The nexux of entrepreneurial and environmental motivation in pursuing an environmental startup in the high-tech industry

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is considered a solution to innovation and sustainability challenges that cannot be solved in incumbent corporate and institutional settings. This study explores what role entrepreneurial motivations and environmental motivations play in starting an environmental startup, and how they interact. Entrepreneurial motivations known for this specific entrepreneurial context are ‘creative destruction’, ‘taking risks’ and ‘startup life’. Environmental motivations known for this context are ‘ethical concern’, ‘ecological concern’ and ‘stakeholder action’. The research question is answered through a qualitative research design: a multiple instrumental case study based on interviews representing different perspectives and presented in individual written portraits. The case studies represent the context of an environmental startup in the high-tech sector in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The case studies revealed that creative destruction, startup life, ethical and ecological concern particularly play a large role in the motivations, and are closely interacting on different levels. Future research is needed to understand better how implicit motivations for environmental entrepreneurship play a role.