Abstract
Entrepreneurship is currently an important factor in promoting sustainable development, particularly with regard to the European Union’s double transition towards a green and digital economy. The entrepreneurial role is currently extending into new fields, including those concerning environmental protection, social affairs, and resource management, moving on from the mere economic value-creating role. This paper adopts a conceptual and analytical approach to identify how entrepreneurs impact on sustainable development, exploring these aspects on three interconnected fronts: eco-transition through innovations, responsible business model transfer, and building regional resilience via inclusive economic growth. From a conceptual and analytical perspective, inclusive within this paper and best articulated in recent literature on this topic, this work shows how entrepreneurial activity influences positively the transfer to clean technologies, to a more widespread use of sustainable economy processes, and to social outcomes within regions with structural disadvantages, which can actually trigger positive change on both fronts. Finally, this paper outlines a range of factors which can facilitate entrepreneurship on sustainability grounds: institutional arrangements, access to green finance, and digitalization. The main outcomes show how entrepreneurs can actually work as change-agents within these processes, responding to both personal goals and to long-term strategic outcomes. This paper shows how sustainable entrepreneurship is positively reinforcing competitiveness while contributing at the same time to reaching the targets on the two SDGs.
Cuvinte cheie
Sustainable entrepreneurship
Green innovation
Circular economy
Regional resilience
Responsible business models
Istoric articol
Publicat
31.08.2026
Informații autori
Citare recomandată
Daniel Marius Mitrache, Lavinia Adelina Mitrache, Daniel Costin Matache (2026). The Role of the Entrepreneur in Sustainable Development. Constantin Brâncuși University of Târgu Jiu Economics Series, 2(1), 630–639. https://doi.org/10.65631/jes.4.2026.58
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