Opportunity-Specific Entrepreneurial Intentions in Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The thesis focuses on opportunity-specific entrepreneurial intentions in sustainable entrepreneurship using a multiple-method approach. Due to recent developments towards sustainable development and sustainability in entrepreneurship, purpose-driven forms of entrepreneurship have emerged. As a result, attention has been paid to the drivers of entrepreneurial intentions in the context of sustainable entrepreneurship. This research aims to integrate the individual-opportunity nexus into entrepreneurial intention research by proposing a model for opportunity-specific entrepreneurial intention formation. Hence, the objective of the thesis is to examine opportunity-specific attitudes and entrepreneurial intentions in the context of sustainable entrepreneurship.

Through a multiple-methods approach, the findings of the thesis show young adults are more inclined to sustainable entrepreneurship than older adults because they tend to value sustainable value creation over economic value creation. Furthermore, young adults perceive entrepreneurial opportunities through four distinct combinations of opportunityspecific attitudes towards sustainable or economic value creation. Second, opportunityspecific entrepreneurial intentions in sustainable entrepreneurship are driven by perceived entrepreneurial desirability and attitude towards sustainability. The drivers of opportunity-specific attitudes and general attitudes towards entrepreneurship are, to some degree, contradictory in sustainable entrepreneurship. Lastly, the results show four distinct change combinations of opportunity-specific attitudes that are associated with a high level of new venture idea completeness, hence, providing evidence of the connection between perceptions of entrepreneurial opportunities and entrepreneurial intentions.

The results contribute to the entrepreneurial intention literature by proposing a model for opportunity-specific entrepreneurial intentions, which includes both motivation and entrepreneurial opportunities. In addition, the thesis extends the entrepreneurial opportunity literature by proposing a novel typology for entrepreneurial opportunity templates, which takes into account sustainable value creation. Moreover, the results provide evidence related to change in entrepreneurial opportunity templates and hence provide new insights about change in knowledge structures. The thesis contributes to sustainable entrepreneurship by providing evidence about entrepreneurial intention formation in this context. The thesis results also have implications for entrepreneurship policies regarding how to enhance entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurship education through education design.