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Apply now to EGOS 2020 sub-theme 20: Combating Climate Change through Entrepreneurship

  • 1.  Apply now to EGOS 2020 sub-theme 20: Combating Climate Change through Entrepreneurship

    Posted 01-10-2020 15:42

    Convenors:

     

    Siddharth Vedula, Babson College, USA

    Dimo Dimov, University of Bath, United Kingdom

    Panikos Georgallis, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

     

    Climate change is the major environmental challenge facing humankind. There is widespread consensus among scientists that humans are causing climate change, with catastrophic negative consequences. Among academics, practitioners and policy makers alike, there is increasing recognition that businesses can, should, and have the power, to play a critical part in addressing this grand societal challenge. And yet, large corporations have traditionally been either complicit in their inaction or slow to move. Often, the lack of definitive climate leadership by incumbent organizations has paved the way for "sustainable" or "environmental" entrepreneurs to adopt a more prominent role in climate action.

     

    This sub-theme proposes to bring together scholars drawing on various approaches to understand entrepreneurial activity that contributes to the mitigation of, or adaptation to, climate change. The goal is to advance scholarly dialogue and instigate building better and more unified theory.

     

    Questions and themes addressed in this sub-theme include but are not limited to:

    • What is the process of market formation in these industry sectors that seek to combat climate change? What are the patterns of collective action among entrepreneurs or between entrepreneurs and supporting (e.g. NGOs) or opposing (e.g. incumbents) actors?
    • How do both formal and informal institutions constrain or enable "environmental" entrepreneurship? What is the role of governments (local and national), and how do these interact with more decentralized social institutions?
    • Given the historical inaction by incumbents on climate change, does corporate entrepreneurship have a role to play in addressing climate change? Is there a different role for established corporations than for startups? More broadly, under what conditions can and do incumbents participate in addressing climate change?
    • What are the motivations for becoming an "environmental" entrepreneur? For example, do these entrepreneurs differ from "conventional" entrepreneurs in terms of background, identity, or skills; if so, how and what are the implications for entrepreneurship research?
    • How might we effectively finance "environmental" entrepreneurs? Given the traditionally capital-intensive nature of this sector, to what extent do new forms of financing (e.g. crowdfunding) have a role to play?
    • What are the business models that are needed for these ventures to survive and thrive?
    • Conceptual explorations and literature reviews of the formation of sustainable industries and their role in broader economic change are also welcome.

     

    Submission deadline for short papers: Tuesday, January 14, 2020, 23:59 CET

     

    Link to full version of call: https://www.egosnet.org/jart/prj3/egos/main.jart?rel=de&reserve-mode=reserve&content-id=1566433211083&subtheme_id=1542700475086



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    Panikos Georgallis |Assistant Professor | International Management & Strategy | Amsterdam Business School | University of Amsterdam | M.217 Plantage Muidergracht 12, 1018 TV Amsterdam | +31 20525 4287 | p.georgallis@uva.nl | https://twitter.com/panikosgeor
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