Sustainability transition has gained more interest in academic research. However, it has rarely been studied specifically from a firm-level perspective. Therefore, this study aims to understand and learn from the firm-level perspective to contribute to firm- and system-level understanding. The case study of insects as food and feed industry is interesting in a niche and challenging market or to understand the overcoming activities of those facing barriers, whether the overcoming of customer acceptance, uncertainty of the market, and the regulations of eating insects as just been approved by the European Commission in recent years. Moreover, the study of insects has been widely focused on entomology, such as species, and nutrition. It is beginning to be studied in the food sector in Western countries, recently. Therefore, this research will contribute an in-depth understanding of the firm-level in the edible insect industry, especially in the business section in Sweden. This research contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurs' sustainable business models in different time periods, which could be shaped by barriers and opportunities. The barriers found in this study are similar to previous studies of the insect industry in other countries, except for customer acceptance, which seems to be different in Sweden. The customer issue that stands out here is finding the niche group of customers and the niche product that suits these early adopter customers. I also found the importance of entrepreneurial activities in relation to the development of the technological innovation system (TIS). The actors or entrepreneurs are the catalysts for the development of the TIS in the uncertain industry, since every single movement of the entrepreneurs leads to the dynamics of the system, such as a lobbying activity to overcome the regulatory barrier.

This master’s thesis explores the case of sustainable entrepreneurs in Malmö to examine how they perceive themselves and their situation compared to the social imagination of how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are connected to entrepreneurship. The case study follows a hermeneutic approach intending to generate a deeper understanding of the subjective realities of sustainable entrepreneurs in an interpretative dialogue between the preunderstanding of the phenomenon based on three theoretical aspects of identity work that are considered important in contemporary identity research (power relations, authenticity, identity economics) and the understanding of the phenomenon based on empirical text collected in interviews. The more profound comprehension of the participants’ situation simultaneously creates knowledge about the specific context, which reveals the relationship between the individual and their social environment and implications for the identity of sustainable entrepreneurs and their behaviour. As a result, the findings contribute to the overall development of identity work research and with insights into the perceived realities of sustainable entrepreneurs in the discourse about their role in the SDGs and whether they have the capabilities to be the spearheads of sustainable development as proclaimed by the United Nations. The findings of the case study build a foundation to argue that sustainable entrepreneurs have the potential to become the drivers for sustainable development due to the compatibility of societal challenges with their interpretation of entrepreneurship and their commitment to sustainable practices based on their set of self-values which is required to satisfy their need for authenticity. However, the material limitations of modern social systems impede the performance of their full potential as agents of sustainable development. As a consequence, sustainable entrepreneurs expand their set of self-values to enable the adoption of identities that allow them to access required resources in society to realise the identity they perceive to possess.

This thesis investigates how Jönköping Science Park frames and supports sustainable entrepreneurship in the region. More specifically, it discusses how this Science Park implements sustainability in collaboration with entrepreneurs and start-ups. In addition, the study evaluates how the Jönköping Science Park offering meets entrepreneurs' needs and expectations. In light of the gaps identified, recommendations are made for improving Science Park's sustainability support services in the future. The study applies Klaus Fichter and Karsten Hurrelmann’s conceptual framework for analyzing and designing sustainability orientation in incubators and science parks. This paper also uses the Client-Oriented Model of Evaluation by Evert Vedung to analyze how current Science Park sustainability support meets entrepreneurs' needs. A qualitative research approach was used in this study, with content analysis of open sources and internal documents, three interviews with Science Park officials, and corresponding email correspondence. The data was also gained through ten interviews with entrepreneurs and start-ups. The results show that Science Park implements sustainability in their collaboration with entrepreneurs and start-ups on the strategic level (vision, mission, strategy, and communication) and operational level (programs, activities, methods, and tools). The study's findings revealed that Science Park exhibits a clear strategic commitment to sustainability and acknowledges the responsibility to provide fully sustainable business development support to entrepreneurs and startups. On the operational level, sustainability implementation is fragmented and can be characterized by the “learning-by-doing” approach. Overall, Science Park places more emphasis on promoting sustainability and fostering a sustainability mindset than on providing extensive sustainability education. It is attributed to the fact that Science Park does not specialize in sustainability consultancy or services. Moreover, their focus primarily on early-stage entrepreneurship presents challenges when implementing sustainability support for entrepreneurs and start-ups.  Based on the identified gaps and provided recommendations, Science Park can strengthen its sustainability support offering in a practical perspective and contribute to tackling entrepreneurs' misunderstandings of the sustainability concept which is crucial for creating sustainability-oriented enterprises.

This thesis seeks to explore the importance of sustainability within start-up organisations and investigate the sustainability transition within selected ventures. The research conducted applies a multiple case study design, combined with a literature review to answer the research question: ‘How Important is Sustainability for Start-ups?’. Six case studies are conducted from various industries, in order to obtain a purposive sample. The sample comprises start-ups that are technology focused, of a size below ten people and located in Stockholm, Sweden. Within this investigation, the concept of sustainability is defined through the triple bottom line approach; social, environmental, and economic, and supported by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations. Further concepts of Social Economy are applied, while the basis of the research questionnaire is the Social Economy Canvas. Moreover, the Multi-Level Perspective theoretical framework is applied to provide structure and support to the developed theories, placing sustainability within a broader perspective. As a result of the data collection and analysis, the following findings are presented. Firstly, digital start-ups struggle to have an impact on environmental sustainability when not working directly within this area. Secondly, in the ideation stages, start-ups have the intention of becoming sustainable according to the triple bottom line. However, when start-ups evolve, their sustainability goals may come into conflict with other factors that add layers of complexity in decision making. Thirdly, it is evidenced that a sustainability transition occurs in the observed case studies, as start-ups adopt more sustainable business practices and entrepreneurs are inspired to pursue new businesses or sustainability-oriented business models. Lastly, Sweden proves itself as a sustainability enabler, offering significant sustainability advantages to organisations based in Sweden. / Denna avhandling undersöker vikten av hållbarhet inom nystartade företag och undersöker hållbarhetsövergången inom utvalda företag. Den genomförda forskningen tillämpar flera fallstudier i kombination med en litteraturöversikt för att besvara forskningsfrågan: "Hur viktigt är hållbarhet för start-ups?" Sex fallstudier har genomförts från olika branscher för att få till en ändamålsenlig provstorlek. Urvalet omfattar nystartade företag som är teknologifokuserade, av en storlek under tio personer och som ligger i Stockholm, Sverige. Inom denna utredning definieras begreppet hållbarhet genom den tredubbla strategin: social, miljömässig och ekonomisk, och stöttas av de 17 hållbarhetsmål som utvecklats av FN. Ytterligare begrepp om social ekonomi tillämpas, medan grunden för forskningsundersökningen är en socialekonomisk canvas. Dessutom tillämpas det teoretiska ramverket på flera nivåer för att ge struktur och stöd till de utvecklade teorierna och placera hållbarhet i ett bredare perspektiv. Som ett resultat av datainsamlingen och analysen presenteras följande resultat. För det första har digitala nystartade företag svårigheter att påverka miljöns hållbarhet när de inte arbetar direkt inom detta område. För det andra, i ideationsstadierna har nyetablerade företag avsikter att bli hållbara enligt ”triple bottom line”-modellen. Men när nystartade företag utvecklas kan deras hållbarhetsmål komma i konflikt med andra faktorer som komplicerar beslutsfattandet. För det tredje framgår det att en hållbarhetsövergång inträffar i de observerade fallstudierna när nystartade företag använder mer hållbara affärsmetoder och entreprenörer inspireras att bedriva nya företag eller hållbarhetsinriktade affärsmodeller. Slutligen visar Sverige sig vara en hållbarhetsfaktor som erbjuder betydande hållbarhetsfördelar till organisationer med bas i Sverige.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:21:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cristiane Queli da Silva.pdf: 821017 bytes, checksum: cc67ba30366ee5e1dce0d87e55e6cf46 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-29 / Economic activity is one of many sustainable development interfaces. Together with social and environmental pillars sustainability tripod can not exist without the economy one. At the same time economic activity is the major responsible for natural resources depletion, social mindfulness is still incipient regarding the need to preserve natural resources to man worthy survival. This reality demands an out of the box look into entrepreneurship, in order to see it not only as one of the main players of environmental depletion, but also as an opportunity to build bridges to connect us to the ever sought sustainable development and social and environmental responsibility. This work addresses the legal interface of such themes economic activity and environmental preservation and the tools that can be used to trigger collective motivation in natural resources preservation to current and further generations, highlighting, in this work, two of them, environmental education on masters and PHDs courses, extensions, graduation and technical specialization professionally designed to entrepreneurs and managers, because they are the decision makers that can impact natural resources, and public policies, given the State incapacity to efficiently protect the general collective public interests in environmental preservation, in such scenario a company can fill the gap and put social and environmental responsibility actions into practice, as to function as lever to sustainable development, keeping its legitimate primary economic objectives to its shareholders, even more so because sustainability can provide a competitive advantage to be materialized into positive economic results. As a result of the research taken, this work concludes that entrepreneurship can sponsor social and environmental interest and environmental responsibility increase and doing so contribute to the current and further generations worthy lives / Uma das interfaces do desenvolvimento sustentável é a atividade econômica. Ao lado do pilar social e ambiental, o tripé da sustentabilidade não existe sem o pilar da economia. Ao mesmo tempo, a atividade econômica é a maior responsável pela degradação dos recursos naturais, sendo ainda incipiente a conscientização da sociedade sobre a necessidade de preservar os recursos naturais para a sobrevivência digna do homem. Essa realidade exige um olhar diferenciado sobre o empreendedorismo, de forma a enxergá-lo não apenas como um dos principais atores da deterioração ambiental, mas também como uma oportunidade para construir pontes que nos ligarão ao tão almejado desenvolvimento sustentável e à responsabilidade socioambiental. Este trabalho aborda a interface jurídica de tais temas atividade econômica e a preservação do meio ambiente e as ferramentas que podem ser utilizadas para atingir o interesse da coletividade na preservação dos recursos naturais para as presentes e futuras gerações, destacando-se, neste trabalho, duas delas: a educação ambiental nos cursos de pós-graduação, extensão, formação e especialização técnico-profissional dirigidos aos empreendedores e aos gestores, já que estes são os responsáveis pelas decisões e ações que podem atingir os recursos naturais e as políticas públicas, pois a mão do Estado não consegue proteger eficientemente o interesse da coletividade para a preservação ambiental, cenário em que a empresa pode se embrenhar e realizar ações de responsabilidade socioambiental, como também servir de alavanca para o desenvolvimento sustentável, sem deixar de buscar seus legítimos objetivos econômicos para sócios e acionistas, até porque a sustentabilidade pode proporcionar um diferencial competitivo a ser materializado em positivos resultados econômicos. Por força da pesquisa realizada, este trabalho conclui que o empreendedorismo pode patrocinar o interesse socioambiental e a responsabilidade socioambiental e, assim, contribuir para a vida digna das gerações presentes e futuras

<p>Redan i början av 1970-talet publicerades den första artikeln som menade att miljön skulle bli</p><p>ett ”vinnande koncept” för företag inom en snar framtid. Idag kan vi se att miljödebatten</p><p>sätter djupa spår i vårt konsumtionsmönster. När företagare väljer att inrikta sig på miljön</p><p>kliver entreprenören in i bilden och identifierar och upptäcker möjligheter på marknaden.</p><p>Fram till nyligen har forskningen inom miljöområdet bara fokuserat på hur man ska uppnå en</p><p>hållbar utveckling, och det är först på senare år som forskare har börjat utforska entreprenörer</p><p>inom området. Hittills har forskningen även fokuserat på etablerade entreprenörer och inte på</p><p>dem som befinner sig vid initieringen och utvecklandet av sitt företag, så kallade</p><p>entreprenörer i vardande. Om större fokus läggs på varför de väljer miljöinriktat företagande</p><p>kan man också försöka förstå hur man ska gå tillväga för att stimulera och uppmuntra denna</p><p>typ av företagande.</p><p>Utifrån denna bakgrund har vi utgått från följande problemformulering: ”Varför väljer</p><p>entreprenörer i vardande att inrikta sig på miljömedvetet företagande?”</p><p>Studien formades utifrån ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt med en växelverkan mellan</p><p>deduktiv och induktiv ansats. Undersökningens empiriska material bygger på sex intervjuer</p><p>med entreprenörer som är i startfasen eller utvecklingsfasen av miljöinriktade konsultföretag.</p><p>Vår förhoppning med uppsatsen är att öka förståelsen för problemet. Den teoretiska</p><p>referensramen syftar till att ge läsaren en bra grund att stå på inom entreprenörskap samt visa</p><p>olika motiv och drivkrafter för entreprenörer med miljöinriktning, så kallade ekoprenörer.</p><p>Analysen syftar till att diskutera och reflektera över den empiriska studien för att upptäcka</p><p>nya kunskaper och utveckla befintlig teori. Studien visar att respondenternas åsikter om miljö</p><p>och hållbar utveckling är en bidragande orsak till att entreprenörer i vardande väljer ett</p><p>miljömedvetet företagande. Detta avspeglar sig också i deras ekonomiska intressen som</p><p>befinner sig på den nivån att de endast vill gå runt med företaget. Respondenterna visade sig</p><p>ha varit verksamma inom en likartad verksamhet inom miljö och hållbar utveckling innan</p><p>initieringen av företaget. Detta bidrog till en hög kompetens och stort nätverk inom området</p><p>vilket bidragit till kunskap om kunder och efterfrågan. Studien observerar att regleringar,</p><p>lagar och förordningar styr verksamheten på ett indirekt sätt då deras kunder är de som måste</p><p>uppnå regleringar och policyer.</p>

Redan i början av 1970-talet publicerades den första artikeln som menade att miljön skulle bli ett ”vinnande koncept” för företag inom en snar framtid. Idag kan vi se att miljödebatten sätter djupa spår i vårt konsumtionsmönster. När företagare väljer att inrikta sig på miljön kliver entreprenören in i bilden och identifierar och upptäcker möjligheter på marknaden. Fram till nyligen har forskningen inom miljöområdet bara fokuserat på hur man ska uppnå en hållbar utveckling, och det är först på senare år som forskare har börjat utforska entreprenörer inom området. Hittills har forskningen även fokuserat på etablerade entreprenörer och inte på dem som befinner sig vid initieringen och utvecklandet av sitt företag, så kallade entreprenörer i vardande. Om större fokus läggs på varför de väljer miljöinriktat företagande kan man också försöka förstå hur man ska gå tillväga för att stimulera och uppmuntra denna typ av företagande. Utifrån denna bakgrund har vi utgått från följande problemformulering: ”Varför väljer entreprenörer i vardande att inrikta sig på miljömedvetet företagande?” Studien formades utifrån ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt med en växelverkan mellan deduktiv och induktiv ansats. Undersökningens empiriska material bygger på sex intervjuer med entreprenörer som är i startfasen eller utvecklingsfasen av miljöinriktade konsultföretag. Vår förhoppning med uppsatsen är att öka förståelsen för problemet. Den teoretiska referensramen syftar till att ge läsaren en bra grund att stå på inom entreprenörskap samt visa olika motiv och drivkrafter för entreprenörer med miljöinriktning, så kallade ekoprenörer. Analysen syftar till att diskutera och reflektera över den empiriska studien för att upptäcka nya kunskaper och utveckla befintlig teori. Studien visar att respondenternas åsikter om miljö och hållbar utveckling är en bidragande orsak till att entreprenörer i vardande väljer ett miljömedvetet företagande. Detta avspeglar sig också i deras ekonomiska intressen som befinner sig på den nivån att de endast vill gå runt med företaget. Respondenterna visade sig ha varit verksamma inom en likartad verksamhet inom miljö och hållbar utveckling innan initieringen av företaget. Detta bidrog till en hög kompetens och stort nätverk inom området vilket bidragit till kunskap om kunder och efterfrågan. Studien observerar att regleringar, lagar och förordningar styr verksamheten på ett indirekt sätt då deras kunder är de som måste uppnå regleringar och policyer.

Sustainable entrepreneurship is increasing in importance because it can lead to a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable society. Firms can solve social and environmental problems and be economically self-sustaining at the same time. Innovation is seen as key to find new solutions for environmental sustainability. Furthermore, scholars see stakeholder engagement as a new solution to create innovations for sustainability and environmental sustainability in particular. Since there have only been few empirical studies in sustainable entrepreneurship and current literature does not sufficiently answer the question how stakeholders are engaged to create innovations for environmental sustainability, we dedicated our study to answer the following research question: How are stakeholders engaged in the creation of an innovative product and/or service for environmental sustainability in sustainable entrepreneurial start-ups from the perspective of the firm? We define sustainable entrepreneurial start-ups as self-sustaining and independent companies that discover, evaluate and exploit opportunities to transition to an environmentally sustainable society. Reviewing the literature on sustainable entrepreneurship, innovation and stakeholder engagement results in a tentative model, which shows the process of stakeholder engagement in sustainable entrepreneurial start-ups. Since the field of study is relatively new, there are some question marks and themes in the model that need to be researched further. We conduct a qualitative exploratory study on German and Swedish start-ups in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency with different characteristics to research stakeholder engagement from several perspectives. The data collection technique is semi-structured interviews. We use the abductive approach and the visual mapping strategy in addition to time scales in order to develop understanding of stakeholder engagement. Based on our analysis, we revise the model and show how stakeholders are engaged in sustainable start-ups. Our findings show how different groups of stakeholder such as the team, feedback givers, financial resources givers, technology developers and promoters are engaged to develop the start-ups´ business and innovation throughout the idea- and product development and commercialization. Not only the type of innovation but more aspects such as the relationship to stakeholders and secrecy influence how stakeholders are engaged. Our study has several contributions. For instance, it contributes to stakeholder (engagement) theory and an increased awareness of sustainable entrepreneurial start-ups and their innovative solutions in society. It provides guidelines to start-ups to improve engagement with stakeholders for making their innovations more successful. We recommend further research and give examples of research questions on the topic stakeholder engagement.

This cumulative dissertation captures the sharing economy’s sustainability dynamics by applying a macro-, meso-, and micro-level analysis to investigate the actors and elements involved in constituting the field. On a macro-level, the first study examines the social, political, and economic context that shapes (non-)sustainable sharing entrepreneurs’ behavior. The second study's meso-level analysis investigates how sharing entrepreneurs affect other organizations and communities to act more sustainable. Lastly, the third study adopts a micro-level analysis that focuses on entrepreneurs’ identity formation in the contested sharing economy. Overall, this dissertation contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of sustainability in the sharing economy and the various actors and elements involved in constituting the field. Moreover, the dissertation highlights the actions and interventions necessary for the sharing economy’s sustainability path.:List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations CHAPTER 1: Background and Research Gap 1.1 Theoretical Framework 1.1.1 The Evolution of the Sharing Economy 1.1.2 Theoretical Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems 1.1.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Organizational Identity Work 1.2 Research Purpose and Scientific Contribution 1.2.1 Research Article I 1.2.2 Research Article II 1.2.3 Research Article III References CHAPTER 2: Research Article I CHAPTER 3: Research Article II 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Theoretical Background 3.2.1 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems 3.2.2 Sustainability in the Sharing Economy 3.3 Data and Method 3.3.1 Research Context 3.3.2 Sampling Logic and Data Collection 3.3.3 Data Analysis 3.4 Findings 3.4.1 Building a Supportive Environment 3.4.2 Disrupting Normative Standards 3.4.3 Reframing the Sustainability Paradigm 3.5 Discussion 3.5.1 Implications for Theory 3.5.2 Implications for Practice 3.5.3 Limitations and Future Research References CHAPTER 4: Research Article III 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Theoretical Background 4.2.1 Identity Narratives in Contested Fields 4.2.2 Label Work and Collective Identity 4.3 Methodology 4.3.1 Research Setting: The Sharing Economy as a Contested Field 4.3.2 Data Sources and Collection 4.3.3 Data Analysis 4.4 Findings 4.4.1 Embracing the Label for Configuring Local Identity and Field Aspirations 4.4.2 Fixing the Label to Signal Distinctiveness 4.4.3 Unfixing the Label to Embrace Tensions and Ambiguities 4.4.4 Re-Fixing the Label to Consolidate a Collective Identity 4.5 Discussion 4.6 Conclusion References