ABSTRACT
With the global financial system having undergone vast changes since the financial crisis of 2007, scientific research concerning the investor’s point of view on sustainable investments has drastically increased. However, there remains a lack of research of the entrepreneur’s angle. The aim of this chapter is to contribute to the understanding of sustainable financial markets by bringing together entrepreneurial and financial research. This chapter provides a structured literature review, based on which the authors identify three relevant levels which they believe have an effect on the successful implementation of managerial sustainable practices: the individual, firm, and contextual levels. The results show that on the individual level sustainable entrepreneurs tend to derive their will to act more sustainably from their personal values or traits, whereas on the organizational level it can be concluded that an SME’s internal culture and the reconfiguration of resources are critical determinants for adopting a sustainable entrepreneurial orientation. Finally, on the contextual level researchers have focused on a better understanding of how entrepreneurs can help society and the environment through sustainable entrepreneurship, and how they can act as role models or change agents in light of the fact that investing/financing based on sustainability is still in its infancy. By providing an overview on facilitating factors for responsible managerial practices on the entrepreneur’s side, this research contributes to a better understanding for both theory and practice on how sustainable practices can be implemented and facilitated.
