Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
---|---|---|---|---|
662.53 KB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The successful adaptation and creation of sustainable entrepreneurial ventures significantly influences
the ability to create more environmentally and socially integrated economic systems. Sustainable business
models are a critical component towards this goal. However, the development of sustainable
business models is a complex process that requires a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Integrating
literature on sustainable business models, network theory, and entrepreneurial ecosystems, we analyze
the influence of organizational-level (venture types and venture tenure) and individual-level factors
(types of network actors and their demographic characteristics) that influence the social network connectivity
of ventures with sustainable and conventional business models. To this purpose, we modeled
two municipal entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Southeast United States through a complex network of
stakeholders (e.g. entrepreneurs, investors, institutional leaders) and analyzed the resulting social connectivity
measures. Our results indicate that sustainable entrepreneurs were underrepresented when
compared to conventional entrepreneurs, but that their networks were more densely connected.We also
found that different social clusters emerged, based on type of venture and business model, venture
tenure, type of network actor (e.g. entrepreneur or investor), or demographic characteristic. With this
study, we contribute to the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems and sustainable business models.
Description
Keywords
Entrepreneurial ecosystems Sustainable business models Social networks
Citation
Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 4565-4579 Doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.08.216