Sustainable Entrepreneurship in the Digital Age

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to this special Merits collection on Sustainable Entrepreneurship in the Digital Age, which explores how digital technologies—including AI, IoT, blockchain, platform ecosystems, and digital finance—are transforming the way business opportunities are identified, launched, and scaled in pursuit of economic, social, and environmental goals. In this context, entrepreneurs not only focus on profit but also aim for lasting sustainability, using digital tools to improve transparency, collaboration, and resource efficiency. These ventures often operate in fast-paced, tech-driven environments where agility and digital innovation are key to creating and delivering systemic value. By combining advanced digital strategies with sustainable principles, these ventures challenge traditional business models and support new ways of generating impact-driven value. This Merits special collection offers a multidisciplinary platform to explore how digital technologies are driving, enhancing, or transforming the ability of sustainable entrepreneurial ventures to create positive changes on a large scale.

This Special Issue aims to explore the intersection of digital transformation and sustainability, which holds great potential: digital platforms can democratize market access, AI can optimize resources, and blockchain can enhance supply chain traceability. Policymakers, investors, and societies increasingly expect digitally enabled businesses to deliver both financial gains and measurable ecological and social results. However, knowledge—both empirical and theoretical—in this rapidly changing field remains scattered. We still lack clarity on how digital tools influence the environmental and social impact of new ventures, which business models are most effective in balancing digital growth with mission preservation, and how to create impact metrics that accurately reflect both digital innovation and sustainable performance. Additionally, the roles of institutional factors and regulatory environments governing digital entrepreneurship are still underexplored. This collection invites research that fills these gaps and broadens our understanding of how digitally driven entrepreneurship can support sustainable change.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Digital business models for sustainability: platform co-ops, peer-to-peer sharing, subscription-based services;
• AI and machine learning in green innovation, zero‑waste logistics, or precision agriculture;
• Blockchain-enabled transparency in social and environmental supply chains;
• Fintech and digital finance: impact investing, microloans, carbon credit marketplaces;
• Ecosystem analysis: how digital accelerators, incubators, and partnerships foster sustainable entrepreneurship;
• Measuring digital sustainability: novel frameworks, hybrid metrics, and real-time data analytics;
• Scaling strategies in digital ventures: balancing algorithmic growth, mission drift, and community engagement;
• Regulation and governance: data privacy, ethical AI, digital platform policy;
• Case studies of digital social enterprises in climate, health, education, and the circular economy;
• Design thinking and digital tools for co-creation with underserved communities;
• Comparative studies across countries and contexts: how digital sustainability varies globally.

(This list is illustrative; authors are welcome to propose complementary and interdisciplinary approaches aligned with the theme.)

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Marcus Goncalves
Dr. João Alexandre Lobo Marques
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Merits is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainable entrepreneurship
• digital innovation
• platform economy
• green technology
• blockchain for sustainability
• AI and impact optimization
• social enterprise
• digital business models
• impact measurement
• tech-enabled sustainability