Characteristics of sustainable entrepreneurship: some early explorations from the CAUSEE study (original) (raw)

Sustainable entrepreneurship: Creating opportunities for green products development

Economics of Sustainable Development

The paper explains the concept of sustainable entrepreneurship, as a sub-concept of social entrepreneurship. The factors influencing the development of sustainable entrepreneurship are examined on the sample of 12,011 entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) offering a "green product" in 37 countries. The data used in the study are from the Flash Eurobarometer Report 426 (SMEs, Resource Efficiency and Green Markets). The results revealed that, according to the perception of sustainable entrepreneurs, the biggest impact on starting and developing a business in the environmental sphere can have: financial incentives, measures related to easier market access, technical assistance in the development of "green product", and advisory assistance in marketing and distribution of "green product".

ABEAI 2006 What drives Sustainable Entrepreneurs ? What drives Sustainable Entrepreneurs ? INTRODUCTION

Over the last decade a new idea has emerged within scholarly discussion about entrepreneurial theory and practice which deals explicitly with sustainable entrepreneurship. Sustainability as it has been conceptualized by the Brundtland-Commission in the late 1980ies is orientated towards a threefold set of objectives: society/ethics, economy, and ecology. An important research question within the sustainable entrepreneurship discussion which is also addressed in this paper is to understand the nature, motivation and drivers of so-called ecopreneurs, green entrepreneurs, or sustainable entrepreneurs. Our findings from a field study of ten startup firms confirm that a main characteristic of sustainable entrepreneurs is a strong emphasis on ecological aspects in their business vision as opposed to the traditional entrepreneurial aspiration to grow and create profits. In addition, they suggest that the main drivers for a sustainable entrepreneurial motivation may be structured along the social and ethical dimension. The findings are synthesized in a proposed set of more balanced entrepreneurial objectives within a sustainable entrepreneurship context and the research as well as managerial implications are discussed.

What drives sustainable entrepreneurs

… Association International Conference. Kona, HI, USA, 2006

Over the last decade a new idea has emerged within scholarly discussion about entrepreneurial theory and practice which deals explicitly with sustainable entrepreneurship. Sustainability as it has been conceptualized by the Brundtland-Commission in the late 1980ies is orientated towards a threefold set of objectives: society/ethics, economy, and ecology. An important research question within the sustainable entrepreneurship discussion which is also addressed in this paper is to understand the nature, motivation and drivers of so-called ecopreneurs, green entrepreneurs, or sustainable entrepreneurs. Our findings from a field study of ten startup firms confirm that a main characteristic of sustainable entrepreneurs is a strong emphasis on ecological aspects in their business vision as opposed to the traditional entrepreneurial aspiration to grow and create profits. In addition, they suggest that the main drivers for a sustainable entrepreneurial motivation may be structured along the social and ethical dimension. The findings are synthesized in a proposed set of more balanced entrepreneurial objectives within a sustainable entrepreneurship context and the research as well as managerial implications are discussed.

Sustainable entrepreneurship: more than 'corporate greening

2010

The term “sustainable” has been hijacked by the “green movement.” Fortunately, scholars are bringing awareness to what is sustainable outside “green politics”. The purpose of this article is to create more awareness around “sustainable entrepreneurship” as it relates to communities. Of particular interest is how entrepreneurship promotes the sustainability of a family business as a community. This paper presents an outline of existing sustainable entrepreneurship literature followed by discussion about how it relates to family businesses. Finally, a summary of findings from current research will be discussed. This paper, in part, is presenting early findings of ongoing doctoral research.

An exploratory study of sustainability as a stimulus for corporate entrepreneurship

Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2011

This paper examines sustainability as an emerging stimulus for corporate entrepreneurship in New Zealand publicly traded fi rms, using a process approach to sustainable corporate entrepreneurship. We fi nd that many of the fi rms do not identify sustainability in their mission statement or in relationship to any product, process, strategy, or business model innovative initiative. Of those that do, there are varying degrees of inclusion and as such, sustainability does not seem to be widely or strategically considered a stimulus for corporate entrepreneurship by publicly held New-Zealand-based corporations.

Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Mapping the Business Landscape for the Last 20 Years

Sustainability, 2022

Sustainable entrepreneurship is venturing to shift business practices towards environmental and social sustainability. It gained popularity worldwide, particularly in the US, due to promoting regulations for some sustainability areas, the high availability of impact investment, and the large-scale entrepreneurial ecosystem of the country. However, the literature does not explain what sustainable entrepreneurs undertake in business. This paper investigates (1) what the coverage of sustainable entrepreneurship is, (2) how this coverage has changed in the last 20 years, and (3) which sustainable development goals (SDGs) sustainable entrepreneurs serve. For these questions, the study analyses keyword co-occurrences of companies (n = 2004) from 72 countries and regions listed on the CrunchBase database with sustainability identification. The study shows differences in coverage and changes between the US and the other countries in the last 20 years. The study maps sustainable entrepreneur...

Ensuring Environmental Sustainability Through Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Sustainable Development

Sustainability has become an important issue worldwide because of great concerns about the unintended social, environmental, and economic effects of increasing population and economic growth, as well as consumption of natural resources. One recent concept arising from sustainability issue is sustainable entrepreneurship which integrates both the social and environmental aspects, and linking them with entrepreneurial activities. This chapter therefore suggests that efforts of developing countries at promoting entrepreneurship should go beyond engaging in business enterprises but include encouraging the use of entrepreneurial values and approaches to solve sustainability problems. Hence, this chapter is an effort at developing a framework that can be used to influence sustainable entrepreneurship behaviour of the students in developing countries.

Start-Up Sustainability: An Insurmountable Cost or a Life-Giving Investment?

Proceedings - Academy of Management, 2016

An outstanding question in the entrepreneurship literature reigns, given recent emphases on sustainable business practices and corporate social responsibility. If small start-ups are generally stretched for time and resources, does it enhance their chances for survival and success to be sustainable and socially responsible? New firms can aid in rectifying pressing environmental and social issues by being more sustainable. While many entrepreneurs like a sustainable business model and/or mission, investment may not follow so willingly. This paper examines a sample of 300 startups across thirty cities around the world to consider whether sustainability is rewarded by investors. Investors signal confidence in start-ups when they infuse life extending investments into them. This analysis also considers whether a more sustainable national context affects investor confidence and whether a sustainable firm within a sustainable national context gains more investor attention and investment. Results show that investors avoid sustainable firms, particularly those that are environmentally sustainable. Moreover, investors enjoy national contexts that are socially responsible, but pay no attention to those that are environmentally conscious. In addition, firms that are sustainable in a sustainable national context are not better off for attracting investment. Insights for policy are that mainstream investors are attracted by national social policies, but these investors are unlikely to be the main force behind sustainable venture growth under today's conditions.

Sustainable Entrepreneurship

SSRN Electronic Journal

Bell and Stellingwerf compiled what they considered to be a representative list of definitions of "sustainable entrepreneurship" that were suggested from 2003 through 2011, all of which are presented below in chronological order 5 :  "Innovative behavior of single or organizations operating in the private business sector who are seeing environmental or social issues as a core objective and competitive advantage". 6  "The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development, while improving the quality of life of the workforce, their families, local communities, the society and the world at large, as well as future generations. Sustainable Entrepreneurs are for-profit entrepreneurs that commit business operations towards the objective goal of achieving sustainability". 7  "The process of discovering, evaluating, and exploiting economic opportunities that are present in market failures which detract from sustainability, including those that are environmentally relevant". 8  "The examination of how opportunities to bring into existence future goods and services are discovered, created, and exploited, by whom, and with what economic, psychological, social, and environmental consequences". 9  "Create profitable enterprises and achieve certain environmental and/or social objectives, pursue and achieve what is often referred to as the double bottom-line or triple bottom line" 10  "The discovery and exploitation of economic opportunities through the generation of market disequilibria that initiate the transformation of a sector towards an environmentally and socially more sustainable state". 11  "An innovative, market-oriented and personality driven form of creating economic and societal value by means of breakthrough environmentally or socially beneficial market or institutional innovations". 12