Entrepreneurship for sustainable development: co-evolutionary evidence from the tourism sector

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to enhance understanding of how sustainable entrepreneurship (SE) contributes to sustainable development in the tourism sector. To do so, specific factors that act as enablers or inhibitors of SE are identified according to a co-evolutionary lens.Design/methodology/approachA co-evolutionary explanation of the firm? Environment relationship is adopted to undertake a qualitative empirical study of the Castelli Romani tourism destination (Italy), via 23 semi-structured interviews according to a narrative approach.FindingsThe paper demonstrates that entrepreneurs play a crucial role in sustainable development but cannot act in isolation. In fact, according to the co-evolutionary approach, they influence and are influenced by 20 factors. Accordingly, SE can be conceptualised as resulting from effective co-evolutionary interactions between micro (i.e. entrepreneurs and their firm), meso (i.e. the destination where tourism firms are based) and macro (i.e. the wider socio-economic and natural system) levels.Practical implicationsSeveral actions are suggested to entrepreneurs and policymakers to help achieve specific sustainable development goals. These actions focus on: (1) training courses, (2) investments in technologies, (3) creation of innovative business models, (4) exploitation of cultural and natural resources, (5) community involvement and (6) multi-level partnerships.Originality/valueThis is the first study that adopts a co-evolutionary lens to investigate the influencing factors of SE in tourism, shedding light on the effects of their dynamic interdependence. Thus, it provides a more nuanced SE conceptualisation that takes a holistic and dynamic view of sustainability.

Business model innovation in sustainable entrepreneurship: co-evolutionary evidence from small accommodation firms

“…In line with this, entrepreneurs and firms can promote sustainability by jointly addressing socioeconomic and ecological challenges (Schaltegger et al, 2016;Ter an-Y epez et al, 2020). This implies interactions of these entrepreneurs and firms with multiple stakeholders, local and multi-local, such as institutions, various other organisations and local communities, from which tensions can arise while trying to balance the economic value and sustainability mission (Davies and Chambers, 2018;Baiocco et al, 2023). Clearly, this affects how business is conducted and leads to a review of strategies and operations, assigning value to the BM and the drivers of value creation and capture not only for firms' performance (Zott and Amit, 2010;Lepp€ anen et al, 2023) but also for conducting business according to the logic of having sustainability at its core (e.g.…”

“…However, tourism research on both sustainable entrepreneurship (Sørensen and Grindsted, 2021;Baiocco et al, 2023) and BM is still at an early stage (Reinhold et al, 2019) with no studies, to the best of the authors' knowledge, that integrate the aforementioned fields of research.…”

“…First: In Italy, data on tourism's contribution to GDP and employment have been constantly higher than the global average, at least since 2016 (World Travel andTourism Council (WTTC), 2016-2023), mainly thanks to a multitude of small and micro accommodation firms (73% of the sector). Following Galbreath et al (2023), it thus represents a suitable context to conduct more empirical research on sustainable entrepreneurship in tourism that is still at an early stage (Sørensen and Grindsted, 2021;Baiocco et al, 2023).…”

“…, 2020). This implies interactions of these entrepreneurs and firms with multiple stakeholders, local and multi-local, such as institutions, various other organisations and local communities, from which tensions can arise while trying to balance the economic value and sustainability mission (Davies and Chambers, 2018; Baiocco et al. , 2023).…”

“…To date, consensus seemingly exists on the meaning of sustainable entrepreneurship as a type of entrepreneur and firm that attain desired competitiveness and profitability by helping to establish a lasting balance between social justice, environmental quality and economic prosperity (Hummels and Argyrou, 2021). Clearly, achieving (and maintaining) this balance requires ongoing interactions with various stakeholders, which do not occur without tensions (Baiocco et al. , 2023).…”