Social entrepreneurship as a factor in the development of rural communities in Ukraine

Alla Pechenuik

doi:10.38188/2534-9228.21.2.13

Abstract

The results of empirical research of public opinion of rural areas residents and entrepreneurs working in rural communities to determine the need for the development of social entrepreneurship are presented. The purpose of the survey was to establish the feasibility, prospects and directions of the development of social entrepreneurship within the rural areas of Ukraine and to identify the readiness of the business environment for the perception of a new concept for doing business for them. The survey was conducted among the rural population and entrepreneurs of all ages, social status, education level, type of activity. The results of the study made it possible to find out the attitude of the rural population towards social entrepreneurship, to identify its potential loyalty to the consumption of the product, which will offer the specified category of entrepreneurs, identify the greatest problems of the rural territory, the level of satisfaction with the environment and business, the adequacy of information provision for social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs' readiness to social activity and directions of its development; the reasons that restrain the spread of social ideas in business are identified. The conducted research has allowed to reveal the reasons of low level of spread of social enterprise in the Ukrainian society. The revealed sentiments among citizens can be used by the state authorities when developing the strategy of development of rural areas of Ukraine and tested in entrepreneurial activity.

Highlights

A paradigm of entrepreneurial thinking based on a social initiative combining business activity and own risk and acting as an instrument for solving problems of a society or a particular community, acquires a special sound on the background of considerable economic decline, the exacerbation of social, environmental and political problems, the loss of moral and psychological orientations.The Ukrainian peasantry, which for a long time remained on the edge of active social life, is currently forced to solve a number of important socio-economic problems related to the development of rural settlements or territorial communities
The dissemination and development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine will become an important way of social protection for the rural population, the main focus of which is to reduce the social risk for vulnerable groups, and the level of low-income
Among Ukrainian scholars, it is worthwhile to highlight the work of Svynchuk A. (2014), who studies the international experience of the development of social enterprises for its implementation in Ukraine, Sokolovska M. (2011), who considers the socio-economic behavior of the individual, based on the views of consumption, in the papers of Popovych D. and Baranova M. (2017) social entrepreneurship is generally considered as an instrument for solving the problems of modern society

Summary

Introduction

The Ukrainian peasantry, which for a long time remained on the edge of active social life, is currently forced to solve a number of important socio-economic problems related to the development of rural settlements or territorial communities. Taking into account the fact that a significant part of the peasants (due to social, cultural, educational, mental, demographic, political and economic reasons) was not ready to take responsibility and take an active civic position regarding the development of the rural community, we believe that one of the areas of improvement social interaction in the peasant environment can be social entrepreneurship, which can generate both commercial ideas and ideas for the distribution of social benefits. The dissemination and development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine will become an important way of social protection for the rural population, the main focus of which is to reduce the social risk for vulnerable groups, and the level of low-income

Objectives

Methods

Results