CFP: The Handbook of Entrepreneurship and sustainable development (Edward Elgar)

[entrepreneurship-phd at lists.uni-due.de]

Call for abstracts 
"The Handbook of Entrepreneurship and sustainable development"
To be published by Edward Elgar Publishing
Editor: Paula Kyrö, Professor Aalto-University, School of Economics  paula.kyro at hse.fi  

The combination of eentrepreneurship and sustainable development has re-emerged only recently in science and a bit earlier in political debate guided by the Bruntland Commission's report (WCED 1987), the United Nation's environmental conference in 1992 and recent United Nations' climate conference in Copenhagen. However roots of sustainable development in science are as long as entrepreneurship itself. (Kyrö & Suojanen 1999, Kyrö 2001). The very first school of thought in entrepreneurship, the French physiocrats assumed that economic prosperity was produced by free human beings who by their own efforts under the conditions of self-sustaining system of nature, created something new, which on its own behalf created economic progress (e.g. Barreto 1989, Casson 1982, Wilken 1979). This fact, even rarely noticed, seems also to pave the way to the current debate on sustainability of entrepreneurship. However its understanding, approaches and forms are diverse, and seem to take different interpretation in North American and European discourses. A characteristic to the North American discussion is to take a run-up from social entrepreneurship and then forward to or combine it to ecological sustainability. In Europe and especially in the Nordic countries social entrepreneurship has its own specific place and ecological discussion often is combined to environmental or institutional economics. Thus the landscape of entrepreneurship and sustainability is colored by diverse approaches and perspectives.  

The aim of this handbook is to explore and gather these diverse perspectives and thus paint the picture of the past and current understanding of entrepreneurship and sustainable development, to inspire researchers, teachers and policy-makers to intentionally mould their own understanding and help them to add their contribution to this landscape. Due to the diverse perspectives and approaches it is obvious that this goal cannot be achieved alone, but as collaboration with experts in each approach. Thus additionally to book editor the publication will be divided into parts each having their own responsible editor. You can suggest these approaches and the colleague or the colleagues best suitable to be part editor. 

The deadline for abstracts presenting a summary of potential chapter contributions should be emailed to the editors by 25th May 2010. Response to the abstracts 30th June 2010 and complete chapter contributions are required by 31st December 2010.