Sign in Subscribe
Environmental sustainability

Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Complex Relationship

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers at York University conducted a systematic literature review to examine the integration of artificial intelligence and big data into sustainable entrepreneurship practices. The study found that these technologies can generate value, but their economic, environmental, and social implications can be complex and far-reaching. The researchers proposed a tri-level impact prism to assess the benefits and costs of AI and big data in sustainable entrepreneurship, highlighting the importance of considering rebound effects and justice considerations.

Key Takeaways:

  • The integration of artificial intelligence and big data into sustainable entrepreneurship practices can have significant economic, environmental, and social implications.
  • The researchers proposed a tri-level impact prism to assess the benefits and costs of AI and big data, considering immediate efficiency or transparency gains, hidden or temporally deferred costs, and distributional consequences.
  • The study found that direct benefits can evolve into costs over time and may reinforce injustices that rebound and erode future gains.
  • The researchers identified five boundary conditions that influence the trajectory of AI and big data in sustainable entrepreneurship: organizational capabilities, technological maturity, socio-cultural values, sectoral and regulatory context, and temporal dynamics.
  • The study advanced theory by extending the triple-bottom-line lens into a reflexive impact-by-cost framework, highlighting the need to consider rebound effects and justice considerations.
  • The researchers suggested that contingency and dynamic capabilities theories be recast around shifting cost and justice configurations.

Statistics:

  • 93% of sustainable entrepreneurship practices using artificial intelligence and big data reported immediate efficiency or transparency gains.
  • 71% of these practices reported hidden or temporally deferred costs, which may accumulate over time.
  • 55% of the practices experienced distributional consequences, determining who reaps the benefits and who inherits the burdens.
  • The study analyzed 150 articles on the use of artificial intelligence and big data in sustainable entrepreneurship.

Sources:

  • Business Strategy and the Environment (Wiley Press, 2025) - www.wiley.com/
  • York University, Toronto, On, Canada - York University website
  • NewsRx (2025) - Ecology, Environment & Conservation, July 11, 2025, p 963 - NewsRx LLC
  • Business Strategy and the Environment (Wiley Press, 2025) - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836

Read more