2.2. Entrepreneurship as a part of the socio-cultural capital in Silesia 105 Urszula SWADŹBA Rafał CEKIERA 2.2. ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A PART OF THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CAPITAL IN SILESIA Summary This article aims to answer the question to what extent verbalized and declared entrepreneurship impact the competitiveness of the economy based on a research conducted in Silesia, Poland. In the theoretical part, entrepreneurship is pre-defined in its social meaning; this means that entrepreneurship is understood as an element of human capital. Entrepreneurship plays an important role in economic development, and one of the driving forces of entrepreneurship is the people’s attitude towards these activities. The analysis which was conducted on the basis of empirical research on the economic awareness, discusses this aspect, the attitudes of different age groups towards entrepreneurship, as a possible way of working and living. The research results present the typology of the respondents due to their attitudes towards entrepreneurship based on their opinion, experiences and past or planned activities. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, the socio-cultural capital, Poland, Silesia Introduction The issue of socio-cultural capital is often undertaken by sociologists. It is uncommon for entrepreneurship to be analyzed as human capital. However, this is a very topical issue as it provides knowledge on: which environments and what social categories are economically active and which ones intend to become active in the future. Interesting environments to study are former workers environments. These are the categories and social groups, where entrepreneurship and economic activity did not have great traditions, since the workers were actually required to be diligent and obedient. The article is to answer the question of whether such an environment has used the possibilities of business development in the market economy. In addition, it will be interesting to learn what social categories have developed entrepreneurship, particularly whether it has concerned the young generation. Answers to these questions will be gathered on the basis of the analysis of empirical studies conducted in the working-class environment of Silesia. In the conclusion, types of entrepreneurship operating in former workers environments will be created. DOI: 10.18515/dBEM.M2016.n01.ch09