University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Activists or Opportunists? How environmental entrepreneurs differ from conventional ones

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Abstract

Despite being a potential solution for some of the world’s most pressing issues, environmental entrepreneurship remains fairly unexplored, with no clear agreement on its definition and open questions on whether environmental entrepreneurs differ from conventional ones. Based upon the results of our exploratory multi-case study, we find that while all entrepreneurs can be positioned on a continuum between activist and opportunist, conventional entrepreneurs are prone to be inherently opportunistic, whereas environmental entrepreneurs vary between being opportunistic and embodying a more activist approach. A key difference between activist and opportunist entrepreneurs is that opportunist entrepreneurs serve existing market needs, while activist entrepreneurs aim at educating their customers, or even society. These findings contribute to the delineation of the concept of environmental entrepreneurship, especially regarding what sets it apart from conventional entrepreneurship. Our findings thus enable a more fruitful research dialogue about environmental entrepreneurship and suggest several avenues for further research. 

Biography

Yasmin Schwegler is a doctoral student in Management and a research assistant of Prof. Jeffrey Petty at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Her research topic is Environmental Entrepreneurship, which she investigates from different angles throughout her dissertation. Her first study differentiates environmental entrepreneurs from conventional ones, while her further studies analyze how a multitude of factors enable and constrain environmental entrepreneurship in general and environmental entrepreneurial intent in particular. 

Prior to her PhD studies, she obtained her master’s degree in Business Administration from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, and gained practical experience in the field of sustainability while working as a coordinator for sustainability in the supply chain at a multinational company for three years.