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Cultural Antecedents of Green Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: An Institutional Approach

Author

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  • Wafa Alwakid

    (Department of Business, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici B Campus UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193 Barcelona, Spain
    Department of Business Administration, Jouf University, Al Jouf 75471, Saudi Arabia)

  • Sebastian Aparicio

    (Durham University Business School, Durham University, Mill Hill Lane, Durham DH1 3LB, UK
    Fundación ECSIM, Medellin, Colombia)

  • David Urbano

    (Department of Business and Centre for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Research (CREIS), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici B Campus UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

Recent decades have brought cultural changes toward the increase of environmentally-friendly initiatives such as green entrepreneurship. Some countries are failing to develop environmental initiatives, whereas others are transitioning and advancing toward this new trend. In particular, Saudi Arabia has initiated efforts toward becoming an ecologically-friendly society. Motivated by this, we explore whether cultural characteristics are associated with green entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Institutional economics is adopted to frame our hypotheses and analysis. The hypothesized relationships were empirically tested in a sample of 84 observations from 21 cities during the period 2015–2018. Data were collected from reports by the Saudi General Authority and analyzed through regression models. The main results show that cultural characteristics, such as environmental actions, environmental consciousness, and temporal orientation, increase the level of green entrepreneurial activity across cities in Saudi Arabia. The findings of this study contribute to existing knowledge on green entrepreneurship, as well as to the discussion of implications for policy and practice related to environmentally-friendly productive activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Wafa Alwakid & Sebastian Aparicio & David Urbano, 2020. "Cultural Antecedents of Green Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: An Institutional Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3673-:d:353220
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    5. Anas A. Makki & Hisham Alidrisi & Asif Iqbal & Basil O. Al-Sasi, 2020. "Barriers to Green Entrepreneurship: An ISM-Based Investigation," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Wafa Alwakid & Sebastian Aparicio & David Urbano, 2021. "The Influence of Green Entrepreneurship on Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabia: The Role of Formal Institutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-23, May.
    7. Gabriela Alina Anghel & Mihai Alin Anghel, 2022. "Green Entrepreneurship among Students—Social and Behavioral Motivation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-19, July.
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