Purpose: The paper aims to identify the ecological orientations of the Swedish start-ups and explore the opportunities and challenges to determine their environmental sustainability actions. Methods: The study used a qualitative method for conducting this exploratory type of research. This paper focused mainly on primary data; semi-structured interviews were conducted on ten Swedish start-ups to explore their sustainable environmental practices. Finally, the collected data were analyzed through cross-case analyses. Findings: Firstly, the findings of the paper posit that the ten Swedish start-ups belong to eco-dedicated, eco-open and eco-reluctant orientations according to their business practices. Secondly, the study explores that saving cost for long run, reusability of components, and the best use of available resources are major opportunities whereas the prime challenges are the additional cost of eco-friendly solutions, customers' price sensitiveness and market competition. And thirdly, the study determines sustainability actions of three categories of start-ups that are self-motivated, hybrid and government support driven.  Contribution: This study contributes to the knowledge of environmental sustainability practices of Swedish start-ups through the lens of ecological orientation. The sole focus on environmental sustainability dimension enhances the theoretical understanding of the start-ups’ actions according to their ecological orientations. Further, this paper equips academic researchers with valuable information of Swedish start-ups’ environmental sustainability actions and help to determine the contribution of the start-ups in environmental sustainability continuum. Moreover, the findings inform about the benefits of environmentally sustainable practices for new businesses. The paper also provides multifaceted information to the business managers about the sustainability actions of start-ups as per their ecological orientations. Conclusions: The result of the study shows that eco-dedicated start-ups are proactive in case of pursuing the environmental sustainability actions while eco-open businesses incorporate both self-driven and regulatory actions. And the sustainability actions of eco-reluctant startups are dependent on the government supports and regulations.

Social entrepreneurship and other new forms such as ecological or sustainable entrepreneurship have emerged as promising new solutions to solve societal problems. Therefore these types of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship also increasingly attract the interest of researchers, but there is no clear theoretical concept for these emerging research areas yet. As for commercial entrepreneurship, existing research has neglected the influence of contextual factors on the entrepreneurial process. Therefore this topic is not well researched yet and requires an increase in knowledge to keep up with its popularity and potential impact on society. Therefore the research purpose of this study was to systematically analyse how contextual factors, i.e. political & legal, economic, technological, environmental, social and cultural factors, influence the stages of the entrepreneurial process and if this influence differs for commercial and sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs. To fulfill this purpose a theoretical framework depicting the entrepreneurial process in its context was developed, which incorporates the different types of entrepreneurship based on the value they create. In order to adequately explore the research purpose our theoretical framework was applied to the context of Central America. In line with our interpretivistic standpoint we followed an inductive approach with a qualitative, comparative research design of an exploratory nature. We collected secondary data about Central America and conducted a multiple-case study in which we collected primary data from 13 interviews with entrepreneurs being active in Central America. The empirical findings were thoroughly analysed and discussed leading to several interesting results which were used to revise our theoretical framework. Despite a great variety among entrepreneurs we realised that they all undergo the entrepreneurial process and we could therefore successfully apply our theoretical framework. All entrepreneurs are differently influenced by contextual factors in their entrepreneurial process, but disparities are mostly due to the background of the entrepreneurs or the type of venture. Some political and legal, and economic factors have been found to influence commercial and sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs differently, while other economic and social factors rather determine differences between non-profit and for- profit oriented entrepreneurs. This study contributes to theories regarding the influence of contextual factors and concepts in the field of (sustainability-oriented) entrepreneurship as well as methodologies used in this field. It provides considerable practical contributions to entrepreneurs and recommendations for policy-makers which can lead to valuable societal contributions. Throughout the research ethical issues have been considered and quality criteria applied to ensure the trustworthiness of this research.

Föreliggande undersökning tar sin utgångspunkt i ett behov av ett mer hållbart konsumtionsmönsteroch har inriktats på näringslivets roll som den som tillhandahåller utbudet. Företags hållbarhetsarbetetenderar dock att alltför ofta antingen fokuseras på de interna processerna alternativt på attkomplettera ett befintligt utbud med mer ekologiskt fördelaktiga alternativ som dels inriktas mot enredan hållbarhetsmedveten målgrupp, dels ingå i ett prissegment som gör produkterna otillgängligaför många samhällsgrupper. Genom att kartlägga den stundtals motstridiga relationen mellanekonomisk och ekologisk hållbarhet identifieras samhällsentreprenören som en aktör som kan verkaför båda områdena simultant, där ekonomisk tillväxt kan ske som effekt av arbete för ett samhälleligtsyfte. Med stöd i Joseph A. Schumpeters teori om kreativ förstörelse undersökssamhällsentreprenörens bidrag för en samhällsutveckling mot mer hållbara konsumtionsmönster.Undersökningen har genomförts med kvalitativ metod inbegripandes intervjuer medsamhällsentreprenörer med ett gemensamt syfte om att bidra till mer hållbara konsumtionsmönsterinom respektive bransch. Undersökningen mynnar ut i en slutsats om hur samhällsentreprenörergenom innovationer och kreativa konstruktioner av företag vars syfte är att främja en mer hållbarkonsumtion både sätter press på och inspirerar befintliga aktörer och bidrar till en kreativ förstörelseav befintliga hållbarhetspraktiker som upplevs otillräckliga. / The starting point of the present study is the need for a more sustainable consumption patternfocusing on the role of the business sector as the supply provider. Sustainability practices tend to befocused upon internal processes or on supplementing the existing supply with more ecologicallyfavorable alternatives offered to already sustainability aware target groups. Also, keeping the pricerange at a level unavailable for many socio‐economic groups. By mapping out the sometimescontradictory relationship between ecological and economic sustainability the sustainableentrepreneur is identified as an actor who is able to act upon both areas simultaneously, whereeconomic growth becomes an effect of working for a social cause. Drawing on Joseph A. Schumpeterstheory of creative destruction the sustainable entrepreneurs’ contribution to a social progress towardsa more sustainable consumption pattern is examined. The study was conducted using a qualitativemethod including interviews with sustainable entrepreneurs with a common cause of contributing tomore sustainable consumption patterns within their branch of industry. The study concludes thatsustainable entrepreneurs, through creative constructions of business with a purpose to promotemore sustainable consumption patterns, urge and inspire incumbents contribute to a creativedestruction of existing sustainability practices that are perceived to be inadequate.

Lo sviluppo sostenibile è oggi uno dei temi più attuali e, allo stesso tempo, una sfida per le aziende. La società, a livello mondiale, deve affrontare, ora più che mai, problemi sia di rilevanza sociale, come una popolazione in costante aumento, sia di tipo ambientale, come il cambiamento climatico. La costante perdita dell’ozonosfera, la distruzione della biodiversità, la sovrappopolazione, l’overtourism, sono solo alcune delle problematiche che sottolineano l’urgente bisogno di individui che siano capaci di far fronte a tali questioni grazie ad un comportamento imprenditoriale sostenibile. Seppur le serie conseguenze del degrado ambientale siano note da tempo, la situazione attuale ci richiede ora di riconoscere e, soprattutto, di ammettere, che le risorse, specialmente quelle naturali, non sono infinite. Il comportamento imprenditoriale con un orientamento spiccatamente green, costituisce una parziale soluzione all’esaurirsi di tali risorse. A tale scopo, la tesi si propone di indagare i drivers dell’imprenditoria sostenibile, al fine di risolvere il degrado ambientale e raggiungere uno sviluppo sostenibile. Attraverso un’analisi della environmental passion, dell’environmental bricolage e dell’authenticity, la tesi pone le fondamenta per lo sviluppo di futuri studi capaci di far riflettere su tali tematiche. / Sustainable development is perhaps the most prominent topic of our time and challenge for businesses. Today, we are facing both social issues, such as an ever-increasing population, and environmental issues, like climate change. We are thus suffering from ozone depletion, destruction of biodiversity, loss of living species, overpopulation, overtourism, and the need of individuals who are able to deal with these challenges through their entrepreneurial behaviour is more than urgent. The serious consequences of environmental degradation have been pointed out for decades, and the current situation requires us to recognize that resources, especially our natural ones, are finite. The thesis focuses on the drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial behaviours aimed at resolving environmental degradation and achieving sustainable development. Through an exploration of environmental passion, environmental bricolage and authenticity, the thesis sets a foundation for developing future thought-provoking studies.

Little is known about how sustainable entrepreneurs balance sustainability aspects with growth. The aim of this study is to investigate how growth and sustainability are balanced, and what role customers play in this balance. To answer this question we used a case study design and interviewed 8 executives representing 5 sustainable new ventures based in Sweden. The theory of the three pillars of sustainability was used to categorise and probe the data. Our research draws on two types of sustainability companies (sustainability-at-its-core and product-at-its-core) that balance sustainability and growth in a different way. Customers play an essential role in the balance, as they both impact growth and the sustainability level. Our research shows that within balancing growth and sustainability, sustainability can be seen as a company trait rather than a choice as sustainability is a part of the core of the new ventures’ business and will therefore always have an important position, even if growth is limited. It is recommended to explore the distinction in sustainable company type more in depth or other stakeholders’ influence towards new ventures in balancing growth and sustainability in the future.

The aim of this research is to analyse and describe the promotion of sustainable entrepreneurship by governmental organizations to new entrepreneurs. The thesis looks into the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) which is the main governmental body for organizing business idea competitions in Latvia. The desired outcome of this study is to provide insight into sustainability education to new entrepreneurs and point out issues on state level that hinder transition to sustainability. A qualitative research technique was selected as it offers a way to conduct a comparative research for analysing different points of view for case studies. The results showed that, among other findings, that there is too little emphasis on sustainability at national level, resulting in little interest from the public and a correspondingly narrow range of offerings from LIAA. Consequently, the excessive volume of work and functions is hindering the agency's work, which is reflected in delayed development at sustainability context. The fact that Latvia is lacking a clear national image could be perceived as the result of inability to define values for several decades and failure to implement innovative, sustainability-oriented education system.

This thesis contributes to our knowledge on the emergence of environmental entrepreneurs. The study is guided by the research question, “how do UK environmental entrepreneurs start to form their distinctive environmental entrepreneurial thinking” and analyses the development of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset in the UK, through a theory of practice perspective. Based on a three-stage data collection process (preliminary focus group, semi-structured interviews and life stories), the study (1) conceptualises the construction of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset, (2) investigates the experiences of constraints for practice and (3) analyses differences in habitus and constraints on the basis of the sampling dimensions, type (social environmental and commercial) and gender (male and female). The study was undertaken under a social constructivist perspective and follows the naturalistic paradigm (Guba, 1978). The rigour (or trustworthiness) of the qualitative approach has been established according to perspectives by Mason (2001) and Guba and Lincoln (1985). The empirical basis of the study is comprised of a three stage design of discursive interviews, involving overlapping collective (focus group) and individual (life stories, in-depth interviews) data collection techniques, with a partly gathering structure (through semi-structured questions). A preliminary focus group identified key themes relevant to the study’s objectives and the concepts of the theory of practice (field, capital, and habitus). Three life stories refined the themes and analysed them within the context of entrepreneurs’ lives. The two stages enabled the development of questions targeting themes for the in-depth interviews and the cross case content analysis. For sampling purposes, the Maximum Variation Sampling (MVS) strategy was employed, which enabled identification and analysis of common and divergent themes (Miller & Crabtree, 1999) and by over-coming the limitations of the sample size, it provided a conditional representativeness. The findings show that environmental entrepreneurs accumulate divergent forms of cultural, social and economic capital, which shapes their entrepreneurial and environmental mindsets, triggering the creation of a disposition (habitus) towards setting up an environmental enterprise. Studying the formation of the environmental entrepreneurial mindset addresses a relevant knowledge gap and offers theoretical and methodological contributions. It also confers implications for practice, with a particular reference to entrepreneurial education and policymaking.

La notion de développement durable est aujourd’hui une préoccupation centrale des populations et des pouvoirs publics. L’entrepreneuriat durable représente une forme de réponse à cette préoccupation à travers l’intégration des normes de développement durable dans le cœur de métier de l’entreprise. Ce type d’entreprise vient répondre à des objectifs économiques, sociaux et environnementaux. La recherche en entrepreneuriat durable s’est particulièrement intéressée au profil de l’entrepreneur durable. Cependant, la recherche ne s’est pas suffisamment interrogée sur la façon dont il procède. Il est considéré comme l’agent de rupture à travers l’introduction d’éco-innovations. L’innovation apparait donc comme une solution aux problématiques sociales et environnementales. Mais ceci n’est pas suffisant pour considérer ce phénomène entrepreneurial comme une forme innovante. Cette thèse tente de combler ces manquements en modélisant, le processus entrepreneurial durable. Par ailleurs, l’emprunt d’une théorie de l’innovation « C-K Theory » permet de rapprocher le processus entrepreneurial durable du processus de conception innovante CK dans l’objectif de déterminer le caractère innovant de l’entrepreneuriat durable. / The notion of sustainable development is today a central concern of the population and the public authorities. Sustainable entrepreneurship is a form of response to this concern through the integration of sustainable development standards into the core business of the company. This type of business comes to meet economic, social and environmental objectives. Sustainable entrepreneurship research has been particularly interested in the profile of the sustainable entrepreneur. However, the research did not ask enough about how it works. It is considered the breaking agent through the introduction of eco-innovations. Innovation therefore appears as a solution to social and environmental issues. But this is not enough to consider this entrepreneurial phenomenon as an innovative form. This thesis attempts to fill these gaps by modeling, the sustainable entrepreneurial process. In addition, the borrowing of a theory of innovation "C-K Theory" makes it possible to bring the sustainable entrepreneurial process closer to the CK innovative design process in order to determine the innovative nature of sustainable entrepreneurship.

[pt] Este estudo se propõe a entender como empreendedores sustentáveis - empreendedores que tentam resolver problemas ambientais e sociais, além de gerar riqueza econômica - atuam como empreendedores institucionais, iniciando mudanças divergentes nas normas e modelos mentais construídos socialmente. Unindo a pesquisa em empreendedorismo com a teoria institucional, o objetivo deste estudo foi elucidar como empreendedores sustentáveis: identificam, avaliam e decidem explorar oportunidades de negócios; mobilizam recursos através das lógicas de causation, effectuation ou bricolagem e tentam se legitimar e convencer stakeholders para o seu negócio. Para o entendimento do processo histórico e do contexto da formação do empreendimento optou-se pelo método de múltiplos estudos de caso. Consonante com a literatura, os resultados mostraram que os empreendedores sustentáveis se utilizam de um misto de causation e effectuation na exploração das oportunidades, variando a lógica conforme o contexto. A incorporação da ótica institucional permitiu revelar que a lógica de causation é utilizada em um contexto de busca de legitimidade e convencimento de stakeholders. Por outro lado, verificou-se que as estratégias de convencimento pelos empreendedores como a teorização podem apresentar variações ao longo do tempo, numa lógica de effectuation, à medida que novos desafios e oportunidades surjam. Ao combinar a perspectiva da teoria institucional à pesquisa em empreendedorismo, unindo as estratégias de legitimação e convencimentos dos stakeholders aos mecanismos da ação empreendedora em empreendimentos sustentáveis, esta pesquisa preenche uma lacuna de pesquisa em ambas áreas. / [en] In this study, I assume that sustainable entrepreneurs, i.e, entrepreneurs who tackle environmental and social problems while also creating economic wealth (Schaltegger and Wagner, 2011), act as institutional entrepreneurs, promoting divergent changes in the models, schemas and norms of a given organizational field. By combining both entrepreneurship research and institutional theory, the aim of this research is threefold: to uncover how sustainable entrepreneurs 1) identify, evaluate and decide to explore business opportunities; 2) mobilize resources through mechanisms known in the entrepreneurship literature as causation, effectuation, and bricolage, and 3) legitimate their businesses and change institutions so as their products/services get accepted. The method used in this research was the multiple case study to get rich and detailed data, making a thorough understanding of the historical process and context of the venture creation possible. Confirming prior research, the results suggest that entrepreneurs use both effectuation and causation logics to explore opportunities. However, the institutional theory lens in this study suggests that the use of causation logic is intended at gaining legitimacy and attracting stakeholders. On the other hand, results also suggest that theorization strategies used by sustainable entrepreneurs may take an effectual approach, changing its arguments in an experimental and iterative way as stakholders face new necessities and challenges. By combining entrepreneurship research to institutional theory, this study fills a literature gap in both areas.

The Swedish Island of Gotland is well-known for being prosperous in cultural  and natural values, as well as for its attractiveness as a touristic destination that draws local and international visitors to its myriad of cultural activities, offerings and establishments. For those reasons, Region Gotland has created comprehensive plans aimed at achieving goals related to exalting the image of the island as place for sustainable tourism and the promotion of culture. However, it is important to identify possible problematics that may arise during the implementation of such plans, and additionally it is important to compare and analyze the directives of the Region against what cultural actors and artists perceive in their day-to-day activities. Therefore, based on the existing literature, the collected data, and the identified themes in this research, a model that seeks to incorporate concepts related to the Promotion of Culture, Culturally Sustainable Enterprises and Cultural Tourism will be presented as a solution to tackle the problems and issues that cultural destinations such as Gotland might face.