Innovation & Strategy Tracks > Track 19: Responsible Entrepreneurship

Track Chairs:

• Dr. Dina Barbian, Director, eco2050 Institute for Sustainability, Nuremberg, Germany
• Prof. Miguel Pérez Valls, Ph.D, Department of Business Organization, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Almería, Spain

Responsible Management means enhancing the contribution to society whilst minimizing the negative impacts on people and the environment (European Commission, 2003). This is done in the interaction both with internal and external stakeholders, by treating customers as well as competitors honestly, caring about the health and well-being of employees and customers, while preserving natural ecosystems and socializing in local communities (ibid.). There exists a significant correlation between personal motives and ethics, which are internally formed, and responsible behavior in new/small businesses. This is particularly evident in cases where the modus operandi is shaped by the leadership of a few individuals, namely entrepreneurs or owner-managers (Fuller & Tian, 2006).

In this sense, responsible entrepreneurs, when creating their business, should pursue progressive business practices not only with the aim of generating economic value and financial profit, but also to benefit societies and the environment by tackling social and ecological issues (Tiba et al., 2019:266). As such, responsible entrepreneurship may be defined as the voluntary, discretionary commitment of companies/entrepreneurs that wisely deploy sustainable innovation to achieve “multilevel value-creation goals” (Xie & Wu, 2021:804). Integrating economic, social and environmental concerns fosters various trade-offs both within and outside companies, from the improvement of competitiveness and creation of jobs, to the enhancement of human and social rights, to the optimization of resource use. A responsible entrepreneurship can also be a key factor to foster the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Sustainable entrepreneurship, green entrepreneurship, environmental entrepreneurship, eco-preneurship, and social entrepreneurship
• Monitoring, evaluation, and assessment of responsible performances/practices
• Responsible marketing/product placement
• Sustainable management
• Sustainable energy supply and use
• Efficient resource management and waste management
• Public Value/ Benefits for the common good 
• Convergence of business and social causes
• Importance and consequences of responsible entrepreneurship for the future

References

European Commission, 2003. Responsible entrepreneurship: A collection of good practice cases among small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe. European Commission. Accessed May 2023:http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/csr/index.htm

Fuller, T., Tian, Y. 2006. Social and Symbolic Capital and Responsible Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Investigation of SME Narratives. Journal of Business Ethics 67, 287–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9185-3

Tiba, S., J. van Rijnsoever, F. & P. Hekkert, M. 2019. Firms with benefits: A systematic review of responsible entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility literature. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 26:265-284. Accessed May 2023:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/csr.1682

Xie, X. & Wu, Y. April 2021. Doing Well and Doing Good: How Responsible Entrepreneurship Shapes Female Entrepreneurial Success. Journal of Business Ethics 178:803-828. Accessed May 2023: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04799-z