Unveiling the sustainable facet of the conventional entrepreneur - A cognitive approach

Previous studies have identified various types of entrepreneurs
(i.e., conventional, social, sustainable), while focusing on underlying their
differences in terms of motivations and purposes. Few studies have looked at
the drivers of entrepreneurs to adopt sustainable activities. We are particularly
interested in exploring the cognitive bases that guide conventional
entrepreneurs’ behaviours. We aim to identify and explain their motivations to
adopt sustainable development practices and explore whether these motivations
differ from those of social and sustainable entrepreneurs. We use methods from
cognitive psychology (laddering) to identify the values and aspirations that
guide entrepreneurs. We investigate the cognitive bases and processes of
ten entrepreneurs. We unveil the attributes, consequences and values that drive
them to adopt sustainable practices and uncover their means-end chains. We
find that the three economic, social and environmental facets shape the
cognitive process of the conventional entrepreneur. These results extend
previous studies on entrepreneurial motivations and intentions.