Sustainable Entrepreneurship: The Role of ESG and Strategic CSR in Shaping Generational Perspectives

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-872-1_5How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Sustainable entrepreneurship; Strategic CSR; ESG factors; Sustainable Development Goals; Generation X; Millennials

Abstract

The financial and entrepreneurial world is seeing changes amid increasing worldwide concerns about sustainability, environmental degradation, and digital transformation. In response, frameworks such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, and Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (SCSR) have become obviously essential tools in responsible business. However, there remains an obvious gap in knowledge on how generational cohorts view and interact with sustainable entrepreneurship. This gap is addressed by this study that looks at generational attitudes with particular emphasis on Millennials and Generation X toward the incorporation of ESG and SCSR in entrepreneurial strategies. Employing a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were collected via a structured survey distributed to 282 respondents, evenly divided between the two generations. In order to further examine the role of residential context and educational background in perceptions of sustainability, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were employed. While Millennials appear to be strongly in tune with sustainability concepts and are more willing to integrate ESG and SCSR with the SDGs, urban residence played a significant role in shaping these attitudes, with education hardly being relevant. On the other hand, Generation X-type satisfaction was less, and with education coming first, whereas residential context was less. The study offers practical insights for businesses, educators, and policymakers to tailor their sustainability programs in line with generational preferences. It calls for targeted campaigns through the engagement and collaboration of all generations to meet sustainability goals in the long run.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - A. Ayyoob
AU  - Aparna Sajeev
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/04
TI  - Sustainable Entrepreneurship: The Role of ESG and Strategic CSR in Shaping Generational Perspectives
BT  - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Business Practices and Innovative Models (ICSBPIM-2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 43
EP  - 60
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-872-1_5
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-872-1_5
ID  - Ayyoob2025
ER  -