sustainable entrepreneurship in the dutch construction industry荷兰建筑行业可持续创业.pdfVIP

Sustainability 2010 2, 505-523; doi:10.3390/su2020505 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article Sustainable Entrepreneurship in the Dutch Construction Industry Rosalinde J.A. Klein Woolthuis 1, 2 1 Department of Management and Organisation, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; E-Mail: rkleinwoolthuis@; Tel.: +31-20-778-4201; Fax: +31-20-598-6151. 2 TNO Built Environment and Geosciences, Van Mourik Broekmanweg 6, 2628 XE, Delft, The Netherlands Received: 1 December 2009 / Accepted: 22 January 2010 / Published: 4 February 2010 Abstract: This article discusses the strategies that sustainable entrepreneurs use to interact with their environment in the Dutch construction industry. The Dutch construction industry is under great pressure to move towards sustainability, and entrepreneurs are believed to be able to play a large role in this transition by introducing new products and new business practices. But how can entrepreneurs prosper in an environment that is not geared up towards such a change? And which strategies do they use to bend conditions in their favor? In this article we make use of the Market and System Failure Framework to analyze the pressures that entrepreneurs are confronted with when introducing sustainable innovations. We recognize that these pressures can be seen as bottlenecks, but that market and system failures can also create entrepreneurial op