THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF SMALL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN FORMING THE COUNTRY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the activities of small businesses as the main driver of economic development and on this basis to determine their role and importance in the development of the economy. The terminological essence and content of the concept of “entrepreneurship” and its change and streamlining in the development of economic theory, as well as the definition of the concept “small business” are considered. It is established that in world practice there are different approaches to the classification of entrepreneurship and criteria for classifying it as small. The most used criteria are the number of small business staff (average number of permanent and part-time employees); the amount of authorized capital; financial performance of a small enterprise (net profit, total income, asset turnover); type of enterprise activity. The advantages of small business are identified, which include the ability to change and adapt quickly, mobility and the ability to combine efforts, innovation potential, proximity to the customer, low overhead costs, the use of narrow niches. Based on the study, the main goals and objectives of small business are systematized, as well as the importance of the activities of these entities in the social, economic, and environmental spheres. It is established that the prospects for the development of small business depend on the factors of the external micro and macro environment that affect entrepreneurs in a certain period and the article is based on obstacles, according to the author. According to the results of the study, it was concluded that small business is the driving force of a market economy and is designed to solve problems such as identifying factors of innovative growth of large, small and medium enterprises, and determine the strength of each factor; to determine the factors influencing the improvement of the level and quality of life of the population and to characterize the possibilities of expanding the middle social stratum, as well as to form the priority directions of innovative development of small business. Key words: small business, business, public administration, economy, management.