Green Entrepreneurs: an Italian Perspective

The aim of this paper is to explore the motivations of those starting green businesses or greening established businesses in Italy. Taylor and Walley’s Green Entrepreneur Typology (Taylor and Walley, 2004, Walley et al, 2008) is used in the research as a framework for comparison of established businesses and start-ups. Despite the growing perception of the role of green entrepreneurs as crucial change agents in the sustainability transformation process (Walley et al, 2008), until recently, research into the motives of and influences on green entrepreneurs has been quite limited (Walley et al, 2008, Schaper, 2005). There is evidence however that in the UK and internationally there are as many new green businesses set up with entirely economic motives as there are green start-ups established because of wider sustainability goals (Walley et al, 2008) many of these encouraged by initiatives designed specifically to encourage green entrepreneurship (Schaper, 2005). According to Bianchi and Noci (1998), the approach of Italian SMEs to greening has been reactive rather than proactive in that they have responded positively when required to by key stakeholders. This approach is attributed to a number of factors including a lack of resources and knowledge (Bianchi and Noci, 1998). The EU and the Italian Government are actively encouraging sustainable business but their focus appears to be primarily on the “greening” of existing businesses, in particular SMEs, rather than the encouragement of green start-ups. The focus of this research was limited to Italian SME’s in the Calabria region of Italy leaving room for further research in other Italian regions. The purpose of the research was to provide insights for policy makers and educators in the UK and Italy into ways to foster green entrepreneurship. Questionnaires were sent to SME owner-managers in the Calabria region of Italy, who were listed on the website of Confindustria Cosenza, the regional branch of Confindustria, a national business association representing both manufacturing and service enterprises throughout Italy. The results indicate that whilst profit is still a key determinant of the business approach, sustainability is playing an increasingly influential role.