The roles of sustainable entrepreneurs in tackling societal challenges: Quantifying how sustainable plastic companies act to create system change

Sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs are important actors in addressing grand societal challenges, they intro-duce new products and services, but also conduct so-called system-changing activities, such as creating aware-ness, building shared infrastructure and lobbying for supportive legislation. This paper seeks to understand how entrepreneurs contribute to a sustainability transition through system-changing and business activities by con-ducting a survey with almost 100 company representatives working within the plastic sector. We conceptualize eight groups of system-changing activities and find companies spend most time on product, service and tech-nology development. Conversely, businesses spent least time on influencing institutions and standardization, though many indicated they would prefer to allocate more time to collaborating with industry and government institutions. Our study empirically confirms that businesses do not only devote time and resources to business development, but also to system-changing actions. Especially respondents who perceive their company a necessary actor in the sustainability transition, were more likely to conduct system-changing activities. This led us to introduce the term 'transition-oriented entrepreneur', who seeks to deliver environmental or social benefits, achieve business profit and proactively change the system in which they operate. We recommend key stake-holders in sustainability transitions to take on a systems perspective and to identify which system-changing activities need more time and resources in order to accelerate systemic change of their production and con-sumption system. Moreover, we recommend making entrepreneurs aware of their possible power and influence in changing the system, to increase their agency and accelerate system change.