytical and applied perspectives is substantiated. The paper demonstrates what role in the justification of the ideas of EP various conceptions of Western sociology, including the theory of social embededdness by M. Granovetter, the relative social blockade by E. Heigen, and the stages of economic growth by W. Rostow as well as the A. Shapero’s theory of resilient, ‘self-renewing’ economic environment can play. The mechanism of the societal factors influencing the probability of entrepreneurial event is conceptually substantiated through the subjective perception of the social actor’s desirability and feasibility of his own participation in entrepreneurship. Perceived desirability includes two interrelated components – an individual’s attitude to entrepreneurial action and social norms that are associated with an appropriate behavior patterns. Perceived feasibility, or entrepreneurial self-efficacy, is the individual’s confidence in the successful resolution of certain tasks related to the execution of entrepreneurial role. Author analyses factors that promote and hinder the development of EP in modern Ukrainian society, depending on the type of entrepreneurial activity – both forced or voluntary. The EP concept has a significant potential for practical use to identify existing entrepreneurial potential and create favorable conditions for its actualization and involvement in the processes of modernization of Ukrainian society.
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