Sociological Analysis of the Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship as a Factor of Sustainable Development of the Region

The purpose of this article is to study the evolution of approaches to understanding social entrepreneurship in the context of sustainable development. Within the framework of this scientific article, the main approaches to the interpretation of social entrepreneurship, its essence and specificity were considered. It is revealed that in the absence of a unified approach to the interpretation of this phenomenon, regardless of the different connotations, the essence of social entrepreneurship is as follows: it is aimed at achieving social change or solving social problems. In addition, the author has studied the history of the development of the Institute of social entrepreneurship, with special attention paid to scientists who have made a significant contribution to its development and dissemination. One of the research tasks set in the framework of this scientific article was to consider the relationship between social entrepreneurship and sustainable development in the context of foreign research. The author concludes that one of the indicators of the stability of the region is its anti-crisis potential, which consists in its ability to respond quickly to changes in the external environment, with social entrepreneurship being one of the factors of its development. Conclusions. Within the framework of this study, it was revealed that social entrepreneurship is one of the factors that ensure the implementation of the concept of sustainable development of regions in the Russian Federation. In addition, the concept of social entrepreneurship has gradually been integrated into the system of sustainable development and at the present stage is one of the factors contributing to the strengthening of this system.