Assessing enablers of green entrepreneurship in circular economy: An integrated approach

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have considered green entrepreneurship critical for creating new business opportunities in circular economy for sustainable development. Though many studies have been carried out in this domain recently, there are dearth of studies on how enablers of green entrepreneurship help businesses and progress toward achieving a circular economy. To fill this research gap, this study aims to identify the enablers of green entrepreneurship in the circular economy in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) of the manufacturing sector. The aim also includes prioritizing and developing a contextual and hierarchical relationship between the identified enablers. Enablers are identified via a comprehensive literature review under the purview of management theories (namely “Dynamic Capability Theory,” “Critical Success Factor Theory,” and “Stakeholder Theory”) and are validated by expert opinions. The “Best Worst Method” (BWM) and the “Interpretive Structural Modelling” (ISM) have been used to prioritize and develop a hierarchical contextual relationship among the identified enablers respectively. Moreover, “fuzzy Matrice d'impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment” (MICMAC) analysis is employed, to compute the driving and dependence power of the enablers. The obtained result revealed that “technology-based enablers” and “effective technological infrastructure facilities” are the key enablers of green entrepreneurship under main and sub-category enablers. The findings highlight the strength of the relationship among the enablers of green entrepreneurship based on the corresponding “driving” and “dependence” power. The result also suggests that ‘social norm and culture’, ‘an attitude towards acceptance of new technology,’ ‘R&D innovation capability,’ and ‘environmental regulation and waste management policies are critical in influencing the driving green entrepreneurship enablers of the circular economy. The study contributes to the decision-making process of government, policymakers, and all other stakeholders and also acts as a point of reference for entrepreneurs to run green-driven business practices and create sustainability-driven goods to offset the socio-economic and environmental challenges that mankind faces.