The Features of Student Entrepreneurs as Leaders of Social, Environmental and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Projects

Abstract

This article aims to identify the characteristics of business, social, environmental, or sustainable entrepreneurial projects led by student entrepreneurs. We analyze the specificities of the projects based on a business and/or social and/or environmental orientation, regarding the profile of student entrepreneurs and the features of their projects. We use a unique database of 210 responses of student entrepreneurs involved in the French entrepreneurial program PEPITE between 2014 and 2021. We propose a typology of student entrepreneurs that highlights the specific features of business, social, environmental, and sustainable student entrepreneurs. We show that the individual determinants of sustainable and environmental entrepreneurial projects are quite close, those of social projects are very specific, while sustainable projects are not associated with specific projects or individual profiles. We formulate managerial recommendations to improve the contribution of universities to the emergence of sustainable innovation in society through entrepreneurship education programs.