In recent years there has been an increased focus on preservation of our environment and natural resources. As a result, in a notably natural resource consuming world, sustainable development has evolved in societies for the conservation of the environment. Even though the term sustainability has become more frequently discussed, the subject remains complex. The aim of the study is to explore how high-profile business incubators in Sweden and the startups they support relate to sustainability, and to understand the conditions for pushing more progressive sustainability agendas, in a country that boasts about its sustainability ambitions. Fourteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were held with both incubator business developers, startup founders, an expert within the innovation system and a professional investor. This qualitative study analyses different perceptions regarding sustainability and the incubators and startups role within the innovation system in a country that boasts about its sustainability ambitions. The results indicate that there is a demand for stricter institutional pressures, with increased support for entrepreneurs. It also turns out that incubators have room for improvement when it comes to motivational inspiration and behavioural changes for their tenants. However, they show to be receptive and attentive towards a systematic approach in order to enhance sustainability work. It is also shown that entrepreneurs', compared to the incubators, appears to have taken a greater distance from understanding the sustainability topic. As many as 56 percent of the entrepreneurs claimed that a forced method could be beneficial but might require more time than it is worth. The remaining 44 percent saw it as purely advantageous. Future studies are encouraged to conduct an investigation including a greater number of participants as an attempt to generalise these findings, and also try to identify if gender has a significant role regarding the matter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-446068 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Alderhell, William, Hamad, Gulnaz |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Industriell teknik, Uppsala universitet, Industriell teknik, Uppsala University |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | SAMINT-MILI ; 21012 |
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