IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v8y2016i1p81-d62296.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Influencing the Identification of Sustainable Opportunities by SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Zambia

Author

Listed:
  • Progress Choongo

    (Department of Management and Organization, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands)

  • Elco Van Burg

    (Department of Management and Organization, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands)

  • Leo J. Paas

    (School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing, College of Business, Massey University, Private Bag 102904, North Shore, Auckland 0745, New Zealand)

  • Enno Masurel

    (Department of Management and Organization, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands)

Abstract

This study uses the model of Patzelt and Shepherd (2011) to examine the factors influencing the identification of sustainable opportunities among SMEs in a developing country, Zambia. The factors under investigation include knowledge of the natural/social environment, perception of threats to the natural/social environment, altruism towards others and entrepreneurial knowledge. We interviewed 220 owner-managers in the trading and service sector who supply goods and services to the mining industry in Zambia. We found that altruism towards others was partially supported by our empirical results while the positive effects of knowledge of the natural/social environment and perception of threats to the natural/social environment on the identification of sustainable opportunities were not supported. Contrary to our expectations, entrepreneurial knowledge does not positively moderate the relationship between explanatory variables and the identification of sustainable opportunities. In sum, we found only limited empirical support for the model of Patzelt and Shepherd (2011) concerning the identification of sustainable opportunities. Our findings contribute to literature on entrepreneurship and sustainable opportunity identification by showing what factors influence the identification of sustainable opportunities. This can help us to create awareness among entrepreneurs regarding the effects of entrepreneurial activities on the environment and society; consequently, stimulating entrepreneurs to identify sustainable opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Progress Choongo & Elco Van Burg & Leo J. Paas & Enno Masurel, 2016. "Factors Influencing the Identification of Sustainable Opportunities by SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-24, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:81-:d:62296
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/1/81/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/1/81/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hockerts, Kai & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2010. "Greening Goliaths versus emerging Davids -- Theorizing about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 481-492, September.
    2. Francesca Borga & Annalisa Citterio & Giuliano Noci & Emanuele Pizzurno, 2009. "Sustainability report in small enterprises: case studies in Italian furniture companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 162-176, March.
    3. Cheryl Rodgers, 2010. "Sustainable entrepreneurship in SMEs: a case study analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 125-132, May.
    4. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    5. De Gobbi, Maria Sabrina., 2011. "Mainstreaming environmental issues in sustainable enterprises : an exploration of issues, experiences and options," ILO Working Papers 994620973402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Meek, William R. & Pacheco, Desirée F. & York, Jeffrey G., 2010. "The impact of social norms on entrepreneurial action: Evidence from the environmental entrepreneurship context," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 493-509, September.
    7. De Gobbi, Maria Sabrina., 2011. "Mainstreaming environmental issues in sustainable enterprises an exploration of issues, experiences and options," ILO Working Papers 995228990002676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Cohen, Boyd & Winn, Monika I., 2007. "Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 29-49, January.
    9. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike, 2009. "The extent and nature of opportunity identification by experienced entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 99-115, March.
    10. Hall, Jeremy K. & Daneke, Gregory A. & Lenox, Michael J., 2010. "Sustainable development and entrepreneurship: Past contributions and future directions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 439-448, September.
    11. Heledd Jenkins, 2006. "Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 241-256, September.
    12. Enno Masurel, 2007. "Why SMEs invest in environmental measures: sustainability evidence from small and medium‐sized printing firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 190-201, March.
    13. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2011. "Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 222-237, May.
    14. repec:ilo:ilowps:462097 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Scott Shane, 2000. "Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 448-469, August.
    16. Brendan James Gray & Suzanne Duncan & Jodyanne Kirkwood & Sara Walton, 2014. "Encouraging sustainable entrepreneurship in climate-threatened communities: a Samoan case study," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(5-6), pages 401-430, August.
    17. Joyce Koe Hwee Nga & Gomathi Shamuganathan, 2010. "The Influence of Personality Traits and Demographic Factors on Social Entrepreneurship Start Up Intentions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 259-282, August.
    18. Martine Spence & Jouhaina Ben Boubaker Gherib & Viviane Ondoua Biwolé, 2011. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Is Entrepreneurial will Enough? A North–South Comparison," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(3), pages 335-367, March.
    19. Peter Dobers & Minna Halme, 2009. "Corporate social responsibility and developing countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(5), pages 237-249, September.
    20. Otto, Philipp E. & Bolle, Friedel, 2011. "Multiple facets of altruism and their influence on blood donation," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 558-563.
    21. Garry D. Bruton & David Ahlstrom & Krzysztof Obloj, 2008. "Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies: Where Are We Today and Where Should the Research Go in the Future," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(1), pages 1-14, January.
    22. York, Jeffrey G. & Venkataraman, S., 2010. "The entrepreneur-environment nexus: Uncertainty, innovation, and allocation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 449-463, September.
    23. Aldas Kriauciunas & Anne Parmigiani & Miguel Rivera-Santos, 2011. "Leaving our comfort zone : Integrating established practices with unique adaptations to conduct survey-based strategy research in nontraditional contexts," Post-Print hal-02313127, HAL.
    24. Kolk, Ans & van Tulder, Rob, 2010. "International business, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 119-125, April.
    25. Christian Keen & Yuanyuan Wu, 2011. "An ambidextrous learning model for the internationalization of firms from emerging economies," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 316-339, December.
    26. Kuckertz, Andreas & Wagner, Marcus, 2010. "The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions -- Investigating the role of business experience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 524-539, September.
    27. Pacheco, Desirée F. & Dean, Thomas J. & Payne, David S., 2010. "Escaping the green prison: Entrepreneurship and the creation of opportunities for sustainable development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 464-480, September.
    28. Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati, 2009. "Formal vs. Informal CSR Strategies: Evidence from Italian Micro, Small, Medium-sized, and Large Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 339-353, April.
    29. Heather E. Thompson & Lea Berrang-Ford & James D. Ford, 2010. "Climate Change and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(8), pages 1-15, August.
    30. Dean A. Shepherd & Dawn R. DeTienne, 2005. "Prior Knowledge, Potential Financial Reward, and Opportunity Identification," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(1), pages 91-112, January.
    31. Shannon H. Rogers & Kevin H. Gardner & Cynthia H. Carlson, 2013. "Social Capital and Walkability as Social Aspects of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-11, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu & Patrizia Gazzola & Violeta Mihaela Dincă & Roberta Pezzetti, 2017. "Mapping Entrepreneurs’ Orientation towards Sustainability in Interaction versus Network Marketing Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Eduard-Gabriel Ceptureanu & Sebastian-Ion Ceptureanu & Mihai Cristian Orzan & Ovidiu Niculae Bordean & Violeta Radulescu, 2017. "Empirical Study on Sustainable Opportunities Recognition. A Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Joinery Industry Analysis Using Augmented Sustainable Development Process Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-36, September.
    3. Agnieszka Konys, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Entrepreneurship Holistic Construct," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-33, November.
    4. Shengli Dai & Hongyan Xue & Yuan Jiang & Wei Zhang & Xin Zhang, 2018. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Team Scale Development: A Complex Systems Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Bing Liu & Hui Jiang, 2019. "Are Distances Barriers to Sustainability for Venture Capital Syndication?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-18, July.
    6. Nadia A. Abdelmegeed Abdelwahed & Bahadur Ali Soomro & Naimatullah Shah, 2022. "The Role of Environment, Business and Human Behavior towards Entrepreneurial Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, February.
    7. Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi & Alexander Brem & Mohammad Shahabinezhad, 2018. "Does Thinking Style Make a Difference in Environmental Perception and Orientation? Evidence from Entrepreneurs in Post-Sanction Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, May.
    8. Padmaja Argade & Fanny Salignac & Ralf Barkemeyer, 2021. "Opportunity identification for sustainable entrepreneurship: Exploring the interplay of individual and context level factors in India," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3528-3551, December.
    9. Chang Soo Sung & Joo Y. Park, 2018. "Sustainability Orientation and Entrepreneurship Orientation: Is There a Tradeoff Relationship between Them?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Neil Aaron Thompson & Roosje Eijkemans, 2018. "Why Do Sustainable Ventures Fail to Attract Management Talent?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-14, November.
    11. Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi & Alexander Brem & Amitab Bhattacharjee, 2017. "Who Takes More Sustainability-Oriented Entrepreneurial Actions? The Role of Entrepreneurs’ Values, Beliefs and Orientations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-19, September.
    12. Hui Jiang & Suli Wang & Lu Wang & Gang Li, 2020. "Golden Apples or Green Apples? The Effect of Entrepreneurial Creativity on Green Entrepreneurship: A Dual Pathway Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Progress Choongo, 2017. "A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Performance in SMEs in Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, July.
    14. Khanyisa Mabasa & Opeoluwa Akinradewo & Clinton Aigbavboa & Olusegun Oguntona, 2023. "Contributions of Construction Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises towards the Sustainable Growth of Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Ana-Maria Zamfir & Cristina Mocanu & Adriana Grigorescu, 2017. "Circular Economy and Decision Models among European SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-15, August.
    16. Mª Del Mar Ramos-González & Mercedes Rubio-Andrés & Miguel Ángel Sastre-Castillo, 2017. "Building Corporate Reputation through Sustainable Entrepreneurship: The Mediating Effect of Ethical Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-19, September.
    17. Ana Tur-Porcar & Norat Roig-Tierno & Anna Llorca Mestre, 2018. "Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship and Business Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-12, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eduard-Gabriel Ceptureanu & Sebastian-Ion Ceptureanu & Mihai Cristian Orzan & Ovidiu Niculae Bordean & Violeta Radulescu, 2017. "Empirical Study on Sustainable Opportunities Recognition. A Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Joinery Industry Analysis Using Augmented Sustainable Development Process Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-36, September.
    2. Ana Criado-Gomis & Amparo Cervera-Taulet & Maria-Angeles Iniesta-Bonillo, 2017. "Sustainable Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Business Strategic Approach for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Pablo Muñoz & Boyd Cohen, 2018. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research: Taking Stock and looking ahead," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 300-322, March.
    4. Muñoz, Pablo & Dimov, Dimo, 2015. "The call of the whole in understanding the development of sustainable ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 632-654.
    5. Matthew P. Johnson & Stefan Schaltegger, 2020. "Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Review and Multilevel Causal Mechanism Framework," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(6), pages 1141-1173, November.
    6. Diego Matricano, 2017. "The influence of sustainable entrepreneurship culture on start-up expectations: A comparative analysis," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 71-89.
    7. Heshmati, Almas, 2015. "A Review of the Circular Economy and its Implementation," IZA Discussion Papers 9611, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Shengli Dai & Hongyan Xue & Yuan Jiang & Wei Zhang & Xin Zhang, 2018. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Team Scale Development: A Complex Systems Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    9. DiVito, Lori & Bohnsack, René, 2017. "Entrepreneurial orientation and its effect on sustainability decision tradeoffs: The case of sustainable fashion firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 569-587.
    10. Linda Westman & Christopher Luederitz & Aravind Kundurpi & Alexander Julian Mercado & Sarah Lynn Burch, 2023. "Market transformations as collaborative change: Institutional co‐evolution through small business entrepreneurship," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 936-957, February.
    11. Francoise Contreras & Utz Dornberger, 2022. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship as a Field of Knowledge: Analyzing the Global South," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, December.
    12. Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Peter Zwan & Roy Thurik, 2019. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship: The Role of Perceived Barriers and Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 1133-1154, July.
    13. Trin Thananusak, 2019. "Science Mapping of the Knowledge Base on Sustainable Entrepreneurship, 1996–2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-20, June.
    14. Aikaterini Argyrou & Nicolas Chevrollier & Andre Nijhof, 2023. "The versatile role of sustainable market entrepreneurs in market transformation: An intervention framework for institutional change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 259-273, January.
    15. Denise Fischer & Malte Brettel & René Mauer, 2020. "The Three Dimensions of Sustainability: A Delicate Balancing Act for Entrepreneurs Made More Complex by Stakeholder Expectations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 87-106, April.
    16. Brunella Arru, 2020. "An integrative model for understanding the sustainable entrepreneurs’ behavioural intentions: an empirical study of the Italian context," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3519-3576, April.
    17. Matthias Filser & Sascha Kraus & Norat Roig-Tierno & Norbert Kailer & Ulrike Fischer, 2019. "Entrepreneurship as Catalyst for Sustainable Development: Opening the Black Box," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-18, August.
    18. Sascha Kraus & Janina Burtscher & Christine Vallaster & Martin Angerer, 2018. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Orientation: A Reflection on Status-Quo Research on Factors Facilitating Responsible Managerial Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    19. David Hirschfeld & Marcus Wagner, 2022. "The Interplay of Attitudes, Norms and Control in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: An Experimental Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-22, July.
    20. Progress Choongo, 2017. "A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Performance in SMEs in Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:81-:d:62296. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.