This thesis presents an inductive, qualitative approach to exploring the connection between entrepreneurship and social movement theory in the context of the fitness movement. This was achieved by applying the External Enabler Framework for New Venture Creation which looks at how changes to the macro environment, such as sociocultural shifts, enable entrepreneurial processes by activating mechanisms on the venture level (Davidsson et al., 2020). A loop derived from social movement literature is implemented as a contribution to the framework that presents a perspective in which ventures not only are influenced by the social movement but also contribute to the movement's momentum. The loop was found to occur as ventures enlarge the scope of the social movement and thus change its characteristics. This insight provides two theoretical contributions. Firstly, the loop originating from social movement theory is better defined and explained. Secondly, the External Enabler Framework for New Venture Creation has been connected to the loop, which provides a more nuanced view of how social movements and ventures interrelate. This is deemed important since it helps us understand how social movements can grow with the influence of ventures and how this leads to the continuous enablement of new ventures.

Rapidly increasing global environmental changes are causing disruptions in the natural environment and have resulted in emphasized importance of developing sustainable entrepreneurship to mitigate climate change. To do this, however, external conditions have been argued to stimulate new business opportunities, which have been reconceptualized as external enablers (Davidsson, 2015). This study will therefore investigate how combinations of external enablers can be understood and leveraged to facilitate new sustainable venture creation within one of the sectors with the potential to reverse climate change, the marine sector. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess the combinations of external enablers that facilitate venture creation within the marine sector. The study was conducted in accordance with the interpretivist approach, basing the data collection on multiple case studies. The case studies were based on secondary online data and semi-constructed interviews, where the data was later analyzed through a coding process according to Gioia et al., (2013). The study was set to follow an inductive approach.  The empirical findings show that the prominent external enabler combinations for sustainable ventures within the marine sector are of the regulatory, economic and sociocultural types which have a complementary relationship and act in symbiosis. The symbiosis is in turn affected by climate change as a fundamental enabling factor for sustainable ventures.

Research Background: Climate change poses a core threat to the current and future welfare of society. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly susceptible to challenges associated with climate change, most of which are bound to have large-scale societal impacts. Fortunately, Grand Challenges (GCs) can also enable opportunities for sustainable entrepreneurship to emerge. As entrepreneurs work in larger interrelated ecosystems, it is noteworthy to explore the utilization of ecosystems to develop sustainable ventures that address GCs. Current research has not addressed the interplay between external enablers and entrepreneurial ecosystems, especially in the Sub-Saharan context. The focus of this study is to explore how sustainable entrepreneurs acted on GCs in the pursuit of venture opportunities, and how ecosystems were utilized to foster the development of entrepreneurial agents and their ventures. Research Purpose: The purpose of this research is to identify how GCs facilitate sustainable entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa, given the interaction between entrepreneurs, their ecosystems, and climate change-associated GCs. Method: The research paradigm for this study follows critical realism. Meaning, we question the nature of reality as inherently multilayered and align with epistemic relativism. An explorative interview-based study was adopted for our methodology. We sampled our interview candidates purposively through the formation of several criteria. In total, we collected data from 20 semi-structured interviews through online platforms. We analyzed our data by interpreting principles of thematic analysis and the theory- building approach, to connect empirical themes to theoretical constructs. Conclusion: The results for this study show that sustainable entrepreneurs act on a wide variety of GCs. Within ecosystems, we noticed that sustainable development, cultural belief systems, educational infrastructure, governance, and resource accessibility influence the potential for ecosystems to develop. Specifically, we adopted three dimensions in which these pillars have influences: the entrepreneurial, communal, and structural level. The findings indicated that the scope of external enablers is fluid due to ecosystem interactions. Moreover, opacity and agency-intensity of enabling mechanisms can be reduced by developing entrepreneurial ecosystems. We also noted that entrepreneurs themselves can take on the role of ecosystem-builders. Our findings revised current understandings of sustainable entrepreneurship and redefined the concept to create a more inclusive label.

Background: Environmental challenges faced by humankind are creating various changes in the business environment. These changes are facilitating entrepreneurial activities for environmental sustainability. However, some actors, such as immigrant entrepreneurs, might face difficulties in identifying and exploiting the external enablers of entrepreneurial action for sustainability. Purpose: Considering the importance of sustainable development, the study aims to understand the role of external enablers for environmental sustainability in immigrant ventures. Thus, the study aims to investigate how ‘external enabler opacity and agency-intensity’ facilitate or hinder environmentally sustainable entrepreneurial activities among immigrant entrepreneurs. Method: The study employs a qualitative approach and utilizes a multiple case study methodology, with the primary method of semi-structured interviews. Inductively building upon the External Enabler Framework, the study integrates insights from external enablers, environmental entrepreneurship, and immigrant entrepreneurship literature. Conclusion: The study finds that low opacity and high agency intensity of external enablers limit immigrant ventures' involvement in environmental sustainability. Moreover, barriers immigrant entrepreneurs face compound these limitations, possibly leading to decreased competitiveness and missed opportunities. Contributing to the External Enabler Framework, the concept of enforcement is introduced as a novel cross-function of external enabler mechanisms, which facilitates immigrant ventures' engagement in environmentally sustainable activities.

The circular economy has emerged as a tool for addressing the current linear economic system, producing massive amounts waste and exacerbating climate change. During the recent crises and instabilities, the potential of the circular economy has been further highlighted.However, the concept remains undefined, and little is known of its implementation inpractice. This thesis explores the circular economy and its implementation among six Swedish commercial real estate actors, through interviews and an investigation of their official documents, with the aim of discovering signs of the circular economy, how those signs have emerged and the knowledge and capabilities necessary to capitalize on them. The External Enablers Framework by Davidsson et al. (2020) is used to find the external enablers thatfacilitate a shift towards more circular business practices. The thesis discovers multiple signs of circularity in the empirical material, in targets, strategies and activities. It also identifies several external enablers potentially impacting the implementation of circular activities in existing real estate ventures, such as collaboration networks, climate change awareness andthe recent crises and instabilities. The real estate actors themselves also potentially influence the industry around them towards circularity, in an ecosystem of enablement.