Internalizing Inspirations: How Future Entrepreneurs Absorb Role Models in Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

This study aims to explore the interaction of entrepreneurs with role models and role models’ narratives (influential individuals, well-known ventures, stories, etc.) in a context of sustainability orientation. While some entrepreneurs are engaged in sustainability-oriented actions, others are not. Keeping in mind that role models can influence entrepreneur’s perceptions, action orientation and values, there is a significant lack of clarity on how role models interact with entrepreneurs in terms of influencing sustainable-oriented business activities. Hence, this paper examines the nature and dynamic of these interactions in the context of entrepreneurial ecosystems by applying systematic inductive qualitative research method and choosing Estonian entrepreneurial ecosystem as a context.