This introductory text has been created from a combination of original content and materials compiled and adapted from a number of open text publications.

One part of a two-part introduction to the discipline of sociology, the study of society. It examines how we come to understand and experience ourselves and the world around us and how we create culture. Students will be introduced to the study of culture, socialization, social interaction, identity formation and self-fashioning, the social construction of class, gender and race, age, deviance, and other social phenomena.

The business world is often equated to an ecosystem: the environment is comprised of interacting organizations and individuals much like the biological ecosystem (Moore, 1993). Entrepreneurship is no different, as it can be thought of as its own ecosystem, with new ventures being created, maturing, needing to adapt, or becoming extinct. Much like the biological ecosystem, in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, change occurs and gives rise to opportunity or presents challenges. It is important to consider the various levels of the ecosystem when evaluating the entrepreneurial environment. For example, the ecosystems can be analyzed at a macro level such as the terrestrial ecosystem in biology or the national economy in entrepreneurship. Additionally, ecosystems can be analyzed at more micro levels like the rain forest ecosystem in biology or the firm level in entrepreneurship.