Focusing on the two ‘ecos’in ecopreneurship : how ecopreneurial hybrid firms implement ecological and economic logics to solve environmental challenges

Abstract

The pressure that humanity is putting on the natural environment is causing serious challenges, such as overuse of natural resources and climate change. There is a growing recognition that businesses have to be more responsible, however this often stops at insufficient win-win actions. More focus on solution-oriented business practices is needed for continued economic development without putting our planet at risk. The object of this paper is to outline how ecological and economic logics can exist within the same firms and by that create a better understanding of how truly sustainable businesses function. To meet the objective, need the ecopreneurial firm is studied, which has as a mission to both solve an environmental problem and be a financially viable business. I conduct an exploratory multiple case-study, which gives an in-depth understanding of how the two traditionally conflicting institutional logics can exist within the same business. The findings show that the commitment to institutional pluralism is in some respects generative and in others the commitment creates complexity, which is mainly created by the field. The findings identify a set of strategic actions taken within the business and suggest three kinds of business model solutions; process, purpose and product solver. The study also highlights that the ecopreneurs actively work to affect their field by increasing institutional complexity within the field by making ecological logics more salient and by being the solution to the complexity. The research contributes to two streams of literature. It contributes to ecopreneurial literature through the inclusion of institutional theory, resulting in a broader understanding of the ecopreneurial business and its interaction with the surroundings. Within the institutional literature the study of hybridity gives a more diverse understanding of institutional pluralism and complexity and the implementation of dual logics. The intention is to put current and future ecopreneurs, decision makers and academia in a better position for creating a sustainable future.