Entrepreneurial bottom-up sustainability action – a spatial and scalar analysis at the local level

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess common traits and spatial, inter-scalar and temporal patterns in sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial grassroots action. The region of Vorarlberg (Austria) is used as a case study. Design/methodology/approach Cases of grassroots action were identified through a review of grey literature. The retrieved cases were analysed using a set of variables that define key characteristics of spatial, inter-scalar, temporal and collective action. Spatial and temporal patterns were derived through geographic information system analysis and by statistically assessing the interrelations between contextual factors and grassroots action. Findings Results show that grassroots action in Vorarlberg is mostly undertaken in urban environments where right-wing politics dominate. Groups are primarily small but part of trans-local arrangements. Change has intensified in the 2010s. Spatially speaking, the phenomenon has mostly spread from one municipality to adjacent ones. Different patterns are observed, however, for different types of networks. Interest in waste management and food production largely explains the increases in grassroots action in the 2010s. Originality/value This paper presents one of the few spatio-temporal analyses of local-level grassroots action conducted to date. This includes an assessment of understudied geophysical and socio-political factors which impact the spatial distribution of grassroots movements. Therefore, it opens up unexplored research pathways that are crucial for more objectively defining strategies to support grassroots-led changes in different contexts.