The Influence of Green Entrepreneurship on Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabia: The Role of Formal Institutions

Abstract

This study explores the influence of green entrepreneurial activity on sustainable development, using institutional economics as a theoretical framework. Also, the role of entrepreneurship policy is analysed in the context of Saudi Arabia. Using information from the General Authority for Statistics from 13 Saudi Arabian cities, the main findings show that green entrepreneurship positively contributes to the economic, social, and environmental components of sustainable development during the period 2012–2017. These results demonstrate a measurable indication of sustainable development outcomes, whereby Saudi Arabian institutions align entrepreneurial activities with a positive triple bottom line effect. Accordingly, these findings contribute new evidence to justify government commitment to supporting green entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia and encourage future domestic policies.

Does Entrepreneur Moral Reflectiveness Matter? Pursing Low-Carbon Emission Behavior among SMEs through the Relationship between Environmental Factors, Entrepreneur Personal Concept, and Outcome Expectations

“…The researchers selected the variables based on the research of [15,21]. Green production self-efficacy (GPS) was measured with 5 items, and the variables were selected [61,62]. The researchers utilized items such as "Everyone thinks I am a visionary who seeks out new green knowledge for my company regarding green production behavior."…”

Interplay among institutional actors for sustainable economic development—Role of green policies, ecoprenuership, and green technological innovation

“…For example, to control and monitor diffuse emissions, technological innovation in tracing and tracking materials is used (Söderholm, 2020). Ecopreneurs treat "innovation in general" and "green innovation" as the same because they consider firms' carbon footprints in almost every operation (Alwakid et al, 2021). In addition to sustainable business models, ecopreneurs adopt green innovations commercially as well.…”

“…The inception of sustainability is grounded in the notion of the triple bottom line with social, environmental, and economic dimensions. The social aspect of sustainability includes health and safety, equality, and social concerns; the ecological view covers resource conservation, green product development, clean energy, and carbon emission labeling, and the economic dimension includes the development of green businesses to pursue sustained growth (Costanza et al, 2016;Alwakid et al, 2021). As mentioned by Ahmar et al (2022), it is the need of the hour to shift from conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels to renewable energy technologies (solar system plants) to ensure a clean and low carbon environment along with economic development (Ali et al, 2021).…”

“…To attain sustainable economic development, the state should support green entrepreneurship through providing incentives and subsidies to socially conscious businesses and by developing policies related to green investment programs, low carbon developmental policies, pollution prevention strategies, no coal policy, etc. (Aparicio et al, 2016;Alwakid et al, 2021). Concerning the institutional theory, the strong support of governmental institutions and well-built green policies advances green entrepreneurship and sustainable technological innovation that could positively affect the triple bottom line framework of sustainability (Ács et al, 2014).…”

A Methodological Framework to Predict Future Market Needs for Sustainable Skills Management Using AI and Big Data Technologies

“…One of the goals of the Vision 2030 programme is to enhance educational sustainability by developing a comprehensive framework for high-quality research, flexible learning, and identification of viable routes for young Saudi professionals [1,2]. As well as their innovation and research potential, Saudi institutions' development of students' skills and capacities [3] has improved dramatically [4], suggesting a shift to digital transformation and sustainable innovation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Another shift observed in Saudi institutions has been the high-quality work published through stronger collaboration with the international and regional scientific community [5,6].…”