Fostering Sustainable Entrepreneurship by Governmental Entrepreneurship Agencies : The Case of Almi Blekinge

The importance of entrepreneurship for economic growth has long been recognized. It is also widely agreed that we are facing a sustainability challenge, which, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is largely created by the economic activities of the industrialized society. Corporate social responsibility and other global initiatives have not been sufficient in changing industry processes to more sustainable activities. Governments regulate activities in society through laws and guidelines, thus there is a clear role of governments in regulating the quality and outcomes of entrepreneurial initiatives in order to advance a sustainable development of society. The researchers´purpose was to understand how the governmental entrepreneurship promotion agency, Almi is fostering sustainable entrepreneurship and to recommend improvements. With a qualitative research method, the case of Almi Blekinge was studied. The research shows that Almi has the possibility to shape the entrepreneurial outcomes by adjusting the current mechanism with planetary socio-eco boundaries of sustainability. The recommendation is that Almi should steer their advising services towards a coaching dynamic where contributions to the socio-ecological system are assessed with the ultimate goal for companies to contribute to sustainable growth