Creating and capturing value in international entrepreneurship: Business models for a sustainable development

This project focuses on international new ventures’ contribution to a sustainable development, i.e. a ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987), through their implementation of innovative business models in developing countries.

Business models for a sustainable development require an integration of social, environmental, and economic value creation. The integration of these blended values is often associated with a paradoxical tension between social and financial demands. Targeting low-income communities in developing countries suggests high social returns on investments, yet the financial viability of the business models is highly challenged due to the low revenue per unit and high transaction costs associated with the institutional voids.

This study explores how international new ventures navigate in the complex institutional environments and respond to the tensions associated with creating social and environmental value at the societal level and capturing financial value at the organizational level.