Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore how entrepreneurs utilize their entrepreneurial mindset when incorporating activities directed towards sustainability or circularity into their small- and medium-sized enterprises. Two hypotheses are tested in the research. These are operationalized by understanding how internal and external influences affect the entrepreneurs’ perceptions and decision-making, which includes business models, innovation, customers, suppliers, products, services and processes, which can lead to sustainable value, planetary health or sustainable transitions. The methodological approach is a quantitative research method with a questionnaire sent to entrepreneurs in Swedish small- and medium-sized enterprises during the period from March 2025 to November 2025, wherein a total of 64 answers were provided. The findings show that the entrepreneurial mindset is positively related to external activities with customers and suppliers. These findings imply that external influences from customers and suppliers can support sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship. By highlighting how the entrepreneurial mindset relates to internal and external influences, the originality of the study contributes to the understanding of opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises to co-create value that supports sustainability, circularity and planetary health. Moreover, a positive relationship between internal influences and external influences is novel in this research and demands more attention in the future.

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