Theoretical provisions substantiating the essence of the category «investment potential»

In the article, theoretical provisions substantiating the essence of the category “investment potential” are deepened. The conducted research is justified by the importance of forming the necessary investment resources for the development of individual economic entities and various types of economic systems. It is the availability of accessible financial resources and the ability to attract them if necessary that is the basis for ensuring this development. The detailed consideration of the essence of “investment potential” as an economic category was implemented through the study of the content of the definition of “potential”, it was found that potential as a scientific category is a universal definition used in various sciences, namely: Physics, Mathematics, Philosophy and all social sciences without exception. To understand modern approaches to considering the essence of “potential” as a scientific category, the concepts of interpreting the content of this definition, which are found today in scientific literature, have been identified and systematized. The detailed analysis of their content allowed the author to substantiate the essence of potential and propose considering it as a set of resources possessed by the system, its ability to ensure its own development to achieve a specific goal of functioning based on using these resources and other available opportunities necessary for this development. Also, in the article, separate concepts for considering “investment potential” as an economic category are presented, which, taking into account the results of the study of the content of the definition of “potential”, allowed us to formulate the author’s approach to understanding investment potential as a set of actual, possible to attract, resources, the ability of the economic system to effectively use them through investing in its own development, ensuring stable functioning, increasing the competitiveness level, investing in other financial assets to generate income, expand or diversify activities. In the article, the features and substantive characteristics of the “investment potential” as an economic category have been also specified. The conducted research gives grounds to assert that investment potential is an integral component of the economic potential of the functioning of any business entity and, accordingly, of the economic system. The relevence of increasing the level of this potential is beyond doubt and is an important process to ensure the development of the specified system. The investment potential characterizes not only the available opportunities for the development of a particular business entity, but also largely confirms its ability to use available resources to ensure its own effective activities in the long term.