Ecopreneurship in India investigation of strategies and business models

Abstract

Post-independence, India adopted a model of industrialised development following the industrialised countries in the west. While this has led to impressive economic growth, it has also resulted in substantial rise in negative environmental externalities and unprecedented social inequality. This rise in environmental problems including depletion and degradation of natural resources has particularly affected millions of poor, marginalised and vulnerable communities in India whose livelihoods are dependent on these resources. Despite repeated warnings about the impending dangers of global warming, the mainstream model of industrial development has not changed. However, there is a ray of hope that stems from the successful experiments of ecopreneurs. Ecopreneurship, which refers to a special breed of entrepreneurship that has ecological preservation, restoration and sustainable use as its raison de etre, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Hence, very little is known about the processes including strategies and business models deployed by ecopreneurs. This is what prompted me to take up the present exploratory and empirical study on the genesis, strategies and outcomes of ecopreneurship. The specific research objectives were to: a) analyse the strategies and business models deployed by successful ecopreneurs in India b) analyse how ecopreneurs create, deliver and capture blended value [combination of planet, people and profits] in their enterprise and c) identify the barriers and facilitators encountered by such ecopreneurs at various levels and to derive policy implications for incentivizing ecopreneurship in a major way. Using a phenomenological approach and case study methodology, this research sought to understand how the processes and outcomes of ecopreneurship are distinct from those of commercial entrepreneurship. Four ecopreneurial ventures from the small and medium manufacturing sector were selected based on an a priori assessment of eco-friendliness from a larger pool of ecopreneurial ventures.