Explanation of cultural and social components of rural entrepreneurship: A qualitative research

This paper set out to address the sociological explanation of rural entrepreneurship. The rural and sociological aspects are very rare in the entrepreneurship discipline, especially in Iran. The research main questions including that what are the critical cultural and social components of rural entrepreneurship, and how is the meaning relation of these components with the rural entrepreneurship as a distinct phenomenon. Using Burrel and Morgan Matrix in social science, the paper through the content analysis that is a qualitative method, has tried to shed a critical light on the mainstream discourse of rural entrepreneurship in the country. Doing twenty semi structural interviews with rural entrepreneurs that have been selected purposeful, and rural experts throughout the country, the main results of the research are: (1) the rural entrepreneurship discourse in Iran is governmental and economic, (2) the rural entrepreneurship discourse in Iran has influenced by productivist approach in agriculture, and (3) the entrepreneur’s agency in the government and firm level is not so influential and active. In the last section of the paper some theoretical, practical, and research recommendations have been presented.