Sustainable entrepreneurial behaviours of family members at the intersection of family firm, cooperative and rural community: a multilevel perspective

Abstract

Little is still known about the approach and rationale of family members’ entrepreneurial behaviours for sustainability that occur at different interconnected levels. Our study helps to fill this void by examining a multilevel web that links a family firm, a cooperative and a rural community. We rely on an inductive semi-grounded approach guided by conceptual ideas from the sustainable entrepreneurship literature. We conducted 54 in-depth interviews within a Cypriot cooperative composed of small rural family businesses. Our findings reveal that sustainable entrepreneurship revolves around family members acting as sustainable entrepreneurs. Family sustainable entrepreneurs draw on collaborative entrepreneurship for sustainability and spillover sustainable entrepreneurship, which are key mechanisms for generating sustainable value at the family firm, cooperative and community levels. Family members’ affective attachment and sense of responsibility serve as motives behind these mechanisms. Our findings offer a model depicting family members’ motives and mechanisms of sustainable entrepreneurship across family firm, cooperative and rural community. This study extends our understanding on family entrepreneurship and sustainable entrepreneurship, offering practical contributions and opportunities for future research.