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Environmental sustainability

Sustainable Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: A New Approach to Green Innovation

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A new study published in Small Business Economics sheds light on the crucial role of sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystems in addressing environmental challenges. Researchers from Delft University of Technology investigated the factors influencing the founding of sustainable start-ups in European regions, revealing that the quality of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is a key driver of green innovation. The study's findings have significant implications for policymakers seeking to support sustainable entrepreneurship and promote environmental sustainability.

Key Takeaways:

  • The quality of the entrepreneurial ecosystem plays a significant role in the presence of sustainable start-ups, even more so than for regular counterparts.
  • The presence of fellow (regular) start-ups, sustainability-oriented formal institutions, and sustainability-oriented resource endowments positively influence the presence of sustainable start-ups.
  • Sustainable entrepreneurship is influenced by both the generic entrepreneurial ecosystem and through a sustainability specification.
  • Policy makers can use the study's results to establish policies that improve ecosystems for sustainable entrepreneurship in their region.
  • The study contributes to the literature by structuring the debate on generic versus specific entrepreneurial ecosystems and proposing a novel conceptual framework for sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Statistics:

  • 273 European NUTS-2 regions were studied in the research.
  • 46,741 start-ups were analyzed in these regions.
  • The study found strong evidence that the quality of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is important for the presence of sustainable start-ups.
  • The presence of sustainable start-ups is positively influenced by the presence of fellow (regular) start-ups (26.5% increase), sustainability-oriented formal institutions (21.3% increase), and sustainability-oriented resource endowments (15.6% increase).

Sources:

  • Greening Pastures: Ecosystems for Sustainable Entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 2025.
  • Delft University of Technology, Fac Architecture & Built Environm, Management Built Environm, Julianalaan 134, Bl Delft, Netherlands.
  • Springer, Van Godewijckstraat 30, 3311 Gz Dordrecht, Netherlands. (www.springer.com; www.springerlink.com/content/0921-898x/)

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