Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Summary
Sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation encompass the creation and scaling of ventures that pursue economic, environmental and social objectives in tandem. This field examines how entrepreneurial actors develop novel technologies, business models and practices that not only generate financial returns but also address pressing global challenges such as climate change, resource depletion and inequality. Central to this discourse is the integration of sustainability criteria into opportunity recognition, value creation and stakeholder engagement processes. By aligning entrepreneurial motivation with long-term ecological balance and social well-being, sustainable entrepreneurs advance transformative solutions that reconfigure markets, foster circular economies and catalyse inclusive growth. Research in this area spans theoretical frameworks on entrepreneurial orientation and ecosystem dynamics, empirical studies on sector-specific ventures and applied analyses of innovation pathways in diverse regional contexts. The cumulative endeavour is to illuminate the drivers, barriers and outcomes of combining entrepreneurial vigour with sustainability imperatives, thereby informing policy, investment and managerial practice worldwide.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Sustainable entrepreneurship: The pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities that create blended value, generating financial returns while delivering positive social and environmental outcomes.
Digital sustainable entrepreneurship: The integration of digital technologies into sustainable ventures to enhance efficiency, transparency and stakeholder collaboration in tackling societal and ecological challenges.
Sustainable entrepreneurial orientation: A firm’s strategic posture characterised by proactivity, innovation and risk-taking, underpinned by a commitment to long-term sustainability goals.
Green innovation: The development or adoption of new products, processes or practices that reduce environmental impact and support resource conservation.
Business model innovation: The process of redesigning the way an organisation creates, delivers and captures value to align economic objectives with sustainability imperatives.
References
- The promise of digital technologies for sustainable entrepreneurship: A systematic literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Information Management (2023).
- Pathways to sustainable entrepreneurship: Analysing drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial orientation. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship (2024).
- Entrepreneurship in the renewable energy sector: A systematic literature review of types, characteristics, and sustainability impacts. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2025).
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