Sustainability Orientation and Firm Growth as Ventures Mature

Abstract

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This article revisits the dilemma between sustainability orientation and a firm'sgrowth along the stages of the entrepreneurial process. We draw upon the recentresearch on sustainable entrepreneurship to determine whether entrepreneurial ven-tures can pursue sustainability objectives and still grow in terms of turnover andemployment. Based on the data of 2 370 firms, we conclude that the relationshipbetween sustainability orientation and a venture's growth is not straightforward. Theresults show that the stage of the entrepreneurship life cycle matters and that onlythe introduction of sustainability objectives in the mature stage of the entrepreneur-ial process (rather than during the early stage) significantly increases the likelihood ofsuch ventures growing. We also find empirical evidence against combining environ-mental and social dimensions under one umbrella of sustainability, as each of thesedimensions demonstrated distinctive behavior in our models. While our results showthe importance of innovation for the firm's growth, it is not evident that it exerts anysignificant moderation effect on the relationship between sustainability orientationand a venture's growth. These findings provide insightful evidence for policymakersabout the intrinsic difficulty of reconciling sustainability and economic objectives atthe early stages of the process of entrepreneurship and also about the need todifferentiate the multiple meanings and forms of sustainability orientation.