Sustainability in Entrepreneurial Ventures: Balancing Symbolic Engagement and Substantive Implementation

Objectives: Symbolic management has emerged as a significant area of study as entrepreneurs use it to acquire resources. Symbolic actions aid in achieving diverse objectives, such as organizational legitimacy, fostering entrepreneurial activities, and promoting corporate social responsibility initiatives. Despite an increased emphasis on practicing sustainability, there is a noticeable gap in sustainability authenticity, particularly in entrepreneurial firms and small business ventures. This research investigates the extent to which entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses genuinely implement sustainable practices versus engaging in symbolic gestures of sustainability. Prior work: Prior literature has asserted that firms align sustainable activities with their core business strategies to magnify environmental and social impact (Schaltegger & Burritt, 2018). But sustainability is often perceived as a “hype word”, and this may lead to theatrical efforts, such as symbols, events, and awards with the main aim to gain legitimacy (Granados et al., 2024). For example, firms may superficially implement environmental certifications (Christmann and Taylor, 2006), act hypocritically with societal problems (Christensen et al., 2013), and implement policies without altering practice (Crilly et al., 2015). However, we still know relatively little about how this unfolds in entrepreneurial efforts to deal with sustainability. Approach: Using an inductive research design based on qualitative interviews, we analyze small and medium-sized entrepreneurial enterprises that adopt and practice sustainable business strategies. Results: The findings of this study reveal varying degrees of implementation of sustainable practices among entrepreneurial firms and small business ventures that are adopting sustainable business models. The results highlight specific sustainable actions firms prioritize, notably focusing on environmental management, social responsibility programs, supply chain sustainability, and stakeholder engagement programs. Implications and Value: The findings of this study reveal varying degrees of implementation of sustainable practices among entrepreneurial firms and small business ventures that are adopting sustainable business models. Because of their flexible and adaptable nature, entrepreneurial firms are more open to adopting new strategies and trends in the industry. However, firms encounter difficulties due to their limited resources and uncertain, dynamic organizations, and this may result in activities that are perceived to be symbolic. We contribute to the entrepreneurial and sustainability literature by offering insights into prioritizing sustainable actions tailored to the needs of individual firms.