Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore the relationship between an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainable development. Entrepreneurship, as the driving force behind economic development and transformation (Auerswald, 2012; Baumol, 2002; Gries & Naude´, 2010), has a crucial role to play in shaping the nature of this development. Research on EO has a long pedigree whereby it has frequently been explored from the view of its impact on business performance (Lumpkin & Dess, 1996; McGee & Peterson, 2019; Rauch, Wiklund, Lumpkin, & Frese, 2009; J. Wiklund, 1999; Johan Wiklund & Shepherd, 2005). However, the focus on firms aside, the concept can and has been more widely used to apply to individuals, different organisational types, e.g., higher education institutions, and with a focus on sustainability (Nikolaos Apostolopoulos, Moon, & Walmsley, 2019).

We are interested in both conceptual and empirical work that can further our understanding of the nature and characteristics of entrepreneurial orientation, extending its implications into the sustainability domain. We think valuable contributions could be made also in relation to promoting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Topics that could be explored are as follows:

• Developing an entrepreneurial orientation for sustainable development in higher education (e.g., N. Apostolopoulos, Al-Dajani, Holt, Jones, & Newberry, 2018; Moon, Walmsley, & Apostolopoulos, 2018).
• The relationship between EO at the level of the individual, the organisation, and how these align for sustainable development.
• The relationship between an entrepreneurial orientation and a sustainability orientation in business.
• The role of entrepreneurial ecosystems in supporting or inhibiting the development of an entrepreneurial orientation for sustainable development.
• The ‘dark side’ of entrepreneurship (Talmage & Gassert, 2020) and how this could relate to an EO.
• The application of an EO outside the economic sphere.
• Distinguishing EO from other entrepreneurial attributes, e.g., entrepreneurial mindset or entrepreneurial capability, and implications for sustainable development.
• Barriers to the development of an EO in firms with implications for sustainable development.
• EO and a focus on specific UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• EO and responding to environmental change.
• The relationship between EO and a firm’s sustainability/environmental strategy.

References:

Apostolopoulos, N., Al-Dajani, H., Holt, D., Jones, P., & Newberry, R. (2018). Entrepreneurship and The Sustainable Development Goals, Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research (Vol. 8): Emerald Publishing.

Apostolopoulos, N., Moon, C., & Walmsley, A. (2019). The Entrepreneurial University and the UN Higher Education Sustainability Initiative. International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development, 8(4), 358-372. doi:10.1504/IJIRD.2018.10018586

Auerswald, P. (2012). The coming prosperity. How entrepreneurs are transforming the global economy. . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Baumol, W. (2002). The Free-Market Innovation Machine: Analyzing the Growth Miracle of Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Gries, T., & Naude´, T. (2010). Entrepreneurship and structural economic transformation. Small Business Economics, 34, 13-29.

Lumpkin, G., & Dess, G. (1996). Clarifying the Entrepreneurial Orientation to construct and Linking it to Performance. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 135-172.

McGee, J., & Peterson, M. (2019). The Long‐Term Impact of Entrepreneurial Self‐Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Orientation on Venture Performance. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(3), 720-737.

Moon, C., Walmsley, A., & Apostolopoulos, N. (2018). Governance Implications of The UN Higher Education Sustainability Initiative. Corporate Governance. The international journal of business in society., 18(4), 624-634. doi:https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1108/CG-01-2018-0020

Rauch, A., Wiklund, J., Lumpkin, G. T., & Frese, M. (2009). Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance: An Assessment of past Research and Suggestions for the Future Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(3), 761-787.

Talmage, C., & Gassert, T. A. (2020). Unsettling Entrepreneurship by Teaching Dark Side Theories. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 3(3), 316-345.

Wiklund, J. (1999). The sustainability of the entrepreneurial orientation–performance relationship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 24(1), 37-48.

Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach. Journal of Business Venturing, 20(1), 71-91.

Dr. Andreas Walmsley
Dr. Christopher Moon
Dr. Nikolaos Apostolopoulos
Guest Editors

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• entrepreneurial orientation
• sustainability
• sustainable development
• responsible entrepreneurship
• UN sustainable development goals
• sustainability entrepreneurship