Twin Transition and Entrepreneurial Behavior: Navigating the Path to Green and Digital Transformation for Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Guest Editors

• Antonio CRUPI, Assistant Professor at the University of Messina (IT), crupi.antonio@unime.it
• Gianluca ELIA, Associate Professor at the University of Salento (IT), gianluca.elia@unisalento.it
• Federico PIGNI, Full Professor and director of the Global Tech program at the Grenoble Ecole de Management in France. federico.pigni@grenoble-em.com
• Elisabetta RAGUSEO, Associate Professor at Polytechnic of Turin (IT), elisabetta.raguseo@polito.it
• Gianluca SOLAZZO, Post-doc Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Salento (IT), gianluca.solazzo@unisalento.it 

Theme

The digital and green transitions represent transformative shifts that are reshaping the economic, social, and environmental landscapes in the 21st century (Rehman et al., 2023). These shifts intertwine profoundly, giving rise to emerging spaces for nurturing new entrepreneurial opportunities. The green transformation sets the strategic direction for the change and innovation process, while the digital transformation equips us with the tools to effectively implement the strategy and take action.

The digital transformation encompasses the pervasive adoption of digital technologies across industries, sectors, and social life, impacting organizational strategies and core processes, peripheral activities, and the external environment (Plekhanov et al., 2022). This transformative journey is driven by the rapid evolution of technologies within the Industry 4.0 paradigm, including artificial intelligence, data analytics, blockchain, and cloud computing. By enhancing process efficiency (Westerman et al., 2014; Holmström et al., 2016), customer experience (Bloomberg, 2018), products and services flexibility (Nambisan et al., 2017), decision making quality (Pigni et al., 2016), and actors networking (Boueé & Schaible, 2015; Destefanis et al., 2020), digital transformation also unlocks new avenues for innovation while posing challenges in privacy, data security, and regulatory compliance (Dąbrowska et al., 2022; Elia et al., 2022).

Notably, recent research emphasizes the significant contribution of digital transformation in facing environmental and social challenges characterized by high levels of complexity (many actors involved and variables interested), uncertainty (insufficient knowledge available to take actions), and evaluativity (multiple interpretations) such as ending poverty, mitigating the impact of climate change, promoting human equality (Ertz et al., 2022; Diniz et al., 2022).

Entrepreneurs, in particular, face the imperative of integrating these digital innovations into their strategies and operations, to sustain their competitiveness and pursue new opportunities. To achieve this, entrepreneurs must strike a balance between internal organizational factors such as resources and capabilities which are the most relevant, and external factors such as competitive pressure, industry characteristics, which are less significant (Omrani et al., 2022).

Simultaneously, the green transformation embodies the global imperative to embrace sustainable practices, combat climate change, and address the environmental crisis by prioritizing natural resources preservation and societal well-being by seeking energy efficiency, and emission reduction (Chen et al., 2023). This shift entails adopting of renewable energy sources, sustainable manufacturing processes, and eco-friendly business practices. Consequently, organizations are urged to adopt new strategies, experiment with new approaches and tools aiming at reducing the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. This includes exploring new and alternative forms of energy production, optimizing energy consumption, improving waste management processes, fostering the development of sustainable products, services and business models (Rehman et al., 2023; Husain et al., 2022).

While green entrepreneurs encounter significant hurdles related to limited finance, strict regulations, economic viability, and low consumer awareness, they hold promising opportunities to ideate and develop new ventures to contribute to sustainable development goals (Lakemond et al., 2021; Devika & Shankar, 2022). In particular, while clean tech startups may lack sufficient resources to develop and scale their business successfully, they can benefit of greater agility for testing, and implementing new business models (O’Reilly et al., 2021).

The convergence of the digital and green transformation combines the advantages of digital technologies adoption with the principles of social and environmental sustainability (Bianchini et al., 2023). This supports both industrial (Yang et al., 2021; Demartini et al., 2019) and environmental sustainability (Hajishirzi et al., 2022; Feroz et al., 2021; de Sousa Jabbour et al., 2018), while creating new social value based on circularity, inclusiveness, and equity (del Hoyo et al., 2021). By harnessing new digital technologies, organizations can ideate, design and implement smart solutions that address the major challenges of the humanity, contribute to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Diniz et al., 2022; Ufua et al., 2021; ElMassah & Mohieldin, 2020), and create value at both social (Majchrzak et al., 2016) and environmental levels (Kunkel & Matthess, 2020; Balogun et al., 2020).

The intertwining of digital and green transitions presents a new frontier for entrepreneurship, enabling streamlined operations and the emergence of sustainable and regenerative business models (Broccardo et al., 2023; Holzmann & Gregori, 2023; Salimi, 2021; Hahn & Tampe, 2021). This convergence has garnered increased research and policy attention and are at the center of the recovery and resilience plan to relaunch the economy after the Covid19 crisis (Montresor & Vezzani, 2023).

For example, digital platforms implement peer-to-peer sharing economy models, which promote resource efficiency and circular economy practices by allowing users to share, rent, or swap goods instead of making new purchases. Data analytics and artificial intelligence optimize energy use and waste reduction. Other examples include innovative applications for pollution control, waste management, sustainable production, urban sustainability (Feroz et al., 2021), and renewable energy management (Cuenca et al., 2021; Gjorgievski et al., 2021).

Entrepreneurs are reshaping their behavior, operations and innovation practices (Troise et al., 2022; Corvello et al., 2022), in response to these transformations, striving to combine profitable ideas with social and environmental values (Salimi, 2021). While they play a crucial role in this transformation, as they are at the forefront of creating sustainable innovations and establishing green businesses, they also face several hurdles such as stringent environmental regulations, limited access to green financing, and sometimes skeptical consumers.

However, the convergence of these transitions also poses new challenges and efforts for entrepreneurs at industrial, policy, and education levels (Findik et al., 2023; Del Vecchio et al., 2022). Entrepreneurs need to navigate the tensions between digital and green transformations, address the environmental impact of digital technologies and bridge the potential digital divide in sustainable innovation. These transitions, also, significantly impacts entrepreneurial attitudes, skills, and competencies as they strive to align the use of digital technologies with the attainment of environmental sustainability goals (Ferreira et al., 2022). Therefore, entrepreneurs need to develop new capabilities to succeed, such as digital literacy, green innovation skills, a circular economy mindset, and the ability to balance multiple, sometimes conflicting, stakeholder demands.

Universities play a central role in this context by redesigning curricula and adopting new practices that incorporate digital innovations and sustainable development principles and guidelines (Jabeen, 2022). They are called to evolve into fourth generation universities, engaging multiple stakeholders to co-create and promote public value for a sustainable future (Corazza & Saluto, 2020).

This special issue aims to stimulate a comprehensive discussion on how the twin transition influences entrepreneurial action, promoting the development of sustainable businesses and contributing to a greener and more digitally connected future. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and practitioner-oriented research papers addressing (but not limited to) the following topics:

1. Strategies for integrating environmental sustainability and digital transformation in entrepreneurial ventures
2. The role of entrepreneurial behavior in driving green and digital transformation
3. Entrepreneurial mindset and capabilities in navigating the twin transition
4. The impact of digital technologies on sustainable business models and practices
5. The fourth-generation of universities engaged in combining digital innovation and sustainable development
6. The role of policy and regulatory frameworks in shaping entrepreneurial actions towards the twin transition
7. Case studies showcasing successful integration of green and digital initiatives for entrepreneurship
8. The challenges and opportunities of the twin transition for start-ups and established businesses
9. The role of entrepreneurial ecosystems in facilitating the twin transition
10. The influence of stakeholder perspectives on entrepreneurial decisions in the twin transition
11. Methodological advancements and novel approaches in researching the twin transition and entrepreneurial behavior
12. The dark side of the twin transition: e-waste, energy consumption, digital divide, cyber-threats, greenwashing

We encourage interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral perspectives to provide a holistic understanding of the twin transition’s influence on entrepreneurial behavior.

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper.

Manuscripts should be submitted through the publisher’s online system. Submissions will be reviewed according to the journal’s rigorous standards and procedures through double-blind peer review by at least two qualified reviewers.

Submission Process

Please prepare the manuscript according to IEEE-TEM’s guidelines (http://ieee-tmc.org/tem-guidelines) and submit to the journal’s Manuscript Central site (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tem-ieee). Please clearly state in the cover letter that the submission is for this special issue.

Schedule

• Papers should be submitted by February 29th, 2024

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Short biography of the proponents

Antonio Crupi is Assistant Professor at the University of Messina (Italy). He is Research Affiliate at the Institute of Management of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Italy); and at the Institute of Manufacturing of the University of Cambridge (UK). His research concerns innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property management. His current research focuses on intellectual property rights systems, strategic use of intellectual property, entrepreneurial dynamics, and university‒industry interactions. His works have been published on high-quality peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences.

Gianluca Elia is Associate Professor of Management Science and Engineering at the University of Salento (Italy). More than twenty years of experience in teaching and research concerning digital transformation, technology entrepreneurship, knowledge management, collective intelligence, corporate entrepreneurship. His research has been published on high-ranked journals including Technology Forecasting & Social Change, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Industrial Marketing & Management, Business Horizons. He is also co-author and co-editor of five books, and Associate Editor of Computers Application in Engineering Education (Wiley), and International Journal of Knowledge and Learning (Inderscience). In 2014-2015, he was Research Affiliate at the Center for Collective Intelligence of MIT Sloan (USA), and in 2014 Visiting Researcher at the Peking University (China). He has been scientific responsible of numerous research projects at national and international level, and co-founder of the TIE Living Lab (Technology Innovation Ecosystem Living Lab), included in the European Network of Living Lab (ENoLL), which aims to promote and support Open Innovation and User-driven Innovation approaches for the development of Technology Entrepreneurship.

Federico PIGNI is the Dean of Faculty and a Professor of Information Systems at Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) in France. He obtained his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems and Supply Chain Management from Carlo Cattaneo University – LIUC in Italy. Prior to joining GEM, he taught at LIUC, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, and the Catholic University in Milan. He served as a Senior Researcher at LIUC’s Lab#ID RFID laboratory and completed a post-doctorate at France Télécom R&D – Pole Service Sciences in Sophia Antipolis, France. He has actively participated in research projects funded by Italian, regional, and EU agencies, as well as private industry and government partners. Federico Pigni is a co-author of the book “Information Systems for Managers: Text and Cases” and has published his research in esteemed academic and applied outlets such as the European Journal of Information Systems, California Management Review, MIS Quarterly Executive, Production, Planning and Control, and International Journal of Production Economics. His current teaching focuses on information systems, and his research interests revolve around value creation and appropriation opportunities arising from big data, digital twins, AI, and next generation networks.

Elisabetta Raguseo is Associate Professor of Strategy and Economics at Polytechnic of Turin (Italy). She is Associate Editor of Information and Management and of Journal of Travel Research. She is Associate of the “Future Urban Legacy Lab” at the Polytechnic of Turin, and Associate and co-founder of the “Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center” at the same university. She is also in charge of the education pillar of the EIT Manufacturing at her university. She was part of the group of experts for the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy of the European Commission (mandate 2018-2021) and a Marie Curie research fellow at the “Grenoble Ecole de Management” (France) in the years 2014-2016. Her research and teaching expertise is in strategic management and digital transformation. Her research has been published on high-ranked and international journals including International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Information and Management, International Journal of Information Management, and many others.

Gianluca Solazzo is Post-Doc researcher and Lecturer at the University of Salento (Italy). His research is cross-disciplinary and focuses on Big Data and Analytics, Digital Transformation, Distributed Application Design and Development. He participated in several Italian and European research projects on e-Business and Knowledge Management, and he has been involved in research activities focused on collective intelligence tools and e-learning applications. His research has been published on leading international journals including Technology Forecasting & Social Change, Industrial Marketing & Management, Computers in Human Behaviour, Information and Management.