Capitalism, Economic Sociology, and Entrepreneurship in Nepal
Entrepreneurial activities are central to the evolution of capitalist societies because new businesses drive economic and employment growth. In capitalist societies, continued economic growth depends on the extent to which potential entrepreneurs can obtain and effectively utilize the social and economic resources they need. ‘‘Entrepreneur’’ and ‘‘entrepreneurship’’ constitute somewhat contested terms, especially outside of the community of scholars who regularly publish in entrepreneurship journals. Debates over the meaning of the terms became a regular feature of conference presentations and journal articles in the 1970s, as the field struggled for academic legitimacy. Some of the debates reflected the field’s attempt to distinguish the field of ‘‘entrepreneurship’’ from the field of ‘‘small business studies,’’ which had been the traditional home of people studying business startups. The debate also reflected disciplinary disputes over units and levels of analysis, period, methods, and theoretical perspectives. In this context, this paper, based on secondary data, obtained from published academic books and journals including newspapers argues that the notion of entrepreneurship varies from discipline to discipline and gains its authenticity and familiarity within the disciplinary context. This kind of debate widely exists within economic sociology as well. Moreover, the sociological works in the areas of entrepreneurship are gradually increasing all over the world including in Nepal. However, the social context of entrepreneurship widely differs from one country to another or one society to another based on the social structure of contemporary society.
The entrepreneur and entrepreneurship practiced in the context of Nepal can be understood from a different perspective. Neo-classical economists claimed that individual human capital attainment, captured through education and work experience, determined self-employment outcomes. Nepalese entrepreneurs of the new generation are running their entrepreneurship with their individual human capital attained through education and training. More importantly, in many countries of the world, given that many immigrants brought technological, managerial, and professional skills acquired in the homeland, they were in a better position than those groups without these assets to start a business. This framework explained immigrants’ self-employment rates primarily on individualist grounds. Thus, the entrepreneurial activities in Nepal seem quite different from primitive capitalist societies; mostly engaged in service sectors, in which entrepreneurship drives economic and employment growth.
Keywords: Capitalism, Economic Sociology, Entrepreneurship, Goods and Services, Nepal
