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Gender equality represents a priority goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Women everywhere run significant businesses, generating positive impacts on society. However, they still face numerous obstacles to starting and sustaining entrepreneurial activities. Extant literature, while increasingly acknowledging the importance of women's entrepreneurship, often overlooks the nuanced differences between aspirant and experienced female entrepreneurs. This study aims to address this gap by adopting a micro perspective and examining the commonalities and differences in the drivers and barriers to entrepreneurship among aspirant and experienced women entrepreneurs in Italy. Through semi-structured interviews conducted between September and December 2022, this exploratory study sheds light on the factors influencing women's entrepreneurial endeavors in a developed economy. We identified seven main themes: knowledge as gap for both, the role of technology, external support, socio-cultural background, network ties, territory concern, and personal dimension. Findings underscore the importance of understanding diverse backgrounds, motivations, and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, offering insights for academic research. While at a general level factors and barriers are similar, at a micro level there are differences that could jeopardize both the success of this path in the start-up phase and its survival in the long term. The study also offers valuable practical implications by highlighting that women entrepreneurs should focus on idea validation, financial resources, networking, knowledge, and cultural stereotypes. At a policy level, tailored support strategies are recommended, including streamlined funding application processes and targeted training initiatives as well as measures to reduce socio-cultural barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the business model innovation theory and the resilience theory, the present study explores existing literature on the capacity of digitalization and new technologies for the sustainable and innovative development of shipping and seaports; more in details, it identifies the shipping and seaport business models that can meet environmental, economic and social goals through the digitalization of operational processes in the ship–port interface. This paper aims to investigate whether digitalization and new technologies can help in the creation of sustainable business models as set out in the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all UN member states in 2015. The methodology is based on a qualitative approach, conducting a systematic literature review followed by a bibliometric analysis of a database containing 132 items in English language publications between 1969 and 2020. The findings indicate that literature on the topic has concentrated mainly on the environmental externalities connected with operations at the ship–port interface. The study offers theoretical and practical contributions, outlining the main issues debated in the literature on digitalization and new technologies in the shipping and seaport industry, and analyses the key variables that will play a role in achieving the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to investigate the artificial intelligence (AI) function in agri-food industry, as well as the role of stakeholders in its supply chain. Above all, from the beginning of the new millennium, scholars and practitioners have paid an increasing attention to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in operational processes management and challenges for new business models, in a sustainable and socially responsible perspective. Thus, the stakeholders can assume a proactive or marginal role in the value creation for business, according to their own environmental awareness. These issues appear still "open" in some industries, such as the agri-food system, where the adoption of new technologies requires rethinking and redesigning the whole business model. Methodologically, we brought forward an in-depth review of the literature about major articles in this field. Especially, the study has been conducted following two phases: firstly, we extracted from scientific databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) and studied relevant articles; secondly, we analyzed the selected articles. The findings highlight interesting issues about AI towards a "space economy" to achieve sustainable and responsible business models, also in the perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic scenario. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the literary corpus on the role of human resources in non-financial reporting pursuant to EU Directive 2014/95/EU. It provides a quantitative overview of the academic literature that constitutes this field, discussing whether the entry into force of the directive in 2017 on social and environmental issues extends and deepens the dissemination of human resources as a lever for sustainability. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on a database containing 108 publications in English language with a publication date from 2013 to 2019. The findings show that research published on non-financial reporting per the Directive focuses on performance, trust, and quality of disclosure in terms of social and environmental issues, while the human resources discussed in the Directive are still under investigation. Besides, considering that the Directive is in line with the 2030 Agenda, the findings also outline the existing literary framework on the and sustainability reports and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The article contributes to the existing literature systematizing the studies on the topic. It represents a start point for the scholars to develop future research on non-financial disclosure focused on human resources and related sustainable practices adopted by companies as key factors for sustainable organizations towards SDGs. • This paper provides an SLR on HR in NFR per Directive 2014/95/EU. • The SLR has been carried out by Bibliometrix, an open-source tool for quantitative research. • This study is based on a database containing 108 publications from 2013 to 2019. • The paper discusses on HR and related sustainable practices in NFR to achieve also SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the sustainable entrepreneurship issues faced during the pre-seed and seed phases of the life cycle of entrepreneurial ventures, which are considered the protagonists of innovative changes towards a cleaner environment. Specifically, it investigates the role innovation plays in the life cycle of entrepreneurial ventures seeking to create sustainable business models and tools for measuring the social impact of such ventures in sustainability assessment systems designed to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN 2030 Agenda. The study conducts a rigorous literature review and bibliometric analysis of 166 English-language articles on entrepreneurship and sustainability published between 2001 and 2021, and formulates a map for the knowledge produced and disseminated in previous investigations. The results advance our understanding of how sustainability assessment can be integrated into the life cycle phases of innovative entrepreneurial ventures. This review can aid in the development of a comprehensive framework and of research propositions for sustainable entrepreneurship issues in the pre-seed and seed phases. The study also extends institutional and stakeholder theories to provide decision support for sustainable entrepreneurial ventures in their pre-seed and seed phases. It explains how stakeholders' participation and engagement with institutional structures can be invigorated and how this affects the decision consequences for sustainable entrepreneurs. Our results can help practitioners and researchers accurately interpret 'innovation' in the life cycle of entrepreneurial ventures and sustainability assessment systems, thus allowing them to formulate policies, strategies, and guidelines for promoting a sustainable development agenda. • This study investigates the role of innovation in the life cycle of entrepreneurial ventures for sustainable business models. • This study provides a retrospective review of published content in the field of entrepreneurial ventures and sustainability. • The findings highlight that business models are responsible for achieving the SDGs by integrating sustainability assessment into the life cycle phases of innovative entrepreneurial ventures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]