Values and entrepreneurship in the sustainable society: toward a multilevel understanding of entrepreneurial value practices

Abstract This special issue focuses on the diversity of values between different actors. While prior research has explored values at the micro, meso, and macro levels independently, the interplay between these levels—and its implications for entrepreneurial outcomes and societal transformation—remain underexplored. We address this void by drawing on a value practices lens, which emphasizes how values are enacted through situated entrepreneurial action and allows us to theorize across levels. Employing a topic modeling approach to analyze the twelve articles included in this issue, we extract empirical insights that inform the development of a multilevel framework on entrepreneurial value practices. This framework identifies and theorizes two distinct forms of entrepreneurial value practices. First, new venture value practices capture how emerging firms embed ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible commitments into their founding activities and strategic orientation. Second, collective entrepreneurial value practices highlight how networks of entrepreneurial actors co-create and reinforce these value commitments through shared practices and collaborative efforts. We conclude by outlining future research directions to advance the study of entrepreneurial value practices across analytical levels, societal contexts, and temporal trajectories.