THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL TOWNS
Authors: TURABAEVA A.M. 
Published: November 2024

Social entrepreneurship in general, as well as its manifestations in the development of small towns in Russia, is considered in the article through the prism of institutional analysis. The relevance of the analysis of such a phenomenon as social entrepreneurship is due to its increased popularity since the 1980s, which causes a rapid growth in the number of social enterprises, the use of ESG approaches, but at the same time we observe great uncertainty and fragmentation in the theory of social entrepreneurship, in matters of legislative regulation and state support in this area. In this regard, first of all, the article considered approaches to the definition of social entrepreneurship, its differences from classical entrepreneurship and non-profit organizations. Further analysis is related to the fact that the stages of the urbanization process, as well as the current "challenges of globalization" are the factors that emphasize the growing influence of small towns as centers of socio-economic life. The quality of the institutional environment is of crucial importance for the development of small towns. One of the factors of creating and maintaining an institutional environment favorable for the development of small towns is the development of sustainable entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. It is also important to analyze domestic and foreign experience in determining the nature of social entrepreneurship, as well as its specifics in the development of small towns. Thus, the article illustrates the role of social entrepreneurship through the prism of the development of small towns in Russia, and also describes the current institutional environment in the development and regulation of social entrepreneurship at various levels - from international to regional institutions.Social entrepreneurship in general, as well as its manifestations in the development of small towns in Russia, is considered in the article through the prism of institutional analysis. The relevance of the analysis of such a phenomenon as social entrepreneurship is due to its increased popularity since the 1980s, which causes a rapid growth in the number of social enterprises, the use of ESG approaches, but at the same time we observe great uncertainty and fragmentation in the theory of social entrepreneurship, in matters of legislative regulation and state support in this area. In this regard, first of all, the article considered approaches to the definition of social entrepreneurship, its differences from classical entrepreneurship and non-profit organizations. Further analysis is related to the fact that the stages of the urbanization process, as well as the current "challenges of globalization" are the factors that emphasize the growing influence of small towns as centers of socio-economic life. The quality of the institutional environment is of crucial importance for the development of small towns. One of the factors of creating and maintaining an institutional environment favorable for the development of small towns is the development of sustainable entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. It is also important to analyze domestic and foreign experience in determining the nature of social entrepreneurship, as well as its specifics in the development of small towns. Thus, the article illustrates the role of social entrepreneurship through the prism of the development of small towns in Russia, and also describes the current institutional environment in the development and regulation of social entrepreneurship at various levels - from international to regional institutions.