A Bridge to Sustainability: Influence of External Enablers on Immigrant Environmental Entrepreneurship Activities : The role of external enabler opacity and agency-intensity

Sammanfattning: Background: Environmental challenges faced by humankind are creating various changes in the business environment. These changes are facilitating entrepreneurial activities for environmental sustainability. However, some actors, such as immigrant entrepreneurs, might face difficulties in identifying and exploiting the external enablers of entrepreneurial action for sustainability. Purpose: Considering the importance of sustainable development, the study aims to understand the role of external enablers for environmental sustainability in immigrant ventures. Thus, the study aims to investigate how ‘external enabler opacity and agency-intensity’ facilitate or hinder environmentally sustainable entrepreneurial activities among immigrant entrepreneurs. Method: The study employs a qualitative approach and utilizes a multiple case study methodology, with the primary method of semi-structured interviews. Inductively building upon the External Enabler Framework, the study integrates insights from external enablers, environmental entrepreneurship, and immigrant entrepreneurship literature. Conclusion: The study finds that low opacity and high agency intensity of external enablers limit immigrant ventures' involvement in environmental sustainability. Moreover, barriers immigrant entrepreneurs face compound these limitations, possibly leading to decreased competitiveness and missed opportunities. Contributing to the External Enabler Framework, the concept of enforcement is introduced as a novel cross-function of external enabler mechanisms, which facilitates immigrant ventures' engagement in environmentally sustainable activities.