Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Economy and the Continuous Technological Revolution: Rethinking Entrepreneurial Skills

Dear Colleagues,

(1) The accelerating pace of technological revolution and the pressures from ecological and social threats are forcing the new data- and knowledge-intensive economy to evolve, adapt, and drive a set of alternative ‘solutions’ for short- and long-term time frames. The evolving amalgamation of artificial intelligence and robotics (among other technological revolutions), ‘incorporated’ into decision-making and learning as new business models, evolves to serve new organizational, and individual strategies, becoming the driving force of humanity’s next evolutionary phase. The need for a sustainable environment, sustainable and agile economy, as well as for a just society at every scale (e.g., regional, national, and global), has never been more uncompromisingly needed. The ability to innovate at an accelerated pace, therefore, is quickly becoming vital for securing and maintaining organizational survival and success. Moreover, artificial intelligence, digitalization, and data management are changing the landscape of knowledge, social, and human capital management, and are creating a requirement for new skills to succeed in this landscape. The successful application of new skills could increase the success rate of implementing new technological solutions while arriving at just and sustainable outcomes concurrently, minimizing the costs of possible mistakes and risks.

For the purpose of this Special Issue, we will define entrepreneurship as “The creation of a unique entity that is creating and exchanging an innovative solution for a perceived opportunity (a product or a service), in a marketplace, for a value at an acceptable risk, and without regard to resources that are directly controlled”.

(2) As such, this Special Issue should focus on the (new?) skills needed by the entrepreneur to succeed in this continuously changing economy driven by multiple technological revolutions, while simultaneously facing inequalities (e.g., economic, social, educational, etc.), climate change crises, and design and ethical dilemmas resulting from the evolving technologies (e.g., AI, neuroscience, etc.).  

To support such endeavors, this Special Issue’s intention is to encourage interdisciplinary fusion between diverse disciplines. Specifically, this call for papers will solicit articles from a multidisciplinary array of scholars, including (but not limited to) those involved in the following fields: economic development, entrepreneurship, psychology, behavioral, social, environmental ecosystems, technological innovations, labor markets, and other related (e.g., NGOs) ecosystems. Multi-level and multi-discipline chapters that synthesize diverse bodies of knowledge are strongly encouraged, as well as various empirical methods which enhance the creation of entrepreneurship holistic theory for sustainable and just futures.

(3) In this Special Issue, original research articles, case studies and reviews advancing theory, concepts, frameworks, and applications in the field of entrepreneurship for sustainable and just futures are welcome, and they may include (but are not limited to) the following aspects:

• Creative and innovative skills needed for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Communication and networking skills needed for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Leadership and management skills needed for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Identification and opportunity recognition for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Technical skills needed for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Knowledge and data management skills needed for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Decision-making and learning skills needed for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Risk-taking and conflict-handling skills needed for successful new ventures in the evolving economy.
• Development of business models of ‘for profit’ and ‘not for profit’ organizations for the evolving economy.
• Ability to garner necessary financial, material, knowledge, and data resources for a successful new venture.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Meir Russ
Guest Editor

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• entrepreneurial skills
• performance
• education and training in entrepreneurship
• new venture creation
• sustainable economy