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    Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

    (8 reviews)

    Andrea Larson, University of Virginia

    Copyright Year:

    ISBN 13: 9781453314128

    Publisher: Saylor Foundation

    Language: English

    Formats Available

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    CC BY-NC-SA

    Reviews

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    Reviewed by Mohammad Valipour, Assistant Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 2/5/23

    I found this book very interesting and thorough. I could find a review of important milestones in sustainable development and environmental sustainability with an emphasis on the US and Europe. Having 564 pages could be long but I can find many... read more

    Reviewed by Dalya Is., Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University on 12/16/22

    The textbook offers a thorough and historical analysis of the development of sustainable business practices, how cooperative exchanges improve sustainability, and useful information to help learners. It begins by discussing the historical... read more

    Reviewed by Stephanie Hubert, Instructor, University of Arkansas on 2/3/21

    The text provides a comprehensive look at the history of sustainability, the current development of sustainable business practices, how collaborative exchanges increase sustainability, and practical information to guide the learner. read more

    Reviewed by Michelle Todd, Adjunct Professor, New York City College of Technology on 4/8/19

    The textbook gives a good overall understanding of the historical context of the the topic of sustainability. It discusses in the beginning the historical periods in time of events that occurred, which therefore created the organizations and laws... read more

    Reviewed by Garreth Blackwell, Instructor, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts on 2/8/17

    A very comprehensive book on the subject of sustainability and entrepreneurship. The content is organized well toward this end and is displayed well within the table of contents, but there is no glossary or index to help students and teachers... read more

    Reviewed by Channelle James, Lecturer, University of North Carolina at Greensboro on 12/5/16

    The author does cover many of the important topics in entrepreneurship, sustainability, and innovation but the way that the topics are organized seem limiting. Sustainability works because it is pliable. Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and... read more

    Reviewed by Sue Meyer, Adjunct Professor, Central Oregon Community College on 8/21/16

    The book is very thorough, has great resources, references, case studies,fresh, recent examples and indices. I do think it needs a little better title or tagline, because I wasn't expecting a book about the environmental revolution. I was... read more

    Reviewed by Blaine Brownell, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota on 6/10/15

    Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship provides a satisfactorily comprehensive summary of information pertaining to the shared topic areas of environmental sustainability and business development. The book presents a thorough, if... read more

    Table of Contents

    • Chapter 1: History
    • Chapter 2: Sustainability Innovation in Business
    • Chapter 3: Framing Sustainability Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    • Chapter 4: Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Innovation Analysis
    • Chapter 5: Energy and Climate
    • Chapter 6: Clean Products and Health
    • Chapter 7: Buildings
    • Chapter 8: Biomaterials

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    About the Book

    This book is suited for the Entrepreneurship or Innovation course with an emphasis on Sustainability or for a course devoted entirely to Sustainability.

    What are the trends and forces underlying the changing character of the business-environment relationship? How they are creating significant entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals and companies? Around the world, the movement toward ”sustainable development“ has caused many firms to adopt policies and practices that reflect what is sometimes called a ”sustainable business“ or ”triple bottom line“ approach. ”Triple bottom line“ refers to the demonstration of strong performance across economic, social, and environmental indicators.

    Those measures serve as indicators of fiduciary responsibility to a growing set of concerned investors and therefore can help ensure access to capital. They also enable innovators to lower costs, create strategic differentiation, reduce risk, and position themselves for competitive advantage over rivals less attuned to trends.

    The deep roots of sustainability thinking are now evident in widespread and increasingly visible activities worldwide, and Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship explores this evolution; its necessity, its implications and its progression.

    About the Contributors

    Author

    Andrea Larson, PhD, is an associate professor of business administration. She has served for more than twenty years on the faculty of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia teaching in the MBA program and in executive education in the areas of entrepreneurship, strategy, ethics, innovation, and sustainable business. She currently teaches the required MBA elective for students concentrating in sustainability. Professor Larson has taught about entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability innovation by invitation at Stanford Graduate School of Business (2007 and 2010) and the Bainbridge Institute (MBA in sustainable business).

    Larson’s Flat World Knowledge book, Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, examines the wave of innovation spreading across the world today as entrepreneurial individuals and organizations incorporate concern for ecological, human health, social equity, and community prosperity into product design, operations, strategy, and supply chain management. Building on earlier research on economic development, entrepreneurial innovation, alliances, and network organizations, her current research, teaching, and curriculum development focus on innovation by companies engaged in sustainable business as a strategic and competitive advantage. Her research publications have appeared in journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Business Strategy and the Environment, and Interfaces. Her work has also appeared as chapters in edited volumes on sustainability and innovation, green chemistry, ethics, and entrepreneurship. She has produced more than fifty teaching materials (cases and background notes) on entrepreneurship and sustainability topics.

    Larson was cofounder in 2002 of The Ingenuity Project, a multifaceted program to integrate theory and practice on entrepreneurship and innovation together with sustainable business practices and to encourage their use in management education, as well as corporations. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, green chemistry and engineering design, industrial ecology, and cradle-to-cradle design were illustrative of the core approaches. She has testified before Congress on green innovation as a national strategy and contributed to a National Research Council study of sustainability innovation in the chemical industry. Among her current projects are collaboration on an National Science Foundation green building technology innovation study, an interdisciplinary study of sustainable development in Panama, and collaborative work with the Reynolds Program on Social Entrepreneurship at New York University.

    Prior to starting her academic career, Professor Larson was active in political work and nongovernmental organization research and lobbying, and she served in federal and state government environmental and product safety agencies, thus bringing a rich diversity of sector experience to her current work on private sector innovation. She holds a PhD from Harvard University.

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