GRONEN 2006 - Sustainability Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship

The 2006 GRONEN Research Conference focused on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability. In recent years we could observe a shift towards an understanding of sustainability management that moves from exploitation to exploration, from corporate environmental management to sustainable entrepreneurship, and from efficiency to innovation. In fact, current sustainability trends indicate the need for radical innovation, which may be brought about by entrepreneurial start-ups as well as new ventures within existing corporations. Financing these innovations might be a key bottleneck for sustainable development, mainly because research in finance is only beginning to take into account the threats and opportunities of sustainability. At the same time, understanding changing customer preferences around sustainability and translating them into successful marketing strategies is key. Ultimately, innovative new business models will be required to combine environmental and social sustainability with economic sustainability.