Entrepreneurship and sustainability: The need for innovative and institutional solutions

Adel Ben Youssef, Sabri Boubaker and Anis Omri ()

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2018, vol. 129, issue C, 232-241

Abstract: The role of innovation and institutional quality for achieving sustainability are important issues tackled by current sustainable development debates, particularly in developing countries. Using a modified environmental Kuznets curve model, the present study improves our understanding of the critical roles of innovation, institutional quality, and entrepreneurship in structural change toward a sustainable future for Africa. Our empirical results show that formal and informal entrepreneurship are conducive to reduced environmental quality and sustainability in 17 African countries however informal entrepreneurship contributes more than formal entrepreneurship to this environmental degradation. The relationship between entrepreneurship and sustainable development turns strongly positive in the presence of high levels of innovation and institutional quality. This study contributes to this emerging research strand by clarifying the conditions that allow African countries to move toward more sustainable economies. Our results highlight the important roles played by innovation and institutions for achieving sustainability in Africa.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Sustainability; Innovation; Institutional quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (68)

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Working Paper: Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: The Need for Innovative and Institutional Solutions (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:129:y:2018:i:c:p:232-241

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2017.11.003

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