The Analysis of Trigger Factors of the Environmental Entrepreneurship Process in Saudi Arabia: An Innovative Approach

Environmental entrepreneurship is considered a critical avenue for sustainable development. Despite increasing studies on its benefits and impacts, we lack insights about its corresponding process. There is an increasing need for policymakers to know how to develop this process and what is required for its definition. This research aims to build an innovative theoretical model to explore the trigger factors for the environmental entrepreneurship process in Saudi Arabia, which is the ultimate focus point of this research. To achieve this objective, a deep literature review and a survey of expert entrepreneurs’ opinions were performed. Experts and professionals in entrepreneurship validated the opportunity of readiness factors identified. Data were gathered using a combined approach based on closed-ended questionnaires and arranged interviews according to a schedule. Employing the mixed influence matrix of cross-impact multiplications applied to classification (MICMAC) and the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach, the research identifies a hierarchical model of these factors, addressing why and how they interact according to a specific order and priorities. The investigation reveals 15 factors that are structured into three main levels of influence: (1) factors driving the adoption of environmental entrepreneurship orientation, (2) factors related to environmental entrepreneurship intention, and (3) factors for materializing environmental entrepreneurship behavior. The findings emphasize the complementarity between environmental entrepreneurship intention and orientation as a key factor in generating entrepreneurial behavior. This research pioneers the empirical exploration of environmental entrepreneurship as a process. It contributes significantly to theoretical and practical domains by offering a pragmatic framework and better understanding for policymakers and stakeholders to focus on key factors that facilitate this process. This paper is innovative because it uses the integrative ISM–MICMAC approach, supported by a primary and brief bibliometric analysis of entrepreneurship.