IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i14p6475-d1702109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring Sustainability in Startups: A Systematic PRISMA Review

Author

Listed:
  • Munyaradzi Duve

    (Department of Accountancy, University of Johannesburg, Cnr Kingsway and University Road, Aukland Park, Johannesburg P.O. Box 524, South Africa)

  • Benjamin Marx

    (School of Accounting, University of Johannesburg, Cnr Kingsway and University Road, Aukland Park, Johannesburg P.O. Box 524, South Africa)

Abstract

Startups are essential to solving contemporary global financial and social challenges. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature on the economic, environmental, and social values of sustainability in startups. Research papers that included the terms “sustainability in startups”, “sustainability of entrepreneurship”, “environmentally friendly new businesses”, “startups”, “entrepreneur”, “sustainable development”, “green economy”, “green investment”, “green development”, “financial sustainability”, “entrepreneurship performance”, and “agriculture entrepreneurship” were considered for analysis. The PRISMA 2020 protocol was used for the screening of relevant articles addressing economic, environmental, and social sustainability in startups. This study is limited to 42 research papers extracted from SCOPUS and DOAJ databases covering the period 2010 to 2024. Most of these provide literature on European, American, and Asian countries, indicating that startups prioritise the economic value of sustainability. However, the review of the literature demonstrates that startups are beginning to adopt a more balanced approach to sustainability as all three pillars addressing economic, environmental, and social values are represented. Sustainable practices improve startups’ performance. There is a need for active research in startup sustainability in the African context to address the research gap identified in the analysis of the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Munyaradzi Duve & Benjamin Marx, 2025. "Exploring Sustainability in Startups: A Systematic PRISMA Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-35, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6475-:d:1702109
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6475/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6475/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Neal R. Haddaway & Matthew J. Page & Chris C. Pritchard & Luke A. McGuinness, 2022. "PRISMA2020: An R package and Shiny app for producing PRISMA 2020‐compliant flow diagrams, with interactivity for optimised digital transparency and Open Synthesis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), June.
    2. Isha Nag & Sridhar Manohar & Amit Mittal & Arjun J Nair, 2024. "Thought clarity to execution chaos: a review on core competencies of grassroots entrepreneurs for instigation, growth and sustainability of startups," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-36, December.
    3. Anjum Amin-Chaudhry, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility – from a mere concept to an expected business practice," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(1), pages 190-207, March.
    4. Xiao Guan & Chunli Yao & Weimin Zhang, 2023. "Sustainability of Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Study on the Impact Path of Corporate Social Responsibility Based on Internal Control," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-17, August.
    5. Ammar Y. Alqahtani, 2022. "Investigation of startups’ sustainability: empirical evidence from Saudi Arabia," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 10(1), pages 107-131, September.
    6. Costanza, Robert & Patten, Bernard C., 1995. "Defining and predicting sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 193-196, December.
    7. Anjum Amin-Chaudhry, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility – from a mere concept to an expected business practice," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(1), pages 190-207, March.
    8. Verónica Aguilar-Esteva & Adán Acosta-Banda & Ricardo Carreño Aguilera & Miguel Patiño Ortiz, 2023. "Sustainable Social Development through the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Education during the COVID Emergency: A Systematic Review Using PRISMA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, April.
    9. Andressa Kelly da Silva Nunes & Sandra Naomi Morioka & Ivan Bolis, 2022. "Challenges of business models for sustainability in startups," RAUSP Management Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 57(4), pages 382-400, October.
    10. Romina Gómez-Prado & Aldo Alvarez-Risco & Berdy Briggitte Cuya-Velásquez & Marián Arias-Meza & Nilda Campos-Dávalos & Luis Juarez-Rojas & Maria de las Mercedes Anderson-Seminario & Shyla Del-Aguila-Ar, 2022. "Product Innovation, Market Intelligence and Pricing Capability as a Competitive Advantage in the International Performance of Startups: Case of Peru," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-21, August.
    11. Wen-Dong Lv & Dan Tian & Yuan Wei & Rui-Xue Xi, 2018. "Innovation Resilience: A New Approach for Managing Uncertainties Concerned with Sustainable Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-25, October.
    12. Thomas Dyllick & Kai Hockerts, 2002. "Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 130-141, March.
    13. Adriano Martins de Souza & Fabio Neves Puglieri & Antonio Carlos de Francisco, 2024. "Competitive Advantages of Sustainable Startups: Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-24, September.
    14. Sungchul Choi & Alex Ng, 2011. "Environmental and Economic Dimensions of Sustainability and Price Effects on Consumer Responses," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 269-282, December.
    15. Sisira Kumara Naradda Gamage & EMS Ekanayake & GAKNJ Abeyrathne & RPIR Prasanna & JMSB Jayasundara & PSK Rajapakshe, 2020. "A Review of Global Challenges and Survival Strategies of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-24, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Francisco Rincon‐Roldan & Alvaro Lopez‐Cabrales, 2021. "Ethical values in social economy for sustainable development," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(4), pages 705-729, December.
    2. Dirk C. Moosmayer & Yanyan Chen & Susannah M. Davis, 2019. "Deeds Not Words: A Cosmopolitan Perspective on the Influences of Corporate Sustainability and NGO Engagement on the Adoption of Sustainable Products in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 135-154, August.
    3. Man Lung Jonathan Kwok & Raymond Kwong & Chun Hui & Ken H. K. Liu, 2024. "Unraveling the Sustainability Components of Organizational Value Statements: A Q-Sort Methodology Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Gerrit Antonides & Michelle Welvaarts, 2020. "Effects of Default Option and Lateral Presentation on Consumer Choice of the Sustainable Option in an Online Choice Task," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Bilgen, Selçuk & Sarıkaya, İkbal, 2015. "Exergy for environment, ecology and sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1115-1131.
    6. Jihee Jung & Haengjin Ko & Young Jun Kim, 2025. "How Do Startups Drive Innovations Towards Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-24, February.
    7. Katarzyna Liczmańska-Kopcewicz & Paula Pypłacz & Agnieszka Wiśniewska, 2020. "Resonance of Investments in Renewable Energy Sources in Industrial Enterprises in the Food Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-20, August.
    8. Fatih Akbaş & Ferudun Kaya, 2022. "Investigation of Financial Performance Indicators Affecting Corporate Sustainability of Participation Banks," Journal of Finance Letters (Maliye ve Finans Yazıları), Maliye ve Finans Yazıları Yayıncılık Ltd. Şti., vol. 37(117), pages 159-176, April.
    9. Bandara, KBTUK & Jayasundara, JMSB & Naradda Gamage, Sisira Kumara & Ekanayake, EMS & Rajapackshe, PSK & Abeyrathne, GAKNJ & Prasanna, RPIR, 2020. "Entrepreneurial Marketing & Performance of Small & Medium Enterprises in Developed and Developing Economies: A Conceptual Exploration," MPRA Paper 104341, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Ioana Gutu & Daniela Tatiana Agheorghiesei & Alexandru Tugui, 2023. "Assessment of a Workforce Sustainability Tool through Leadership and Digitalization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-30, January.
    11. Rigby, Dan & Woodhouse, Phil & Young, Trevor & Burton, Michael, 2001. "Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 463-478, December.
    12. Jung Eon Kwon & Hyung Rok Woo, 2017. "The Impact of Flipped Learning on Cooperative and Competitive Mindsets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Rambaud, Alexandre & Richard, Jacques, 2015. "The “Triple Depreciation Line” instead of the “Triple Bottom Line”: Towards a genuine integrated reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 92-116.
    14. Maria Björklund & Helena Forslund, 2019. "Challenges Addressed by Swedish Third-Party Logistics Providers Conducting Sustainable Logistics Business Cases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-15, May.
    15. Merriam Haffar & Cory Searcy, 2018. "Target‐setting for ecological resilience: Are companies setting environmental sustainability targets in line with planetary thresholds?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 1079-1092, November.
    16. Pishchulov, Grigory & Trautrims, Alexander & Chesney, Thomas & Gold, Stefan & Schwab, Leila, 2019. "The Voting Analytic Hierarchy Process revisited: A revised method with application to sustainable supplier selection," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 166-179.
    17. Davis-Sramek, Beth & Robinson, Jessica L. & Darby, Jessica L. & Thomas, Rodney W., 2020. "Exploring the differential roles of environmental and social sustainability in carrier selection decisions," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    18. Mara Del Baldo & Maria-Gabriella Baldarelli, 2017. "Renewing and improving the business model toward sustainability in theory and practice," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-13, December.
    19. Magdalena Raftowicz & Bertrand le Gallic & Magdalena Kalisiak-Mędelska & Krzysztof Rutkiewicz & Emilia Konopska-Struś, 2021. "Effectiveness of Public Aid for Inland Aquaculture in Poland—The Relevance of Traditional Performance Ratios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, May.
    20. Per Engelseth & Richard Glavee-Geo & Artur Janusz & Enoch Niboi, 2020. "The Emergent Nature of Networked Sustainable Procurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-18, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6475-:d:1702109. 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.