What drives ecopreneurship in women and men? - A structured literature review

Abstract

Ever since global warming emerged as an issue and business as usual has invited criticism regarding its ecological impact, entrepreneurs have embedded ecological values in their entrepreneurial practices. Female and male entrepreneurs, however, differ in how they practice entrepreneurship. Differences in motivations could affect how they adopt ecological entrepreneurship (ecopreneurship). By developing a better understanding of the differences in motivation, this study is expected to better explain ecopreneurial behavior. Knowledge of (gendered) drivers of adopting ecopreneurial behavior is scarce and scattered. This study identifies and reviews the literature on gender-based drivers of ecopreneurship from three scientific domains: ecological innovation, ecopreneurship and female entrepreneurship. Articles found in the Web of Science that were published between 2008 and 2019 are systematically reviewed. The outcome of this study is a gender-based conceptual framework, clarifying differences in some drivers and practices of ecopreneurship between female and male entrepreneurs. The article integrates knowledge within the three scientific domains and offers an agenda for future research.