PhD Defense of Alice Carle

Sustainability for Startups

A Complex Phenomenon Analyzed Through A Symbolic Interactionist Perpective

Soutenance prévue le 19 décembre à 10h à Agoranov, 96 bis Boulevard Raspail 75006 PARIS Salle (Bibliothèque)

Abstract:

Traditionally known for their contribution to innovation and the economy, startups are now considered promising organizations to respond to social and environmental challenges. Such an expectation adds up to the already challenging task of launching a startup, and raises questions with respect to the methodology to measure their contribution. The aim of this research is to explore how startups tackle sustainability in a context of great uncertainty. 

While large companies’ practices have been studied, a dearth of knowledge remains on smaller ones, and in particular on startups. Providing such knowledge is crucial not only for startups but also for their stakeholders and decision-makers who currently lack information on what to expect from startups in terms of social and environmental impact. 

Given the novelty and complexity of the phenomenon, an exploratory approach was favored. A 36-month action research in an incubator of young innovative startups allowed the collection of various types of data, including direct observations, interviews, and archival documents. 

Rather than aiming for generalization, this qualitative and comprehensive approach seeks to reveal the practices, challenges, and trade-offs of the actors to better understand the mechanisms at play and how actions are taken. The research drew inspiration from issues met on the field, following an abductive process where surprises led to the identification of sub-research questions. 

The results are articulated around three research articles, highlighting different aspects of the phenomenon. Sustainability for startups is seen as part of the entrepreneurial process (1), as embedded into an entrepreneurial ecosystem (2), and as a new requirement demanded by public actors (3). The immersive framework revealed that actors acted in favor of sustainability based on the meaning they attributed to this still abstract concept, and that this meaning continually evolved through an interactive and interpretative process. Such a symbolic interactionist perspective enriches the literature by proposing an original approach to describing the management of uncertainty in a complex problem. 

By combining the results of the three research articles, the thesis focused on an entrepreneurial ecosystem in transition and suggested a new definition for sustainable startups. Practical recommendations for startups and decision-makers were also provided. 

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Sustainability; Startups; Social and Environmental Impact