Introduction

Abstract

Over the last two decades, entrepreneurs’ activities and business approaches have evolved considerably. Since the 2008 crisis, and even more so due to the awareness and expectations derived from adopting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, entrepreneurship has shifted toward more social, environmental, and (good) corporate governance. Many researchers have suggested that laws should be adapted for this new paradigm. The objective is to go beyond the corporate social responsibility practices that a particular company can or has to adopt as a unilateral and external commitment. Therefore, company law has been amended to create new forms or statuses for social enterprises. However, this (r)evolution is far from complete. Different initiatives, including legal reforms in fields other than company law (e.g., public procurement law or competition law), and the commitment from the business community itself, are spreading these ideas as part of the new theory of the firm reflecting companies’ new role in society. The reception of the United Nations’ SDGs foretells that we are facing a paradigm shift in the expectations of companies to obtain a social license to operate. It also exceeds the legal sphere and poses important economic challenges.