Insider perspectives on growth: Implications for a nondichotomous understanding of ‘sustainable’ and conventional entrepreneurship

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to offer an alternative to a priori theorising in research on firm‐level growth and environmental sustainability. We outline an approach that combines John Shotter's phenomenology with post‐hoc application of the Bourdieusian concepts of habitus, practices and social capital. This is illustrated empirically through a study conducted with a small group of Finnish entrepreneurs, which examines their lived experience of growth alongside its practical application in their ventures. The entrepreneurs' responses reveal holistic perspectives on growth that extend beyond the economic to incorporate personal commitments to norms of collectivity and well‐being for themselves and others. The paper offers an exploratory but empirically grounded approach, arguing that a combination of insiders' perspectives and attention to the social embedding of economic activity challenge the dichotomous distinctions between sustainable and conventional entrepreneurship and reveal a degree of commonality that would not be evident via conventional categorisations on the basis of features such as business model type.

Pursuing sustainability advantage: The dynamic capabilities of born sustainable firms

“…Their success cannot meaningfully be measured by comparing them with rivals or according to their profitability. Whilst BSF remain rare and innovative, their performance needs to be considered primarily in terms of their founding vision and goals, rather than some external benchmark, in line with Klapper et al (2021). Superior performance is not a function of profit or performance relative to competitors in their markets, but a function of delivering the green/ social impact central to their purpose.…”

“…Our claims are based on a methodology that has given voice to practitioners, which has been absent for too long in the debate on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial outcomes along all three dimensions of sustainability (Klapper, 2021). In addition, the rich analysis of the outcomes pursued by the BSF cases helps overcome the overly simplified dichotomization between conventional and sustainable entrepreneurship and their respective outcomes (Dyllick & Hockerts, 2002; Klapper et al, 2021).…”

The growth paradox, sustainable development, and business strategy

“…Socio‐cultural perspectives (Types 3 and 4) see firm‐level growth as intimately connected with growing the human dimension of the organization. These types of growth strategies are what Klapper et al (2020) refer to as “collective growth”—“an embeddedness in a collective habitus … a form of wellbeing for [entrepreneurs], their families and the surrounding collectivity” (Klapper et al, 2020, p. 11). Type 3 socio‐cultural growth strategies are incremental and internal in that they focus on creating opportunities for the key internal stakeholders of the business.…”

Grand challenges and entrepreneurship: Emerging issues, research streams, and theoretical landscape

“…This idea is implicitly but powerfully implied by the 3BL approach (Muñoz & Cohen, 2018), which instills a firm-centric view based on rent-seeking and/or legitimacy-seeking as key driving forces (de Clercq & Voronov, 2011). Conversely, according to the critics, a sort of Copernican revolution is needed to understand the role of entrepreneurship (Klapper et al, 2021;Markman et al, 2016). In Copernicus's scientific revolution, the Sun replaces the Earth as the celestial body around which the other celestial bodies revolve; similarly, entrepreneurship should become a central regenerative force that does not limit itself to becoming less unsustainable, but strives to develop new opportunities to make the social-ecological system resilient and thriving (Schaefer et al, 2015).…”