Sustainable innovation through an entrepreneurship lens

Abstract

Sustainable innovation is an emerging and fundamental force for change in business and society. Its potential to transform technology, products and markets distinguishes it as an area of entrepreneurial opportunity and a force of ‘creative destruction’ as defined by economist Joseph Schumpeter (1934). Walden Paddlers is a case example of Schumpeterian creative destruction in the area of sustainable innovation. By examining the process by which product and process innovations were achieved by this startup virtual corporation we gain a broader comprehension of how environmental and sustainability considerations can be successfully integrated into business strategy. The company is studied from idea generation through successful launching and management. Key to understanding the outcome was the environmentally related opportunity and the process through which the entrepreneur created innovation through the cultivation and leadership of a network of players. Two premises underlie the analysis: (i) by focusing on opportunity and innovation, the entrepreneurial field offers insights into the relationship between business and the natural environment; (ii) studies of startup entrepreneurial firms implementing environmental and sustainable strategies provide important data that add to our rapidly evolving body of knowledge about the relationship between corporate behavior and the environment. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment

Sustainable Entrepreneurship Orientation: A Reflection on Status-Quo Research on Factors Facilitating Responsible Managerial Practices

“…The common characteristic(s) typically held by social and environmental entrepreneurs can also be applied to sustainable entrepreneurs, who can be described as "change agents", implying a certain disagreement with prevailing existing paradigms. They also communicate a desire to implement a more long-term focus, limiting themselves to doing more with fewer inputs [12,81]. Personality characteristics also contribute to the likelihood of effective leadership.…”

“…These include (but are not limited to) the values of social and environmental entrepreneurs that are based on altruism. This distinguishes them from conventional entrepreneurs, where the need of others (including nature) is put ahead of the needs of the entrepreneurs themselves [81,85]. However, the principles mentioned do not exclude the common components found in traditional entrepreneurial processes.…”

Sustainable Value Creation—From Concept Towards Implementation

“…Sustainable development requires the transformation of larger parts of production and consumption systems (Boons 2009). Incremental (product-and process-related) innovations in existing production and consumption systems may lead to further gradual improvements of sustainability performance, but in the end, incremental innovation frequently does not lead to a globally optimal system configuration in a multi-dimensional production and consumption system space (Larson 2000;Frenken et al 2007;Vezzoli et al 2008;Schaltegger and Wagner 2011).…”

Desenvolvimento Sustentável E Empreendedorismo

“…, v. 3, n.1, p.3-32, 2014. 18 natureza (LARSON, 2000;BENYUS, 1997). Em suma, para os EDs o processo de inovação é muito mais complexo do que para os empreendedores clássicos, em função da multiplicidade de objetivos perseguidos.…”