Disrupting structural constraints. The influence of sustainable entrepreneurship on the transition towards a more sustainable economy

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Business economics - Business Ethics, Corporate Ethics, grade: 8,0, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (Nijmegen School of Management), course: International Management, language: English, abstract: For the last five decades, one important goal has driven the world economy: The pursuit of growth. As the economy expands, the resource implications associated with it cannot be ignored any longer. In less than a decade, we may face significant scarcity in key resources, such as oil. Out of scholarly discussion it emerged that a transition towards a new form of capitalist development is needed, a transition towards an economy which is in line with the objectives of a sustainable society. Sustainable entrepreneurship, a form of entrepreneurship that combines ecologic, social and economic sustainability, has been generally declared as suited to advance this so-called 'sustainability transition'. However, scholars have neglected to investigate the 'how' and 'why' of such an assumption. This Master Thesis aims at filling this research gap by answering the following research question: In what way can sustainable entrepreneurship influence a transition towards a more sustainable economy? In doing so, the thesis is structured into three different research papers, each using a different research method to reach the following goals: 1. Providing a concise definition of the term 'sustainable entrepreneurship' and analysis of important key concepts 2. Developing a framework for the analysis of a bottom-up sector transition led by sustainable entrepreneurs using an institutional theory perspective 3. Applying the framework to the revealing case of the Fairtrade Movement to analyse a sector transition led by sustainable entrepreneurs This research was performed not only to gain an in-depth understanding of the process of economical transitions but also to define methods that can by used by actual entrepreneurs in real life. It's goal is to not only to close a current research gap but to serve as a practical guide for changemakers of all kinds. The research findings have therefore been used to to define five key insights that should be taken into account in order to influence economies towards more sustainability. The section 'insights for entrepreneurs and decision makers' at the end of this thesis gives practical cues based on examples from the Fairtrade Movement but also a warning to time their actions wisely - because at a certain stage each transition gains a momentum which is very hard to influence by any of the actors involved.