Responsible and green innovation

Which came first: on the evolution of environmental and entrepreneurial identity in environmental entrepreneurship

Chiara De Bernardi

Environmental entrepreneurship has gained attention in the last decades due to its inner nature of combining economic and ecological objectives. For this reason, environmental entrepreneurship is often considered by scholars a compelling and extreme context. Although in recent years the number of publication on environmental entrepreneurs and on their motivations to begin this path has increased, few studies have examining the role of identity in this realm. Although scholars have started to explore environmental identity and self-identity, the topic is still poorly understood. Using the lens of identity theory, aware that individuals hold multiple identities depending on the varied roles significant to their individual self-meaning, the author explores the role of environmental identity and entrepreneurial identity for wine environmental entrepreneurs. Specifically, they aim to understand their evolution over time and how they are ranked by the entrepreneurs. An exploratory qualitative longitudinal study is carried out in the Italian wine industry, being a context where environmentally friendly practices matter and which has experienced a shift to a more sustainable production in recent years.