Value co-creation in green start-ups: A stakeholder approach to sustainable entrepreneurship

Green start-ups are increasingly recognized as transformative agents addressing environmental and social challenges, operating within a multifaceted stakeholder environment where diverse interests shape their development. While existing literature covers a wide range of dimensions, a gap persists in understanding green start-ups’ sustainable value co-creation processes from a stakeholder-oriented perspective. To address this gap, we adopted a qualitative methodology based on in-depth interviews with founders of Austrian green start-ups, investigating how they engage with stakeholders and co-create value. Our findings reveal a dynamic process in which green start-ups initiate sustainable value co-creation through opportunity recognition and dual economic and sustainability goals. They iteratively adjust strategies based on stakeholder feedback, engaging with a broad set of stakeholders that includes the natural environment, society, employees, customers, and business partners. Through continuous learning, partnership development, and customer-oriented adaptation, these ventures co-create four types of value: economic, relational stakeholder, sustainable, and innovation. These insights contribute to sustainable entrepreneurship by elucidating co-creative entrepreneurial adjustment and to stakeholder theory by demonstrating how green start-ups treat the natural environment and society as legitimate co-creation partners. This research provides a foundation for future studies on sustainable value co-creation in entrepreneurial contexts.