Entrepreneurship as Value Co-Creation

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the emerging phenomenon of nascent entrepreneurs opting for a strategy of sustainability and mutual benefit as the foundation of their new venture. Competition is no longer a tacit assumption; rather, entrepreneurs are increasingly willing to collaborate with external partners by sharing resources with them. At the same time, they take into consideration the social and environmental impact of their venture. This is evidenced by the ubiquitous nature of the sharing economy and the increasing number of green entrepreneurs. While many studies have looked at this phenomenon from a macro perspective, there is an opportunity for us to intimately study the entrepreneurs who pursue this strategy. In this paper, we present an ethnographic study of a green startup that converts the waste of one industry into the raw material of another, without owning any equipment. By spanning industrial and organizational boundaries, they are capable of unlocking and leveraging potential resources that would otherwise have been lost. The increasing focus on resource conservation and environmental impact influences their organizational practices and strategy. Furthermore, the emergence of the sharing economy has changed entrepreneurs’ notions of occupation, consumption, and the ownership and access to durable goods. We draw upon the literature of industrial and organizational ecology to unveil the mechanisms by which a new venture operates under this new logic.