Exploring Competitive Advantage in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Approaches in early stages out of the Founders Perspective

Abstract

In this study, it was shown that the discipline of the sustainable entrepreneur has its own needs in the early stages of business creation. The aim of the study was to show which problems sustainable entrepreneurs face in their early start-up phase and how their strategic orientation is formulated in order to ensure their ventures' survival. Four companies were analysed in within a case study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the founders of the companies. It could be determined that in the early stages of the venture distinctive problems in value creation and communication occur. Also, the influence of legal and structural barriers in the founding process resemble a crucial problem to the sustainable entrepreneurs. Those findings relate to the unique field of tension between profit and sustainability that shapes the nature of the sustainable entrepreneur. Further a predominant approach to competitive strategy formulation of the founders materialized. Through the changing environment the founders operate in, the role of dynamic capabilities, enabling the adaptability to changes becomes a significant contributor to the firm’s survival and an essential part in the path of organizational development the founders pursue. Out of these themes, a model describing the tension field of the sustainable entrepreneurship was generated. The results contribute to the intended purpose of the study, to enable a better understanding of the sustainable entrepreneurs need and to offer potential for more intense research in the field.