Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Digital Environments: New Dynamics in the Spanish Entrepreneurial System

The aim of this study is to analyse the factors associated with sustainable entrepreneurship in Spain from a systemic perspective, highlighting the interaction between economic, cognitive, occupational and axiological factors that shape innovation and sustainability in digital environments. Using microdata from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Spain 2021, a Probit model is estimated to identify which variables are associated with TEA environmental consideration (TEA-EC), defined as the probability that early-stage entrepreneurs report considering environmental implications when making decisions about the future of their business. The results show that age, certain occupations (particularly part-time work, unemployment and self-employment), self-perceived entrepreneurial skills and values associated with social impact are the main factors associated with environmentally oriented entrepreneurship. Conversely, education, income, innovation, internationalisation and technological intensity are not significant, while gender is statistically associated with TEA environmental consideration (TEA-EC) in a context-dependent manner, particularly through its interactions with sectoral affiliation and social-impact orientation. Significant sectoral differences are also observed. The variables most strongly associated with TEA-EC are concern with social impact and the prioritisation of socio-environmental outcomes over profitability, each of which is associated with a higher likelihood of environmentally oriented decision-making among early-stage entrepreneurs by more than 23 percentage points. The study concludes that sustainable entrepreneurship in Spain is primarily associated with internal capabilities and pro-environmental values, rather than with structural incentives, offering key implications for the design of policies aimed at sustainable entrepreneurial systems.