IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v122y2021icp488-501.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

For the sake of nature: Identity work and meaningful experiences in environmental entrepreneurship

Author

Listed:
  • Gregori, Patrick
  • Holzmann, Patrick
  • Wdowiak, Malgorzata A.

Abstract

This study investigates how environmental entrepreneurs engage with identity work to develop a sense of self based on environmental and commercial institutional logics and how these efforts relate to a meaningful entrepreneurial experience. Drawing on interviews and additional data from 26 environmental entrepreneurs, the findings highlight identification, disidentification, responses to institutional contradictions, and emotions as central constituents of environmental entrepreneurs’ identity work. Furthermore, the article shows how environmental entrepreneurs perceive their entrepreneurial endeavors as meaningful or experience a lack of meaning when enacting their identities. This article contributes to environmental entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial identity, and institutional logics by discussing the link between identity and meaningfulness, the role of emotions in entrepreneurial identity work, and the dark side of meaningfulness in entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregori, Patrick & Holzmann, Patrick & Wdowiak, Malgorzata A., 2021. "For the sake of nature: Identity work and meaningful experiences in environmental entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 488-501.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:122:y:2021:i:c:p:488-501
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320306147
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guercini, Simone & Ranfagni, Silvia, 2016. "Conviviality behavior in entrepreneurial communities and business networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 770-776.
    2. Jeffrey G. York, 2018. "It's getting better all the time (can't get no worse): the why, how and when of environmental entrepreneurship," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(1), pages 17-31.
    3. Steven M. Farmer & Xin Yao & Kate Kung–Mcintyre, 2011. "The Behavioral Impact of Entrepreneur Identity Aspiration and Prior Entrepreneurial Experience," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(2), pages 245-273, March.
    4. Jeffery S. McMullen & Benjamin J. Warnick, 2016. "Should We Require Every New Venture to Be a Hybrid Organization?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 630-662, June.
    5. 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.
    6. Bailey, Katherine & Madden, Adrian & Alfes, Kerstin & Shantz, Amanda & Soane, Emma, 2017. "The mismanaged soul: existential labor and the erosion of meaningful work," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68342, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Claire M. Leitch & Richard T. Harrison, 2016. "Identity, identity formation and identity work in entrepreneurship: conceptual developments and empirical applications," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3-4), pages 177-190, March.
    8. Jodyanne Kirkwood & Kirsty Dwyer & Sara Walton, 2017. "An ecopreneur’s growing resilience after a series of earthquakes," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(1), pages 129-148, March.
    9. Cherrier, Helene & Goswami, Paromita & Ray, Subhasis, 2018. "Social entrepreneurship: Creating value in the context of institutional complexity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 245-258.
    10. Cardon, Melissa S. & Glauser, Michael & Murnieks, Charles Y., 2017. "Passion for what? Expanding the domains of entrepreneurial passion," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 8(C), pages 24-32.
    11. Jeffrey G. York & Isobel O'Neil & Saras D. Sarasvathy, 2016. "Exploring Environmental Entrepreneurship: Identity Coupling, Venture Goals, and Stakeholder Incentives," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 695-737, July.
    12. Roger Friedland, 2017. "The value of institutional logics," Chapters, in: Georg Krücken & Carmelo Mazza & Renate E. Meyer & Peter Walgenbach (ed.), New Themes in Institutional Analysis, chapter 2, pages 12-50, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Cardon, Melissa S. & Gregoire, Denis A. & Stevens, Christopher E. & Patel, Pankaj C., 2013. "Measuring entrepreneurial passion: Conceptual foundations and scale validation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 373-396.
    14. Patrick Gregori & Malgorzata A. Wdowiak & Erich J. Schwarz & Patrick Holzmann, 2019. "Exploring Value Creation in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Insights from the Institutional Logics Perspective and the Business Model Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-28, April.
    15. O'Neil, Isobel & Ucbasaran, Deniz, 2016. "Balancing “what matters to me” with “what matters to them”: Exploring the legitimation process of environmental entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 133-152.
    16. Newbery, Robert & Lean, Jonathan & Moizer, Jonathan & Haddoud, Mohamed, 2018. "Entrepreneurial identity formation during the initial entrepreneurial experience: The influence of simulation feedback and existing identity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 51-59.
    17. Dean, Thomas J. & McMullen, Jeffery S., 2007. "Toward a theory of sustainable entrepreneurship: Reducing environmental degradation through entrepreneurial action," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 50-76, January.
    18. Tony J. Watson, 2013. "Entrepreneurship in action: bringing together the individual, organizational and institutional dimensions of entrepreneurial action," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(5-6), pages 404-422, June.
    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. Arslan, Ahmad & Ahokangas, Petri & Haapanen, Lauri & Golgeci, Ismail & Tarba, Shlomo Y. & Bazel-Shoham, Ofra, 2022. "Generational differences in organizational leaders: an interpretive phenomenological analysis of work meaningfulness in the Nordic high-tech organizations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    2. Patrick Gregori & Patrick Holzmann, 2022. "Entrepreneurial practices and the constitution of environmental value for sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3302-3317, November.
    3. Rajoana, Jakia & Saxena, Gunjan, 2022. "Role of Sundarbans bagh bidhwa entrepreneurs in tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Gliga, Gabriela & Evers, Natasha, 2023. "Marketing capability development through networking – An entrepreneurial marketing perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

    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. Conger, Michael & McMullen, Jeffery S. & Bergman, Brian J. & York, Jeffrey G., 2018. "Category membership, identity control, and the reevaluation of prosocial opportunities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 179-206.
    2. Patrick Gregori & Malgorzata A. Wdowiak & Erich J. Schwarz & Patrick Holzmann, 2019. "Exploring Value Creation in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Insights from the Institutional Logics Perspective and the Business Model Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-28, April.
    3. O'Neil, Isobel & Ucbasaran, Deniz & York, Jeffrey G., 2022. "The evolution of founder identity as an authenticity work process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(1).
    4. Joacim Rosenlund, 2021. "The Environmental Concerns of Food Ecopreneurs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-7, May.
    5. Boone, Sarah & Andries, Petra & Clarysse, Bart, 2020. "Does team entrepreneurial passion matter for relationship conflict and team performance? On the importance of fit between passion focus and venture development stage," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(5).
    6. Patrick Gregori & Patrick Holzmann, 2022. "Entrepreneurial practices and the constitution of environmental value for sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3302-3317, November.
    7. Sarah Fitz-Koch & Mattias Nordqvist & Sara Carter & Erik Hunter, 2018. "Entrepreneurship in the Agricultural Sector: A Literature Review and Future Research Opportunities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 129-166, January.
    8. Mathias, Blake D. & Wang, Stephanie, 2023. "Not so silent partners: Exploring the interconnected roles of entrepreneurs and their spouses," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    9. Fellnhofer, Katharina, 2023. "Positivity and higher alertness levels facilitate discovery: Longitudinal sentiment analysis of emotions on Twitter," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    10. 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.
    11. Colin Donaldson, 2021. "Culture in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: a conceptual framing," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 289-319, March.
    12. Cojoianu, Theodor F. & Clark, Gordon L. & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Veneri, Paolo & Wójcik, Dariusz, 2020. "Entrepreneurs for a low carbon world: How environmental knowledge and policy shape the creation and financing of green start-ups," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(6).
    13. Rashidi-Sabet, Siavash & Madhavaram, Sreedhar & Parvatiyar, Atul, 2022. "Strategic solutions for the climate change social dilemma: An integrative taxonomy, a systematic review, and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 619-635.
    14. Audretsch, David Bruce & Belitski, Maksim & Guerrero, Maribel, 2023. "Sustainable orientation management and institutional quality: Looking into European entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    15. Haroon A.A. Saif & Usman Ghania, 2020. "Need for Achievement as a Predictor of Entrepreneurial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Passion for Founding and Entrepreneurial Interest," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 10(1), pages 40-53.
    16. Hoogendoorn, Brigitte & van der Zwan, Peter & Thurik, Roy, 2020. "Goal heterogeneity at start-up: are greener start-ups more innovative?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(10).
    17. Warnick, Benjamin J. & Murnieks, Charles Y. & McMullen, Jeffery S. & Brooks, Wade T., 2018. "Passion for entrepreneurship or passion for the product? A conjoint analysis of angel and VC decision-making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 315-332.
    18. Chen, Jiawen & Liu, Linlin, 2020. "Customer participation, and green product innovation in SMEs: The mediating role of opportunity recognition and exploitation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 151-162.
    19. Engel, Yuval & Ramesh, Anusha & Steiner, Nick, 2020. "Powered by compassion: The effect of loving-kindness meditation on entrepreneurs' sustainable decision-making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(6).
    20. Muñoz, Pablo & Cohen, Boyd, 2017. "Towards a social-ecological understanding of sustainable venturing," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 1-8.

    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:eee:jbrese:v:122:y:2021:i:c:p:488-501. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    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.