Exploring the Relation Between Urban Entrepreneurship and UN Sustainability Goals

Entrepreneurship is often celebrated as a miracle for all sorts of reasons. The most commonly highlighted aspect is the relation to growth but entrepreneurship is increasingly also related to ‘to meet societal challenges’... [ view full abstract ]

Entrepreneurship is often celebrated as a miracle for all sorts of reasons. The most commonly highlighted aspect is the relation to growth but entrepreneurship is increasingly also related to ‘to meet societal challenges’ or ‘response to needs’ (Dees, 1998; Borzaga & Defourny, 2001; Nyssens, 2006; Nicholls, 2006). And there are fantastic illustrations. But there are also another side of entrepreneurship that is not as highlighted in entrepreneurship literature – when exploitation of business opportunities takes place at someone else’s expense. Both terminology and implementation in policy and practice remain rather fragmented and uncertain, even though the predominant positive connotation ascribing both innovative and noble traits is clear (Gawell et al., 2009). The aim of this paper is to explore relations between entrepreneurship and instead of the most common growth oriented framework, use the UN Sustainability Goals to further the at times policy-polished hopes for sustainable growth and furthermore to identify key aspects crucial for a sustainable development. Two empirical cases are used to contribute to the analysis. Flemingsberg’s Science park supports start-ups and is a collaboration between local academic and public actors such as sub branches of the major university hospital in Stockholm, a sub branch of the Royal School of Technology, local municipality and county (Borg & Tesfaye, forthcoming). Flemingsberg’s Science park target technology start-ups with an explicit aim for financial growth.  The other case is the Creative cluster Subtopia in which some 80 associations and businesses including prominent contemporary circus Circus Cirkör and film production company with international casting together gather some 200 persons every day (Gawell, forthcoming). This initiative aim for social change. Both these cases are situated in suburban areas that for decades have been considered problematic due to socioeconomic status, alienation and violence. Both cases are furthermore embedded in the Scandinavian welfare society and a part of its transformation in which entrepreneurship has been invited to the (social) welfare arena, this study goes beyond analysis guided by a private and public divide (Gawell, Sundin & Tillmar, 2016). Analysis of the two cases shows a complexity of references to the growth oriented discourse as well as references to the discourse of UN sustainability and the two cases both show great pragmatism in rhetoric but arguments reveals underlying logics.   

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, UN sustainability goals