LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Rethinking Business Practices: Harnessing Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Sustainable Strategies for Resilient Entrepreneurial Success

Entrepreneurship is increasingly reframed beyond profit maximisation toward models that integrate cultural resilience, sustainability and socio‐ecological responsibility. This study examines how Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Sustainable Strategies (SS) jointly… Click to show full abstract

Entrepreneurship is increasingly reframed beyond profit maximisation toward models that integrate cultural resilience, sustainability and socio‐ecological responsibility. This study examines how Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Sustainable Strategies (SS) jointly influence entrepreneurial success (ES), addressing a gap where culturally embedded and ecologically responsive practices are rarely considered together. Drawing on the Sustainable Indigenous Entrepreneurship Model (SIEM), ES is conceptualised as a multidimensional construct encompassing growth, innovation, resilience, efficiency and competitiveness. A cross‐sectional survey of 124 entrepreneurs across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas was analysed using correlation and regression techniques. Results demonstrate that both IKS and SS significantly predict entrepreneurial success, with IKS exerting the stronger influence. Practices such as oral knowledge transmission, traditional work ethics and environmental adaptability emerged as particularly impactful in shaping innovation, efficiency and resilience. These findings affirm the value of hybrid entrepreneurial logics that blend ancestral knowledge with sustainability‐oriented strategies. The study contributes theoretically by advancing the indigenisation of entrepreneurship scholarship and empirically validating the integration of cultural and ecological practices. Practically, it offers guidance for policymakers, educators and development actors seeking to promote inclusive, sustainable entrepreneurship. Embedding Indigenous knowledge within sustainability frameworks can enhance resilience and competitiveness while aligning business practices with ecological and cultural integrity.

Keywords: knowledge; knowledge systems; business; entrepreneurial success; indigenous knowledge

Journal Title: Business Strategy and the Environment
Year Published: 2025

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.